Feminist Film Theory: A Reader

by Sue Thornham

Overview

Maps the major developments and debates in feminist film theory

For the past twenty-five years, cinema has been a vital terrain on which feminist debates about culture, representation, and identity have been fought. This anthology charts the history of those debates, bringing together the key, classic essays in feminist film theory. Feminist Film Theory maps the impact of major theoretical developments on this growing field-from structuralism and psychoanalysis in the 1970s, to post-colonial theory, queer theory, and postmodernism in the 1990s.

Covering a wide range of topics, including oppressive images, "woman" as fetishized object of desire, female spectatorship, and the cinematic pleasures of black women and lesbian women, Feminist Film Theory is an indispensable reference for scholars and students in the field.

Contributors include Judith Butler, Carol J. Clover, Barbara Creed, Michelle Citron, Mary Ann Doane, Teresa De Lauretis, Jane Gaines, Christine Gledhill, Molly Haskell, bell hooks, Claire Johnston, Annette Kuhn, Julia Lesage, Judith Mayne, Tania Modleski, Laura Mulvey, B. Ruby Rich, Kaja Silverman, Sharon Smith, Jackie Stacey, Janet Staiger, Anna Marie Taylor, Valerie Walkerdine, and Linda Williams.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814782446
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	04/01/1999
Pages:	361
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Sue Thornham is Professor and Head of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Sunderland.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Feminist Film Theory . . .collects many of the most important contributions to feminist debates about film on both sides of the Atlantic into a well-organized anthology . . ."

-Resources for Feminist Research

Editorial Reviews

"Feminist Film Theory . . .collects many of the most important contributions to feminist debates about film on both sides of the Atlantic into a well-organized anthology . . ."

Resources for Feminist Research

"Feminist Film Theory . . .collects many of the most important contributions to feminist debates about film on both sides of the Atlantic into a well-organized anthology . . ."

-Resources for Feminist Research

From the Publisher

Beginning with an essay by Sharon Smith from the first issue of the American journal in 1972, this anthology brings together key and classic essays that chart a history of feminist debates about culture, representation, and identity within the context of the film media. Edited by Thornham (media and cultural studies, U. of Sunderland), contributors include bell hooks, Molly Haskell, Claire Johnston & B. Ruby Rich; and topics range from oppressive images to the cinematic pleasures of black women. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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