Download. READ PAPER. The character of … By shifting the focus of social theory away from the perspectives and experiences of men, feminist theorists have created social theories that are more inclusive and creative than those that assume the social actor to always be a man. Although largely originating in the West, feminism is manifested worldwide and is represented by various institutions committed to activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests. While Laura Mulvey's paper has a particular place in the feminist film theory, it is important to note that her ideas regarding ways of watching the cinema (from the voyeuristic element to the feelings of identification) are important to some feminist film theorists in terms of defining spectatorship from the psychoanalytical viewpoint. Download PDF. Feminist Film Theory also looks at how domestic violence is portrayed on screen or how it is left out, but generally, how women’s issues such as rape and domestic violence are conveyed through film. It is now possible to make some tentative assessments of feminist film criticism, find some perspective on the past and discuss directions for the future. The principal difference, of course, is a focus on education. Updated February 25, 2020 Feminist theory is a major branch within sociology that shifts its assumptions, analytic lens, and topical focus away from the … "New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. [24], The early work of Marjorie Rosen and Molly Haskell on the representation of women in film was part of a movement to depict women more realistically, both in documentaries and narrative cinema. So check out these groundbreaking feminist films —they’re movies that every feminist should see at least once in their lives. These verses come from the book of 1 Corinthians and they deal specifically with love. [6], Other key influences come from Metz's essay The Imaginary Signifier, "Identification, Mirror," where he argues that viewing film is only possible through scopophilia (pleasure from looking, related to voyeurism), which is best exemplified in silent film. It’s the third person in the room- the audience who is capable and meant to identify with the male character, and in viewing the female is able to have her for their own viewing pleasure. Feminist film theory has too long equated representation with alienation and error, causing it to become embroiled unnecessarily in questions of epistemology. An experience which, as women, I think most of us can relate. Laura Murvey spoke of this cultural impact and real life consequences to the gender gap for women in reference to film in relation to being taken seriously and treated as equal when attempting to enter into the workforce, but there are countless other ways that film and media influence and reproduce negative effects of sexism that we can point to today. Rich, B. Ruby. The work cited … It means that women have acting speaking parts that are of influence to the plot development, not just serving as a catalyst to progress the “manlieness” and control of the male protagonist with lines in the form of questions directed at the male character. [29] [30] In "The Master's Dollhouse: Rear Window," Tania Modleski argues that Hitchcock's film, Rear Window, is an example of the power of male gazer and the position of the female as a prisoner of the "master's dollhouse".[31]. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analyzed and their theoretical underpinnings. Ettinger's notions articulate the links between aesthetics, ethics and trauma. First Nations Film maker, Colleen Cardinal- Documenting Cultural Genocide, Rashida Jones takes us into the world of Miami’s amateur porn industry as the producer of the new documentary, “Hot Girls Wanted.”, Woman to Watch: Lindsay Mackay, writer and director of feature film, Wet Bum, Sexual harassment of television personalities is becoming less of a laughing matter: Hydro One Fires Employee over Sexual Harassment & Canadian Television News Anchor takes down “FHRITP”. [20][21] Jane Gaines's Women's Film Pioneer Project (WFPP), a database of women who worked in the silent-era film industry, has been cited as a major achievement in recognizing pioneering women in the field of silent and non-silent film by scholars such as Rachel Schaff. Click here to watch. In so-called first-wave feminism, the "Woman's Bible," written in the late 19th century by Elizabeth Cady Stanton , is an example of a work of criticism firmly in this school, looking beyond the more obvious male-centered outlook and interpretation. The gaze and the female spectator- “Male Gaze”– the “male gaze” which makes up the majority of classical Hollywood filmmaking, argues that women in cinema are typically depicted in passive roles that provide visual pleasure (scopophilia). Other theorists who wrote about feminist film theory and race include bell hooks and Michele Wallace. ‘Woman and film’ and ‘woman in film’ have only existed as critical concepts for roughly a decade. Feminist theory is the extension of feminism (the quest for eq… Feminist film theory is theoretical film criticism derived fro… an imaginary object - the 'image of the penis' [1] Initially in the United States in the early 1970s feminist film theory was generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of female characters in film narratives or genres. An amazing feminist author who does this kind of work today, particularly as it pertains to women of colour is non other than bell hooks. A first phase of thought has, it seems, been achieved. With the advancements in film throughout the years feminist film theory has developed and changed to analyse the current ways of film and also go back to analyse films past. As these areas have grown the framework created in feminist film theory have been adapted to fit into analysing other forms of media.[22]. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analysed and their theoretical underpinnings. Feminist film is largely associated with critical theory, taking an avant-garde approach to filmmaking. Whether or not this television show has chosen to condemn the sexual harassment of women in that time, or depict it as some kind of a lament to the glory days could be a feminist film theorists argument on it’s own and for another time. There were two waves of feminism. The film journal Jump Cut published a special issue about titled "Lesbians and Film" in 1981 which examined the lack of lesbian identities in film. [23], Mulvey's argument is likely influenced by the time period in which she was writing. Eventually, these ideas gained hold within the American scholarly community in the 1980s. Sue Thornham Feminist Film Theory A Reader Book Fi . Women have something valuable to contribute to every aspect of the world. Mulvey identifies three "looks" or perspectives that occur in film which, she argues, serve to sexually objectify women. Shopping. Beyond the Gaze: Recent Approaches to Film Feminisms. [26] Initially, the attempt to show "real" women was praised, eventually critics such as Eileen McGarry claimed that the "real" women being shown on screen were still just contrived depictions. Feminist Film Theory also might look at how women of a particular colour or body type are cast and in which kinds of roles? The third "look" joins the first two looks together: it is the male audience member's perspective of the male character in the film. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Famous feminist film theorist, Laura Murvey argued for the eradication of female sexual objectivity- that in order for women to be equally represented in the workplace, women must be portrayed as men are: lacking sexual objectification. Budd Boetticher summarizes the view: Laura Mulvey expands on this conception to argue that in cinema, women are typically depicted in a passive role that provides visual pleasure through scopophilia,[23]:30 and identification with the on-screen male actor. An example of this juxtaposition lies in the kind of passive roles assigned to women that are meant to expose or solidify the opposite “masculinity” which the male character or heteronormative character portrays. Increased focus has been given to, "disparate feminisms, nationalisms, and media in various locations and across class, racial, and ethnic groups throughout the world". What Is Feminist Theory? Carol Clover, in her popular and influential book, Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (Princeton University Press, 1992), argues that young male viewers of the Horror Genre (young males being the primary demographic) are quite prepared to identify with the female-in-jeopardy, a key component of the horror narrative, and to identify on an unexpectedly profound level. Feminist theory, or feminism, is support of equality for women and men. Feminist film theory has developed into a very diverse field of criticism within film studies since its inception in the 1960s and '70s. Thelma And Louise. More recently, scholars have expanded their work to include analysis of television and digital media. Feminism & Theory Feminist theory is founded on three main principles (Ropers-Huilman, 2002). The growing female presence in the film industry was seen as a positive step toward realizing this goal, by drawing attention to feminist issues and putting forth an alternative, true-to-life view of women. Copy link. A key idea of feminist film theory, the concept of the male gaze was introduced by scholar and filmmaker Laura Mulvey in her now famous 1975 essay, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Feminist Film Theory Feminist film theory has emerged in the past 20 years to become a large and flourishing field. Mulvey also asserts that the dominance men embody is only so because women exist, as without a woman for comparison, a man and his supremacy as the controller of visual pleasure are insignificant. Key Concepts: Feminist film theory, such as Marjorie Rosen's Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies, and the American Dream (1973) and Molly Haskell’s From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in Movies (1974) analyze the ways in which women are portrayed in film, and how this relates to a broader historical context. LESSONS FROM RENOWNED AFRICAN- AMERICAN FEMALE- FILMMAKER- DIRECTOR, AVA DUVERNAY, T.V. It is an alternative theory, which attempts to look at women's oppressed positions in today's society. This paper. For Mulvey, it is the presence of the female that defines the patriarchal order of society as well as the male psychology of thought. Opportunity to try your hand at Comedy Shorts because WOMEN ARE FUNNY. Feminist theory, or feminism, is support of equality for women and men. A man’s dominance is cemented through the child like and passive roles created for women, for which men can derive satisfaction and superiority next to their “softer” female counterparts. Prior to Mulvey, film theorists such as Jean-Louis Baudry and Christian Metz used psychoanalytic ideas in their theoretical accounts of cinema. She argues that in order for women to be equally represented in the workplace, women must be portrayed as men are: as lacking sexual objectification. A short summary of this paper. Sexual objectification can be seen by analyzing the passive roles given to women throughout the narrative of the story. Although the first two movements emphasized a political agenda for feminist film critics, university film studies stressed a theoretical Let’s be clear, getting rid of sexual objectivity does not mean censorship around sexuality, it means that the power dynamics are equal. “Introduction: Recent Approaches to Film Feminisms.”, Johnston, Claire. Download Full PDF Package. According to The Routledge Encyclopedia of Film Theory, Film Theory is “…a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of cinema studies that question the essentialism of cinema and provides conceptual frameworks for understanding film's relationship to reality, the other arts, individual viewers, and society at large." VDM Verlag Dr. Müller: 2009, 128 p. (German), This page was last edited on 31 January 2021, at 02:41. I have chosen to look at Gone Girl in terms of reading it in the feminist theory, paying attention to the females both in and surrounding the book, including the production company for the film adaptation produced in 2014. It means seeing women as funny, intelligent and complex as the ones we know in real life. Women are there to be objects to be viewed, whose lines, though few, are often in the form of questions allowing the male to maintain the active role in the film, the character that is identified with. [28], Coming from a black feminist perspective, American scholar, bell hooks, put forth the notion of the “oppositional gaze,” encouraging black women not to accept stereotypical representations in film, but rather actively critique them. "New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. Share. series “Transparent” is pushing boundaries in Trans Women’s visibility, Top Women in Canada’s Film Industry say, “WE NEED MORE WOMEN AT THE WRITING TABLE.”, A Call to Action. The test, created by comic artist Alison Bechdel in 1985, asks whether a film has at least two female characters and at least one scene in which they talk to … Download Full PDF Package. Smelik, Anneke. Mulvey's contribution, however, initiated the intersection of film theory, psychoanalysis and feminism. [23]:28 She asserts: "In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness,"[23]:28 and as a result contends that in film a woman is the "bearer of meaning, not maker of meaning. A persentation about the Feminist Theory Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. The second is the perspective of the spectator as they see the female character on screen. Its aim is to adequately represent female subjectivity and female desire on the silver screen. Rather than the rationallyself-interested individual presumed by liberal political theory or theself-contained and independent cogitopresumed by Cartesianepistemology, Freud puts forward a divided subject, unknow… [25], Claire Johnston put forth the idea that women's cinema can function as "counter cinema." She argues for a removal of the voyeurism encoded into film by creating distance between the male spectator and the female character. Clover further argues that the "Final Girl" in the psychosexual subgenre of exploitation horror invariably triumphs through her own resourcefulness, and is not by any means a passive, or inevitable, victim. In this context, computer-animated fantasy film Brave, regarded as one of the feminist films in animation cinema, was included in the scope of the study and was investigated in line with feminist film theory. Many Christian weddings tend to have five verses from the Bible incorporated into them in some way. The only way to do so, Mulvey argues, is by destroying the element of voyeurism and "the invisible guest". Voyeurism is the pleasure of looking and plays a huge part in the sexual objectification of women in film. [18], Recently, scholars have expanded their work to include analysis of television and digital media. Mulvey calls for an eradication of female sexual objectivity, aligning herself with second-wave feminism. It examines how women of colour are portrayed next to their white female counterparts as well. McHugh, Kathleen and Vivian Sobchack.