Issues in Feminist Film Criticism

by Patricia B. Erens (Editor)

"This anthology makes it abundantly clear that feminist film criticism is flourishing and has developed dramatically since its inception in the early 1970s." ―Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

Erens brings together a wide variety of writings and methodologies by U.S. and British feminist film scholars. The twenty-seven essays represent some of the most influential work on Hollywood film, women's cinema, and documentary filmmaking to appear during the past decade and beyond.

Contributors include Lucie Arbuthnot, Linda Artel, Pam Cook, Teresa de Lauretis, Mary Ann Doane, Elizabeth Ellsworth, Lucy Fischer, Jane Gaines, Mary C. Gentile, Bette Gordon, Florence Jacobowitz, Claire Johnston, E. Ann Kaplan, Annette Kuhn, Julia Lesage, Judith Mayne, Sonya Michel, Tania Modleski, Laura Mulvey, B. Ruby Rich, Gail Seneca, Kaja Silverman, Lori Spring, Jackie Stacey, Maureen Turim, Diane Waldman, Susan Wengraf, Linda Williams, and Robin Wood.

Genres: Film, Feminism, Nonfiction, Theory

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Patricia Brett Erens is a professor of film studies. Her publications include The Jew in American Cinema. She is also the editor of Sexual Stratagems: The World of Women in Film and Issues in Feminist Film Criticism.

Reviews

[Adam]

that's right ladies

[the lost lisbon sister · Rating 5 out of 5]

soundtracked by this is veruca salt, this is letters to cleo, this is the donnas, this is the linda lindas, this is L7, this is kittie and this is shonen knife

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good variety of articles--some more abstract and technical, some relatively straightforward. There is some discussion of the representation of women in films, and of women in the film industry (i.e. directors); however, the main emphasis of the articles here appears to be on women in the film audience, and their subjective experience of pleasure as they watch films.

One thing that makes this book particularly useful is its inclusion of Laura Mulvey's essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Many of the articles in the text make reference to Mulvey's essay, so it is great to have the essay included in this book for easy reference.

It should be pointed out that many of the essays take a psychoanalytic approach, so one's enjoyment of the book may depend on how one feels about Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan (however, there is one article that employs the ideas of Julia Kristeva, and another one or two that make reference to Helene Cixous, so there's at least some psychoanalytic thought that is more feminist in its approach represented in the text).

In many instances, the authors of the different articles made references to films I had not heard of before. Often, different authors would be talking about the same films, so that by the time I had finished the book, I felt I knew something about the films that had been described. Now I'm very interested in seeing these films for myself. That fact, on its own, suggests that overall the book left me with a very positive impression.

Acquired Sept 17, 2008
Gift from Jenn

[David Blanar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful (and memorable) signpost along the path of film criticism spanning the past 50 years. Laura Mulvey's Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema is a must-read for any cinephile, particularly those interested in the presentation of women on screen.

I also found Mary Ann Doane's Film and the Masquerade and Kaja Silverman's piercing Dis-embodying the Female Voice incredibly astute and relevant.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a must-read!