In the Company of Women

Contemporary Female Friendship Films

Author: Karen Hollinger
ISBN: 9780816631780

From Desperately Seeking Susan, Steel Magnolias, and Thelma & Louise to Desert Hearts, Girl Friends, and Passion Fish, mainstream cinema has seen a wave of films focusing on friendships between women. In tire Company of Women is the first critical work to investigate the recent resurgence of this variety of the "woman's film".Examining the female friendship film since the 1970s and setting it against older films of the 1930s and 1940s, such as Mildred Pierce and Stella Dallas, Karen Hollinger studies the character of the films themselves and how they speak to female viewers. She argues that while many of these films initially seem to affirm the power of female friendship and reject traditional images of women, most of them ultimately fall back on conventional feminine roles.Hollinger argues that the female friendship film, by attempting to assimilate into the mainstream, uses ideas from the women's movement, like female autonomy and sisterhood, that are particularly susceptible to comp

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Publish Date: 1998

Subjects: Nature / General, Performing Arts / Film & Video / General, Performing Arts / Film & Video / History & Criticism, Social Science / Women's Studies

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Women's Center (Location: Visual/Performing Arts)