Janet McCabe, 2004
1904764037 £12.99
It's a thin volume. A mere 136-pages (tiny by film academic standards). It sits well in the hand. It has a hot pink cover. On the cover is a black and white picture of an anguished damsel from Days of Thrills and Laughter covering her teary face. But it's far from being a sappy read.
Writing The Woman Into Cinema does not crack its feminist thumb at men for being men. Nor is Janet McCabe's book about male effacement. Not at all. It's about women in film. It's a set of statements about the institution of cinema and cultural production; it's about representational categories and gender subjectivity; it's about identification and spectator practice, making Feminist film theory a fascinating (and under appreciated) field of cinematic study. Writing The Woman Into Cinema doesn't judge women in regard to men. It doesn't judge men in regards to women. It simply, and effectively, tells us about women in film and the changing perception of women in film since the 60s.
Writing The Woman Into Cinema begins by charting the feminist theories of the 60s and 70s up the present day. Janet McCabe races through the signposts of feminist theory in quick, easily digested semi-chapters. What could have easily turned out to be an overbearing, analytical book, is instead a captivating read, without trivialising its subject. Long enough to be thorough; short enough to be entertaining.
Writing The Woman Into Cinema deconstructs the different voices that have produced feminist theories since the 60s. Janet McCabe succeeds in clarifying the numerous debates and frameworks that have shaped feminist theories. She has managed to tame the beast into a slick 136-page book.
Though at times, feminist scholars tend to overanalyse the male's perception of women in film, the theories and observations in Writing The Woman Into Cinema are thought provoking.
Writing the Woman into Cinema is a well written and thoroughly researched piece of scholarly work. It will appeal both to the hard scholar of feminist theory and to the layperson wanting a guiding light through the mass of theories. Janet McCabe is that guiding light.
Hyan Thiboutot
Other recommended title from Janet McCabe : Reading "Sex and the City" (editor). ABOUT THE SHORT CUTS SERIES
THE SHORT CUTS SERIES is a comprehensive list of introductory texts covering the full spectrum of Film Studies, specifically designed for building an individually-styled library for all students and enthusiasts of cinema and popular culture.
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