Feminist Art to Feminist Film
I entered this class being exposed mainly to feminist visual artists and this course allowed me to branch out my knowledge to more film artists. The way that filmmakers and visual artists portray their feminist points of view is very similar; it’s merely that the form is different. Therefore, in the same way that not all art by women is feminist, not all films made by women are necessarily feminist. Even if the main character is a woman it does not instantly make the film feminist. Films that are actually feminist films should address the issues of feminism in both form and content, looking at or trying to change the traditional roles of women, the way women are viewed in the media, create a safer and equal environment for females in relationship to males, etc. Feminist films should offer a critique of the patriarchal and heteronormative culture in which we live.
Some filmmakers may not self-identify as feminist but can create a film that addresses the issues of feminism in a way that causes the film to be absorbed into the “f” word heading. The content of these films supercedes the filmmaker’s personal context. Some people lack an understanding of the positions of feminists because of the plurality of the subject and therefore have a stigma against labeling themselves or their films in such a manner. I know many people who have a negative view of people like me who self-identify as feminist and that negativity on their part is often due to ignorance. It is understandable that the media makers would not want their films under a perceived negative category, but those films can still touch the feminists and their cause.
This course has been very helpful in expanding my knowledge of feminist media makers and will be very beneficial in my continuation with feminist art.
Though there are quite a few feminist films in existence these are a few that I enjoy that were not viewed during the semester:
North Country
Erin Brockovich
The Color Purple
The Handmaid’s Tale (book turned movie)
And other works by Margaret Atwood
Without repeating our list of feminist filmmakers from previous blogs, here are a couple other feminist media makers that I enjoy:
Eve Ensler
The Guerrilla Girls