Feminist Hollywood: from Born in flames to Point break

Abstract

This work examines the differences between commercial cinema and counter cinema by focusing on the work of contemporary women directors who have entered Hollywood from the realm of independent filmmaking. The author compares their early work with their more mainstream endeavors as she explores the possibilities and limits of feminist expression within the male-dominated industry of commercial filmmaking. Lane analyzes critical theories of genre, authorship, and gender representations in order to understand the political contribution of women to the production of popular culture. Some of the films analyzed are Working Girls, Near Dark, Rambling Rose, Guncrazy, and Bad Girls. She advocates an approach to film analysis that looks for multiple ideologies and contradictory modes of representation within a single work. It incorporates interviews with directors such as Susan Seidelman, Martha Coolidge, Kathryn Bigelow, Lizzie Borden, Darnell Martin and Tamra Davis in an attempt to bridge the gap that often excludes women's professional experiences and makes false assumptions about how the industry operates. Lane balances these first-hand accounts with cultural theory and an understanding of the current filmmaking industry, in which the line between commerical and independent filmmaking has become blurred. It should be of interest to film scholars and amateur movie buffs alike.