Cinema and the Second Sex: Women's Filmmaking in France in the 1980s and 1990s / Edition 1

by Carrie Tarr, Brigitte Rollet

Overview

Women's film-making in France is a source of both delight and despair. On the one hand, the numbers are impressive--during the period in question, over 250 feature-length films were made by over 100 women directors in France. On the other hand, despite the heritage of French feminism, French women directors characteristically disclaim their gender as a sigificant factor in their filmaking.This incisive study provides an informative, critical guide to this major body of work, exploring the boundaries between personal films (intimate psychological dramas relating to key stages in life) and genre films (which demonstrate women's ability to appropriate and rework popular genres). It analyzes the effects of "postfeminism," women's desire to enter the mainstream, and the recent impact of a new generation of filmakers. It thus enables readers for the first time to take stock of the wealth and diversity of women's contribution to French cinema during the 1980s and 1990s.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826447425
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/01/2001
Series:	Women Make Cinema
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Carrie Tarr, Senior Research Fellow at Thames Valley University, UK with Brigitte Rollet, Lecturer in French Cinema and Literature at Portsmouth University, UK Carrie Tarr, Senior Research Fellow at Thames Valley University, UK with Brigitte Rollet, Lecturer in French Cinema and Literature at Portsmouth University, UK

Table of Contents

Part One: Personal Films1. Growing up2. The Age of Possibilities3. Couples4. Families5. Work, Art and CitizenshipPart Two: Genre Films6. Comedies7. Crime Dramas8. Road Movies9. Historical FilmsConclusionFilmography: Films Directed by Women, 1980-2000BibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"The book is a key volume in French Cinema studies; the Introduction in particular is quite brilliant, a richly researched and crisp contextualization of the history and the theorization of women's filmmaking...large number of plates...an excellent and comprehensive filmography...This volume will be an important reference work for those working in French cinema studies for years to come."
Film Studies, 2002

From the Publisher

French women filmmakers have not typically drawn on the feminist legacy of de Beauvoir's , according to Tarr (Kingston U., UK) and Rollett (U. of London-Institut Britannique, Paris). They provide a postfeminist critique organized by theme of about 250 personal films and genre films made by some 100 directors. Includes b&w photos and filmographies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews