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From reverence to rape...
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From reverence to rape: The treatment of women in the movies
For this edition of her classic study of the feminine role in film, Molly Haskell has written a new chapter addressing recent developments in the appearance and perception of women in the movies.
"An incisive, exceedingly thoughtful look at the distorted lens through which Hollywood has historically viewed women. It is a valuable contribution not just of film criticism but
Hardcover, 388 pages
Published
December 1st 1974
by Holt, Rinehart and Winston
(first published November 30th 1974)
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From Reverence to Rape is extremely readable, which something I'm always kind of relieved to find out about film and literary criticism. It is also very interesting. A big problem with the book is the fact that Haskell almost entirely neglects women of color, I think they get about a paragraph in the entire book? Which is crappy, and also very weird (actually, there are some comments on race that are really uncomfortable . . . I'm willing to overlook them for the moment because it's been many ye...more
Nov 27, 2008
Dan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Dan by:
Jenn F.
Shelves:
cultural-study
Two things stand out about this book. First is Haskell's detailed knowledge of film, which is reflected not only in her discussions of the narrative events represented in the films, but also in her her vivid descriptions of the images from some of the films. In addition, her study includes a great amount of detail about the history of film in America, including information about the star system, the biographies of different actresses, and discussions of the relations between some actresses and t...more
I just finished this in a marathon reading session that lasted all day. I have some very mixed feelings about it. Most of it was written right in the middle of the second wave of feminism, so Haskell can be both refreshing in her frank feminist leanings and frustrating in her insistence on psychoanalyzing directors based on their films.
Her history of film is tightly focused on white women, with the barest mention of black women (or any other minority women), something that is disturbing and eve...more
Her history of film is tightly focused on white women, with the barest mention of black women (or any other minority women), something that is disturbing and eve...more
First published back in 1973. Haskell puts forward the interesting thesis that Hollywood from its beginnings to the end of 1930s was very woman-centred and dominated by female stars and movies about women, but that from the 40s onwards to became increasing male-focused. This puts her at odds with much of feminist film theory which sees misogyny as a perennial feature of Hollywood, but I find Haskell’s arguments far more convincing.
Fascinating examination of women on and off-screen from silent film through the seventies. Film critic Molly Haskell really knows her subject and offers provocative and intellectual opinion. Includes a wide range of film, but there is a noticeable lack of women of color, perhaps attributable to their limited onscreen presence. Highly recommended for those interested in film and/or social commentary.
A little heavy handed with the feminist rant, but very informative about women in film. I learned a lot from this book about how to analyze women's roles in film over the last 80 years.
Intermittent insights if you know the movies well enough, but marred by lapses in logic and taste, and hand-waving about gender differences. Good on Doris Day and Douglas Sirk.
A classic, though not all the analyses hold up. Still worth reading, though.
One word review: dated.
Loved this book. It is very informative and has great information regarding how women are portrayed in film up through the '60s (it was written in the '70s). I was only going to skim it, but it sucked me right in. It shows where certain images and stereotypes come from and shows the lack of validity other stereotypes have.
It's kind of a famous text that gets referred to in feminist film crit, especially of Hollywood studio-era movies, but I am having a really hard time being interested in it at all.
The definitive book on the subject. Penetrating insight and wit and encyclopedic knowledge of film. Recommended for all film lovers.
The grandmother of books examining Hollywood from a feminist perspective. I really enjoyed Molly Haskell's hosting on TCM a few weeks ago.
This book goes deeper than the usual "madonna or whore" argument in presenting the ways in which women have been portrayed on film.
May 07, 2013
Paul Cornelius
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
film-criticism-history
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MOLLY HASKELL author and critic, grew up in Richmond, Va., went to Sweet Briar College, the University of London and the Sorbonne before settling in New York. She worked at the French Film Office in the Sixties, writing a newsletter about French films for the New York press and interpreting when directors came to America (this was the height of the Nouvelle Vague) for the opening of their films. S...more
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“Women couldn’t identify with her and didn’t support her.”
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