For this week’s discussion on feminist theorists, I chose to focus on Jane M. Gaines. She is an award-winning author and currently a professor of film at Columbia University. While I have studied some of her work in the past, the article “Film History and the Two Presents of Film Theory” piqued my interest after the “Visual Historiographies” course from last semester.
The author begins by introducing new discoveries made in the Federation of International Film Archives and other special collections. In essence, there is proof of many female creatives working in the film industry during the Silent Era. Several women, in Hollywood and national film industries alike, have been documented working in production, direction, exhibition, and distribution. Some even started their own production companies. Gaines, then, questions the presence and disappearance of these women through time. She comments on the prevalent development of feminist film theory in the 1970s and the historians/authors’ choice to ignore this particular historical truth. If feminist theorists mostly examine the oppression of women but film historians celebrate women’s contribution to the industry throughout history, then there is a clear and perhaps problematic contradiction. The author also comments on the strange timeline of cinematic historical research, noting that it appeared in the 1970s but was put on pause until the 1990s. The major question posed is “was historical interest eclipsed, interrupted, or postponed?” (114). This delay in the development of feminist historiography affects the field of feminist film theory, almost solidifying it as the dominant model. For Gilles Deleuze, the reconstruction of history is futile, for there are “two presents” (115). Sometimes, the rewriting of history is unnecessary unless it has an effective purpose. Why bring up traumas of the past if it does not help any cause of today?
In other words, it may be argued that this slight historical overlook is unproductive to consider since women have continued to be subjugated throughout film history, as is emphasized in film theory. However, it is very interesting to look at this alternative timeline and attempt to find the cause of this power change after the Silent Era. If women were once respected in the field, how and why did this drastic change come about? Examining the content and narrative structure of films made by women might also inform theories on the male and female gaze. Were women making films to satisfy a general public or were they making their voices heard? The study of past feminist film pioneers might then be useful in mapping out the beginning of the female gaze and also seeing how the male gaze prevailed.
Olga Petrova, founder of Petrova Pictures Company
Works Cited
Gaines, Jane M. “Film History and the Two Presents of Feminist Film Theory.” Cinema Journal, vol. 44, no. 1, 2004, pp. 113–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3661177. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.