The Piano and Lost in Translation
Find sequences which you think undermine/question/problematise the male gaze, or invoke a "female gaze", or in some other way exhibit traits of a "feminine" form of filmic storytelling. (cf soap opera stuff too)
Work out how you will use these clips to explore with women their responses - do they WANT a female cinema?
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Thursday, 17 April 2008
What to do now
1. Decide on the texts. I'd use The Piano, Lost in Translation, Briget Jones' Diary.
2. Having read about what might constitute a "female" cinema - ie one which rejects or reflects the male gaze, you need to analyse the films to test out whether they might qualify. (Briget Jones won't, because she is a ditzy blonde stereotype who is structured as "incomplete" because of her lack of a man, but this will be a useful point of comparison).
3. What do women want from a film? Do women want to refuse the male gaze?
2. Having read about what might constitute a "female" cinema - ie one which rejects or reflects the male gaze, you need to analyse the films to test out whether they might qualify. (Briget Jones won't, because she is a ditzy blonde stereotype who is structured as "incomplete" because of her lack of a man, but this will be a useful point of comparison).
3. What do women want from a film? Do women want to refuse the male gaze?
Towards a 'Female Cinema' by Matt Hall...
It is important to differentiate between gender (socially constructed sex identity), sex (what set of genitals you had at birth), and masculine/feminine traits (culturally decided traits that have been allied to gender). You can be male but have lots of feminine traits, just the same as females can have masculine traits.
Where did masculinity and femininity come from? (see Camille Paglia’s Sexual Personae for more detailed ideas)
Because these a cultural terms, the answer is: from anything humans have produced. Early religions based the gender of their gods (it is thought) on their own sexuality.
So:
· because men have the penis - genitals that are obvious, visible, exposed, and pointing forward - the Sun God was male (the sun gives light, in light we can see – other areas like science and maths are deemed as masculine because they seek to interpret and expose ‘the truth’.
· because women have vaginas – genitals that are hidden, out of sight, and internal – the Moon God was female (moon is round like the womb, night is dark so things are hidden, secretive, mysterious – imaginative/creative disciplines have been traditionally ‘feminine’ because they are on ‘the inside’, as are emotions. Plus, the effect of the moon on tides associates femininity with ‘fluidity’, smooth changeability)
From this ancient basis, our cultures have developed complex associations with masculinity and femininity. You can see this in art and literature: male writing tends to be narrative driven, linear (because this is how men experience sex: start, middle, end/climax) and full of visual description. Female writing tends to be character or stylistically driven, non-linear (because the female sexual experience can involve no climaxes or multiple spontaneous orgasms), with an emphasis on other senses, and especially on emotions.
How, then, can women’s cinema reflect feminine perspectives when cinema is based on seeing?
Traits of ‘feminine cinema’
· the male gaze, and the way it defines/objectifies women is acknowledged and criticised
e.g. Sally Potter’s Thriller – two characters (Mimi 1 and Mimi 2) interact. Mimi 1 is a character in traditional opera and we see her ‘conventionally’; Mimi 2 is the actress playing her and we see what her real life is like, in contrast to the ‘male’ view.
· The male gaze is returned – the woman on screen seems aware that she is being viewed (compromising the voyeuristic thrill) and deliberately ‘stares’ back, forcing viewer to take responsibility for the Gaze
e.g. Catherine Tremmel in Basic Instinct during the infamous interrogation scene.
· Narrative structure is non-linear and elliptical – there a gaps, hidden areas in the story that reflect femininity as ‘secret’ and ‘mysterious’. Time may appear to speed up or slow down (feminine time is seen as fluid and subjective, not rigidly measured in hours/days)
e.g.1: Jane Campion’s The Piano – the narrator and protagonist is mute throughout the film. Not only does her silence mock the dominating male characters, but the reasons for this silence are never explained.
e.g.2: Judy Dart’s Daughters of the Dust – events in an ordinary day on a Caribbean island are linked to historical events that the narrative ‘flashes back’ to. Can be very confusing, as this isn’t made obvious – the narrative flows easily from one timeframe to another.
· The camera’s view is self-consciously subjective and emotional – expressionistic film style is used: coloured tints, unusual angles/movement, fantastical/animated sequences, a focus on ‘magical’ happenings or on ‘trivial’ events suddenly made significant.
e.g.1 The Piano has animated sequences to explain the past, everything is filmed in sepia-tone to convey the ‘dirtiness’ the character feels
e.g.2 Run Lola Run shows 3 versions of the same story and has animated sequences to explian protagonist’s viewpoint.
e.g.3 The Double Life of Veronique has a seven minute sequence of the character breathing on her reflection in a mirror and watching, fascinated as the mist evaporates and she sees her ‘self’ emerging.
· ‘Emotional’/’sensual’ visual style – attempts are made to convey emotion through colour, lighting, music, close-ups. A different ‘view’ of reality is given.
e.g. Morvern Callar’s use of music that the character plays on her Walkman; Jane Campion’s Portrait of a Lady shows the character ‘escaping’ male dominated world in sensual indulgence (running her face along a curtain’s tassles – concentration on an ‘alternative’ sensual pleasure).
Where did masculinity and femininity come from? (see Camille Paglia’s Sexual Personae for more detailed ideas)
Because these a cultural terms, the answer is: from anything humans have produced. Early religions based the gender of their gods (it is thought) on their own sexuality.
So:
· because men have the penis - genitals that are obvious, visible, exposed, and pointing forward - the Sun God was male (the sun gives light, in light we can see – other areas like science and maths are deemed as masculine because they seek to interpret and expose ‘the truth’.
· because women have vaginas – genitals that are hidden, out of sight, and internal – the Moon God was female (moon is round like the womb, night is dark so things are hidden, secretive, mysterious – imaginative/creative disciplines have been traditionally ‘feminine’ because they are on ‘the inside’, as are emotions. Plus, the effect of the moon on tides associates femininity with ‘fluidity’, smooth changeability)
From this ancient basis, our cultures have developed complex associations with masculinity and femininity. You can see this in art and literature: male writing tends to be narrative driven, linear (because this is how men experience sex: start, middle, end/climax) and full of visual description. Female writing tends to be character or stylistically driven, non-linear (because the female sexual experience can involve no climaxes or multiple spontaneous orgasms), with an emphasis on other senses, and especially on emotions.
How, then, can women’s cinema reflect feminine perspectives when cinema is based on seeing?
Traits of ‘feminine cinema’
· the male gaze, and the way it defines/objectifies women is acknowledged and criticised
e.g. Sally Potter’s Thriller – two characters (Mimi 1 and Mimi 2) interact. Mimi 1 is a character in traditional opera and we see her ‘conventionally’; Mimi 2 is the actress playing her and we see what her real life is like, in contrast to the ‘male’ view.
· The male gaze is returned – the woman on screen seems aware that she is being viewed (compromising the voyeuristic thrill) and deliberately ‘stares’ back, forcing viewer to take responsibility for the Gaze
e.g. Catherine Tremmel in Basic Instinct during the infamous interrogation scene.
· Narrative structure is non-linear and elliptical – there a gaps, hidden areas in the story that reflect femininity as ‘secret’ and ‘mysterious’. Time may appear to speed up or slow down (feminine time is seen as fluid and subjective, not rigidly measured in hours/days)
e.g.1: Jane Campion’s The Piano – the narrator and protagonist is mute throughout the film. Not only does her silence mock the dominating male characters, but the reasons for this silence are never explained.
e.g.2: Judy Dart’s Daughters of the Dust – events in an ordinary day on a Caribbean island are linked to historical events that the narrative ‘flashes back’ to. Can be very confusing, as this isn’t made obvious – the narrative flows easily from one timeframe to another.
· The camera’s view is self-consciously subjective and emotional – expressionistic film style is used: coloured tints, unusual angles/movement, fantastical/animated sequences, a focus on ‘magical’ happenings or on ‘trivial’ events suddenly made significant.
e.g.1 The Piano has animated sequences to explain the past, everything is filmed in sepia-tone to convey the ‘dirtiness’ the character feels
e.g.2 Run Lola Run shows 3 versions of the same story and has animated sequences to explian protagonist’s viewpoint.
e.g.3 The Double Life of Veronique has a seven minute sequence of the character breathing on her reflection in a mirror and watching, fascinated as the mist evaporates and she sees her ‘self’ emerging.
· ‘Emotional’/’sensual’ visual style – attempts are made to convey emotion through colour, lighting, music, close-ups. A different ‘view’ of reality is given.
e.g. Morvern Callar’s use of music that the character plays on her Walkman; Jane Campion’s Portrait of a Lady shows the character ‘escaping’ male dominated world in sensual indulgence (running her face along a curtain’s tassles – concentration on an ‘alternative’ sensual pleasure).
Feminism and the women's movement...
Here are some more websites to use for background and history of female cinema:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/History/Sixties/Feminism/film.htm
http://www.let.uu.nl/womens_studies/anneke/filmtheory.html
http://www.wallflowerpress.co.uk/publications/film/feminist_auteurs.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/History/Sixties/Feminism/film.htm
http://www.let.uu.nl/womens_studies/anneke/filmtheory.html
http://www.wallflowerpress.co.uk/publications/film/feminist_auteurs.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory
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