HUMA 230 Feminism and Film

Feminist film critic Laura Mulvey argues in her oft-cited essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” that Hollywood film reflects the patriarchal social unconscious, and this can be exemplified in the way women are frequently represented in film as the object of the male gaze. Other scholars, such as Jane Gaines, have written about the way that people of color are often constructed as the object of the white gaze in mainstream cinema. Often times, women and people of color are rendered altogether invisible within the production of film and media, translating into problematic on-screen representations. This course introduces students to feminist film and media studies, engaging major questions that have shaped the vigorous fields of gender and sexuality studies, feminist film theory and feminist media history while considering the works of women filmmakers. Through a feminist lens, students will gain hands-on experience applying theory and history to film analysis.

Repeatable: N
HU DEI
Minimum Credits 3 Maximum Credits 3