Normalizing Gender Equity
Story appeared in the 2018 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.
BY HAYLEY PICARD, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
ALUMNI JAMESON PARKER (1994-2000)
Jameson Parker smiles fondly as he reminisces about his time at Queen Margaret’s School. As an alumnus of the Junior School Program, he acknowledges that his formative years were shaped in a way unique to many of his friends and peers.
“At QMS, I was surrounded by strong, empowered, thoughtful women,” he shares. “My mother worked there, all my teachers were female, and the vast majority of my classmates were girls. When you spend your formative years surrounded by female classmates smarter than you, and women in positions of power educating you, there is no question that men and women are equal. Your reality is constructed in a way so that gender equality is completely normalized.”
Of course, Jameson’s perspective could be seen as slightly ironic when you consider that he works in the film industry, an industry that has been rocked in the last year by the #MeToo movement and the downfall of several Hollywood moguls—both of which have changed the face of an industry steeped in inequity. “It was about time,” Parker states strongly.
Jameson explains that the history of Hollywood, and the film industry as a whole, has deep roots in a structure that favours straight, white men and establishes their pay based on the concept of “foreign value.”
Jameson produced Summer of ‘84 which debuted at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
“The game is rigged in their favour,” shares Jameson. “Now, thanks to movies such as Lady Bird and the #MeToo movement, there is a real conversation. The industry is changing. Last year, I wanted to put together a specific movie, but hit barriers due to its dominantly female cast and script content. Now, people are scrambling for female driven scripts and projects.”
This evolution has created a new space where anything is possible. “This movement has validated the pre-existing work by companies such as Netflix and Amazon and has established a Wild West culture in film,” smiles Jameson. “Makers of independent cinema face challenges through the entire creative process. This recognition of—and move towards—establishing gender equality in Hollywood allows us independents to pursue our agendas in a more open way and makes for a more relevant film.”
Jameson’s path to the film industry was founded in a deep love for acting. After receiving his BFA from the University of British Columbia, he appeared in theatre productions across Canada such as Ride the Cyclone (National Tour/Atomic Vaudeville), Red (Belfry Theatre/MTC), and Death of a Salesman (Vancouver Playhouse). When he felt it was time for a change, he shifted his focus from stage to film and production. That was when he found Brightlight Pictures and stepped into his current role as Director of Development for the Burnaby-based film studio.
Jameson’s work with Brightlight places him in the enviable position as flagbearer for the young Canadian film studio. Though he calls Vancouver home, he travels frequently to New York, Los Angeles, and London to commission scripts, cast actors, and create content for the development side of the studio. He credits his work ethic and ability to handle such a busy work schedule to his time at QMS.
“The School taught me how to study, self-motivate, put a structure in place, and most importantly, that hard work pays off,” Jameson concludes. More importantly, QMS was an incubator for a culture of school and work where gender equity was accepted and celebrated. As the film industry takes a hard ook inward and rebalances itself, Jameson looks forward to bringing this foundation of giving equal access to resources and opportunities, regardless of gender, to the conversation.