10 Actors Who Made Real-Life Changes AFTER Movie Roles
4. Thelma & Louise Inspires Geena Davis To Found Gender Equality Institute
1991's Thelma & Louise quickly marked itself out as a film feminists could strongly get behind upon its release in theatres, with the critically acclaimed movie, about two women on the run after shooting a sexual predator, understandably resonating with women all over the world.
Yet, the project seemed to also have a lasting effect on star Geena Davis. After earning herself an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress - alongside co-star Susan Sarandon - Davis would regularly find herself being approached by women telling them how her character had inspired them to find their own strength from within. On the back of these multiple interactions, Davis ultimately decided to found the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a non-profit organisation designed to shine a light on gender representation on screen, whilst also advocating for equal representation of women too.
Davis felt that her research on children's TV shows and films between 2006-2009, which unearthed a shocking figure of just 29.2% of speaking roles being female and much more sexualised than male characters, demonstrated how a lack of equal representation was having a huge impact on young girls and how they saw themselves. The institute is still going strong today, fighting tooth and nail for more equality on screen.