If you're a fan of modern-day feminism, you're probably familiar with the latest allegation of pay inequality raised by Robin Wright, the actress who plays Claire Underwood on the Netflix series house of cards.
According to Marquita Harris of Refinery29, the 51-year-old actress is upset because she isn't getting paid the same amount as her co-star, Kevin Spacey. In her Refinery29 article Harris, predictably, calls Wright's reasoning "spot on" and refers to the mythical Wage Gap as "scary".
The only thing that's scary is that feminists believe Robin Wright should earn the same paycheck as her older, much more accomplished co-star.
The fallacy of Hollywood pay equality
The problem with the Hollywood wage gap argument is that actors aren't factory workers, dishwashers or cooks. The equal pay argument is easy to make when it comes to unskilled workers performing unskilled jobs who work the same number of hours-- in that case, it's easy to make an apples to apples comparison-- but the argument loses its wheels when it comes to artistic and creative fields. Otherwise, a painting by a housewife from Omaha would be valued the same as a Rembrandt or a Van Gogh.
In certain fields, gender isn't even part of the equation. Take sports, for instance. Should an offensive lineman from the New England Patriots be paid the same salary as Tom Brady?
They're both of the same genders, performing the same type of work for the same amount of time, so why not? The answer, of course, is because a star quarterback is more integral to the Patriots' success than a left guard.
This explains why Robin Wright's allegations are patently absurd. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure more people are tuning into House of Cards because of Kevin Spacey than because of Robin Wright, and I'm also fairly certain that viewership would decline more if Spacey quit the show than if Wright did.
If Kevin Spacey is a more crucial ingredient for the show's success than Robin Wright, then he deserves to be paid more.
A side-by-side comparison proves Wright wrong
But let's suppose that's not the case. Since employee pay is often commensurate with experience, training, and credentials, let's see how Spacey and Wright stack up against each other.
First, let's look at training. Kevin Spacey graduated from Juilliard, the most iconic theatrical school in the world. Wright graduated from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California.
Now let's take a look at experience. Wright broke into acting in 1984, as an 18-year-old cast member of the TV drama Santa Barbara. By that time, Spacey had already been a Broadway mainstay for two years. True, Wright's television career started two years earlier, but how can you compare playing the bit part of Barbara Sue Anderson for two episodes on a short-lived series like The Yellow Rose with starring alongside Jack Lemmon and Peter Gallagher in a Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night?
And the pay equity argument gets even flimsier once you get into film work. Spacey, of course, won critical acclaim for films such as American Beauty, L.A. Confidential, Glengarry Glen Ross, K-PAX and Superman Returns, winning two Oscars and 53 other major awards along the way (according to his biography on IMDb).
Wright, on the other hand, most famously played Jenny in Forrest Gump, and even though she turned in a wonderful performance in The Princess Bride, the rest of her filmography is as sparse as H.R. McMaster's hair.
Sorry, Robin, but appearing uncredited in The Last Castle or playing the bit part of Jojo in The Crossing Guard isn't nearly as impressive. That's why you haven't won any Oscars (although she did manage to win the uber-prestigious Alliance of Women Film Journalists award for "Most Egregious Age Difference Between the Leading Man and the Love Interest" in 2007).
I wish to God I had the creativity to make that up, but that's an actual award that Robin Wright actually won.
Also, Spacey has starred in all 53 episodes of House of Cards, whereas Wright has appeared in 52.
So tell me again, all you feminists out there, just how you figure that Robin Wright is entitled to the same salary?
With all due respect, Robin, I've seen Kevin Spacey act-- and you, ma'am, are no Kevin Spacey.
