The director who helped turn Madonna into a global superstar is speaking out, and she has some thoughts on the current state of girl power. Susan Seidelman, the visionary behind the classic “Desperately Seeking Susan,” is sparking a massive conversation online after claiming that music—not film—is where women are truly thriving today.
While picking up the Indie Star Award at the Tauron American Film Festival, Seidelman noted that the “explosion of strong, powerful women” in the music industry over the last five years has been a game-changer. But while the world is currently obsessed with the Eras Tour, Seidelman insists the movement goes far beyond one person.
“It’s not just Taylor Swift,” she told the crowd, causing a stir on social media among music fans. “There seem to be so many singer-songwriters who have the power and the confidence to tell very female, very personal stories through their music, showing their strengths and flaws.”
The Power of Being “Messy”
Seidelman, who famously directed the pilot of “Sex and the City,” has always had a knack for capturing the “downtown funk” of real women. She praised rising artists like Lola Young for embracing a certain level of vulnerability and chaos in their work.
“I like messiness,” the director admitted. “When a character is totally put together, they’re not as interesting.” It’s a sentiment that resonates deeply with Gen Z fans on TikTok, who have turned “messy” and authentic storytelling into a viral aesthetic.
Beyond the art, Seidelman pointed out that these women are also hitting the “bosses at the record companies” where it counts: the bank. By showing there is a massive audience for female-led stories that make money, they are shifting the power dynamic in a way that Seidelman fought to do in the s.
Why Hollywood is Still a “Boys’ Club”
While music is having a moment, Seidelman wasn’t as optimistic about the current state of independent cinema. Looking back at her career, she recalled the hurdles she faced as a female director, including being sent to “movie jail” after her films “Making Mr. Right” and “She-Devil” were labeled as “men-hating” by some critics.
“Hollywood has always been a boys’ club,” she admitted. “Projects were greenlit based on who you saw at lunch or on the golf course. Women weren’t part of those clubs… so they didn’t have as much latitude.”
She noted that while men are also sent to “movie jail” for flops, women are often given much less room to fail. “Well, we gave her a shot. It didn’t work. It’s that kind of excuse,” she said of the industry’s mindset during her rise.
From Madonna to Carrie Bradshaw
The director’s influence is everywhere, even if fans don’t realize it. Before “Sex and the City” became a high-fashion phenomenon, Seidelman’s pilot episode featured a grittier, more “raw” version of New York City. She even had Carrie Bradshaw talking directly to the camera—an experimental move that was famously scrapped after she left the show.
“At the beginning, it was almost electric,” she recalled of the series. “The women were still kind of raw and aspirational… Then they became very uptown.”
Passing the Baton
As Seidelman celebrates the th anniversary of her most famous work, she is focused on the next generation of creators. Having taught at NYU for over a decade, she’s seen the shift firsthand.
“When I started… most of my class were men. By the time I finished, half of the class were women,” she shared. Her advice to those young directors? Find a point of view that makes you different.
While the “boys’ club” might still exist, Seidelman is hopeful that the same fire seen in today’s music icons will eventually take over the big screen for good.
“They had the drive and were passionate about the stories they wanted to tell,” she said of her former students. “They really wanted to be good.”
