By Josh Oakley
According to a New York Times article from earlier this year, twenty
percent of software developers are women. As sadly small as that number is, you
wouldn’t guess even that high judging by Silicon
Valley. The HBO sitcom doesn’t purport itself to be a documentary, but even
that distance from reality allows it only so much wiggle room. The show didn’t
need to become about the discrepancy in gender in the tech world. But every
time the issue arose, it always become a joke swinging its dick in the
direction of how funny men are. The few women that did populate this world
functioned mostly as objects, from Monica (Amanda Crew) to the girlfriend of
Gilfoyle (Martin Starr). It was as if Silicon
Valley had its point-of-view set, that all of the tech industry is a
sausage party, and made a case around the hypothesis. Instead of exploring the
roles of gender, or even glancing at them, the show was comfortable to present
one side of a case. And the other side doesn’t seem to be available anywhere on
television.
It’s a matter of coincidence that these two shows have their
respective finale and premiere on the same night. But it also allows for a
broader discussion of this specific vein of representation, or the lack
thereof. The opening story of that aforementioned Times article is chilling,
showing the complicated nature of gender equality in the tech industry. It
would be ideal, of course, to have this specific viewpoint represented all its
own in a show written by a woman about women and for everyone. Unfortunately,
given the state of female showrunners, this doesn’t seem like the likeliest
path to action. But it’s a vital one, as it is in all of art: the more,
different people we have to say things, the more, different things will be
said. This should be common sense by now, but clearly is not.
So, the temporary solution comes in the form of the current,
male writers at least attempting to understand other walks of life. Mike Judge
clearly knows how to create female characters of value, but Silicon Valley keeps slipping past any
real development. The fact that, as the plot seems to be progressing, more will
needed to be added to the cast is a good opportunity for change. Of course,
that shift can’t be purely cosmetic. Simply having more women in the background
doesn’t do much to change the image the show is presenting (but even that would be a start).
What seems most absurd about the unwillingness to present more voices is the fact that it makes things easier, in all honesty. There are more opportunities for conflict, a larger hiring pool, and plenty of humor to be found in the situation. This is true in both the macro of all television (hire more female showrunners) and the micro of Silicon Valley. The central figure of that Times piece says this of the tech world: “It’s very dangerous for us as a community to say we will only work with people who share our beliefs.” She’s absolutely correct, and though she’s giving a reason for her return to that field, the other side should be thinking the same thing. There is a clear gender problem in programming field. But there’s also something wrong with how the matter is reflected in popular culture. In the simplest of computer language, it’s safe to say that in 2014 it’s time: </gender inequality> for those in the industry and those holding up the mirror.
What seems most absurd about the unwillingness to present more voices is the fact that it makes things easier, in all honesty. There are more opportunities for conflict, a larger hiring pool, and plenty of humor to be found in the situation. This is true in both the macro of all television (hire more female showrunners) and the micro of Silicon Valley. The central figure of that Times piece says this of the tech world: “It’s very dangerous for us as a community to say we will only work with people who share our beliefs.” She’s absolutely correct, and though she’s giving a reason for her return to that field, the other side should be thinking the same thing. There is a clear gender problem in programming field. But there’s also something wrong with how the matter is reflected in popular culture. In the simplest of computer language, it’s safe to say that in 2014 it’s time: </gender inequality> for those in the industry and those holding up the mirror.
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