Geek Speaks: The Women Who Make Television

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Back in January, Dr. Martha Lauzen released her latest Celluloid Ceiling Report, an analysis of women employed behind the camera in the world of Hollywood. The news wasn't good: women accounted for only 16 percent of all directors, executive producers, writers, cinematographers and editors. The news got even worse when pointed out that this was a decrease of only 1 percent since 1998.

In addition, only 30 percent of the major characters and 30 percent of all speaking characters in the 100 highest grossing films of 2013 were female, with only 15 percent of "all clearly identifiable protagonists" being female characters.

It was this news that led Henry Jenkins, transmedia specialist and USC professor, to focus his second "Geek Speaks" talk at the University of Southern California on the women who make television.

The evening was divided into two sessions. The first, moderated by Erin Reilly of the Annenberg Innovation Lab, focused more on the creative process and the career paths of the women. Panelists were Julie Plec (co-creator and executive producer of "The Vampire Diaries"), Melanie Chilek (executive vice president of Hoff Productions, which focuses on reality television), Felicia Henderson (creator of "Soul Food"), Alexa Junge (writer on "Friends" and show-runner on "The United States of Tara") and Stacy L. Smith (associate professor at USC).

The discussion ranged from the changing way media is consumed to how audiences today are smarter than ever before, which means the stories and characters have to have an authenticity to them that makes them believable. It also dealt with what, if any, kinds of experiences they had to deal with that were directly related to being women, especially the ones who were mothers.

The second session was moderated by Francesca Marie Smith, also with the Annenberg Innovation Lab, and focused more on the creative product: the content of the program, interacting with the audiences and representation issues. The panelists included Jenny Bicks (writer for "Sex and the City"), Meg DeLoatch (executive producer of "Austin & Ally"), Robin Schiff (screenwriter for "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion"), Winnie Holzman (co-writer on "Wicked") and Alison Trope (clinical professor at USC).

This discussion started with whether the women ever interacted with the fans, and if so how, and then delved into the frustrations and benefits of being a woman in the industry.

Jenkins plans to continue the Geek Speaks series next school year, in partnership with the Annenberg Innovation Lab. The plan of having one a semester, but he doesn't have any concrete ideas as to what he wants to do next.

If you're a geek and are interested in geeky things, check out the Annenberg Innovation Lab, where a video of the first Geek Speaks (The Uses and Abuses of Science Fiction) can be found, and a video of this second panel will be uploaded soon.

Contact Contributing Writer Angie here, follow her on Twitter, or check out her Tumblr.