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Cinematic Women, From Objecthood to Heroism
Essays on Female Gender Representation on Western Screens and in TV productions
Edited by Lisa V Mazey
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Book Presentation:
Women have fulfilled film roles that exhibit their historically subservient or sexualised positions in society, among others. Over the decades, the gender identity of women has fluctuated to include powerful women, emotionally strong women, lesbian women, and even neurologically atypical women. These identities reflect the change in societal norms and what is now acknowledged as more likely and more mainstream.
The evolution of society's views of women can be mapped through these roles; from 1950's America where women were depicted as the counterpart to male characters and their masculinity either as a threat or support to the patriarchal norms; to more recent times, where these norms have been questioned, challenged, deconstructed and reconstructed to include women in a more equitable balance. The fight for equal access, equal pay and equal standing still exists in all walks of life and different cultures requiring continued scrutiny of the norms that made that fight necessary.
The essays offer a unique vantage of the changing culture and conversations that allowed, encouraged, and praised an evolution of women's roles. They strive to represent the issues faced by women, from the early heyday of Hollywood through to films as recent as 2007; examining depictions of the masculine gaze, mental and physical oppression, the mother figure, as well as how these roles may develop in the future.
The book contains valuable material for film students at an undergraduate or post-graduate level, as well as scholars from a range of disciplines including cultural studies, media studies, film studies and women's and gender studies.
About the Author:
Lisa V. Mazey is a PhD candidate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, studying English Literature and Criticism and is serving as Temporary Faculty in the English Department. She has been a public-school teacher for 14 years, teaching English and working as a Reading Specialist. Her wider interests include Historical Fiction, films and gardening. She lives in Indiana, PA, with her husband and children.
Press Reviews:
The essays in "Cinematic Women" reveal the continued importance of feminist film theory as they examine a wide variety of films and tv programs. These scholars uncover the positive (the young protagonists of Debra Granik's "Winter's Bones" and "Leave No Trace"; Chanwook Park's "The Handmaiden"; key female characters in the Fox series "Sleepy Hollow" Charlize Theron's Furiosa in "Mad Max: Fury Road"), the negative (Captain Janeway in "Star Trek: Voyager" ), and the simply intriguing (Kim Novak's Madeline/Judy in Hitchcock's "Vertigo"; the negation of women's physicality in a trio of philosophical narratives; female drone warriors in "Good Kill" and "Eye in the Sky") that are present not only in the media but also in our world. Through enlightened examinations of women in media, both onscreen and behind it, such as these, we can recognize the triumphs and struggles of women of all ages and ethnicities throughout the world in the face of continued patriarchal and economic oppression. In addition, Claire Menard and Anne-Caroline Sieffert's "Introduction" provides a valuable and relevant history of women in film. Lisa Masey shows immense energy in gathering these works from a single academic conference, which illustrates the great diversity and vitality in current feminist scholarship. This collection will provide a strong basis for film studies classes for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Slater
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
This is an ambitious if uneven collection of essay. One of its strengths is not in fact reflected in its title, which is its willingness to look beyond Western cinema and discuss non-Western productions, specifically, Chanwook Park's The Handmaiden. Its range is impressive - from classic film, to contemporary TV, from arthouse to mainstream. Overall, the writing is ambitious and seeks to go beyond the canon of textbook approaches to this topic.
Dr. Ruth Barton
Head of School of Creative Arts
Samuel Beckett Centre
Trinity College Dublin
See the publisher website: Vernon Press
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