When my wife, Cinema Femme founder Rebecca Martin Fagerholm, and I decided to visit California for our fourth wedding anniversary, we knew that one of our destinations would have to be the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. While covering the Oscars for RogerEbert.com just prior to the pandemic, I had toured the building when it was still empty, and was eager to see what was now being featured inside. Though Rebecca and my lifelong love of cinema has resulted in us being loyal viewers of the annual telecast, we are well aware that far too few Oscars have recognized the equally vital artistic contributions of women, a key reason for why Cinema Femme was founded in the first place. It’s clear that the Academy Museum is bending over backwards to compensate for this fact, as evidenced in the first picture of the following slideshow, where an exhibit’s collage devoted to directing makes ample room for the only three women to have won the Best Director Oscar thus far…
…Chloé Zhao, Kathryn Bigelow and Jane Campion. 
A pillar on the museum’s fifth floor is named after the trailblazing woman hailed as the first female director, Alice Guy-Blaché. 
A current exhibit celebrates the work of “Barbie” production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer… 
…complete with a fascinating replica of Sarah’s studio when prepping for “Barbie.” 
The museum’s new Marilyn Monroe exhibit is chock-full of treasures, including the actual dress that the actress wore during her iconic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number in Howard Hawks’ uproarious “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”… 
…and pages of her script from Rebecca’s favorite Monroe picture, John Huston’s “The Misfits.” 
It’s impossible to visit the Academy Museum without wanting a selfie with the 25-foot replica of Bruce the Shark from “Jaws.” 
I geeked out upon finding the severed head that floats out of the darkness at Richard Dreyfuss, which caused an entire theater full of people to levitate from the chairs in fright at a “Jaws” screening I attended in high school. What really makes that moment, and every other one in the film, work as well as it does is the music by John Williams… 
…and the editing by Verna Fields, one of countless women who can be credited with jump-starting the careers of male directors. The moviola she used while editing “Jaws” is included in the exhibit. 
It was a joy seeing master documentarian Barbara Kopple’s acceptance speech for directing one of Rebecca’s all-time favorite films, “Harlan County U.S.A.”, included in the grand hall of Oscar highlights. 
A handful of key Academy Awards had been donated to be displayed at the museum… 
…including the historic Best Actress Oscar received by Marlee Matlin for “Children of a Lesser God.”
Rebecca and I had applied for press passes to attend the museum, and when we checked in with the woman at the front desk, she asked if we wanted tickets to The Oscar Experience, where participants get to hold a real Oscar while delivering an acceptance speech. Since our trip budget was tight, I wasn’t sure I wanted to pay the extra fee. Then the man seated next to her said, “I’ll give you free passes.” “Why?” I asked, to which he replied, “Because I love your work.” Turns out he had attended film discussions I had hosted years ago at my alma mater of Columbia College, and he instantly recognized my megaphone-like voice. Such serendipity, of course, could not be taken for granted, so Rebecca and I decided to give a joint speech at The Oscar Experience, thanking all the women who have yet to win an Academy Award (and hopefully will)…
For the full line-up of current exhibits, screenings and events at The Academy Museum, visit their official site.
Words from Rebecca Martin Fagerholm
Being at the Academy Museum was an incredible experience, but it was also bittersweet. It was hard not to notice how much attention was given to the relatively few women who have been recognized in the Best Director category. As a film journalist who has interviewed countless women and gender-expansive people across the industry, I know firsthand that the disparity remains significant. Every year, I find myself cheering for the one woman who manages to break through, knowing there are so many others equally deserving.
Even so, it was special to be in a place that preserves and celebrates film history. I’ve had the honor of interviewing Sarah Polley, Euzhan Palcy, Justine Triet, and Hannah Beachler—trailblazers, Oscar winners, and artists who have helped reshape the industry. I’ve also celebrated milestones with other firsts with Autumn Durald Arkapaw winning the Oscar for Sinners this past year, and Hildur Guðnadóttir in 2020 winning as the first female composer to win an Oscar for Joker.
My hope is that, in the years ahead, what the museum displays won’t just commemorate history—it will reflect the progress the industry has finally made.
