Gender, hierarchy and the film industry

 I heard on the radio that the armourer on Rust, Hannah Guiterrez-Reed, is a former model. Irrelevant information being shared, as the world scrutinizes her after the tragedy that took the life of Halyna Hutchins. 

It got me wondering if the dynamics of a male-dominated industry will be equally scrutinized, and played out in the courtroom, as it's one of the most unique workplace environments that exists. 

I only worked on a handful of film sets as a script supervisor, but in my experience, the hierarchy of a film set is weaved into every interaction, every relationship on set. The more experienced members in the more senior positions have the authority to speak without worry, the less-experienced inferior crew members encouraged to keep their mouths shut and do their job quietly, efficiently, and at a pace unlike any regular job.

I vividly remember an assistant director swooping in and pointing out an error, that fell into my role and should have been pointed out by me as continuity. He was so proud of his keen eye, that he took it upon himself to become my second set of eyes for the duration of the filming, assuming that he was better at both his own job and mine. 

It was this dance of power that always rubbed me the wrong way and eventually led to me leaving the on-set role for a more behind-the-scenes position of writer and editor. On-set life was not only too demanding, but required a thick skin I simply didn't have. 

I'm not saying I know the root cause of this terrible accident, nor do I know how the courts will lay blame. I simply want to point out that we should not discount the power balance that exists on film sets - pitting the experienced members against the less-experienced members, and essentially taking away their power. If it is true that crew members were participating in target practice (at the moment only a rumour), this would confirm my suspicions that a more senior crew member saw an opportunity to take advantage of a situation where a 24 year old girl was in charge of a fun department - and strip her of her authority - by making a game of it. 

I may be wrong. 
This may not be how it played out at all. 
But maybe it played a role.

To me, it's reminiscent of the story of a man breaking into the Calgary Zoo 10 years ago and getting his arm eaten by a Tiger. The bigger story, was that his girlfriend was a security guard at the zoo. She had no idea he was going to break-in, and was cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter. But the entire charade stemmed from his innate disrespect for her authority.