CTCS 411: Women and Media
Spring
2001
Professor Tara McPherson
Lucas
108
Tuesday 6-10 pm
Office Hours: Tuesdays,
3:30-5:00 and by appointment
Lucas 404
740-3334
Course Description:
From Hitchcock's heroines to daytime television, the image of women is central to Hollywood film and TV, but women often seem to lack a voice in mainstream entertainment. By examining how women are actually figured in the cinema and on TV as well as how women themselves construct meaning from moving pictures (as both spectators and directors), this course will explore the representation and position of women within film and television. How are women made into objects of fascination within the media, and what is the effect of this upon narrative structure, genre, and audience identification? What desires, fears, or fantasies are activated by gender representations, and how are these managed by the conventions of the media? What kinds of pleasures are available to female viewers, and how have female directors (both in and out of Hollywood) addressed these issues? Do film and TV represent gender and sexuality differently? How do visual media construct images of gender and sexual difference, and how do these relate to representations of race, class and nationality? In our consideration of such topics, we'll turn to a number of film and TV texts and utilize a variety of critical perspectives (including textual and ideological analysis as well as feminist and psychoanalytic theory.) Thus, the goals of the class are two-fold, as we will examine the role of women in Hollywood (both in front of and behind the camera) and also the history and development of feminist film and TV theory. Finally, we'll also have an opportunity to speak to women working in media production during special class sessions.
The course is organized in three sections: The Hollywood Woman, Primetime and Beyond, and Re-visioning Women.
Office Hours:
Appointments with Dr. McPherson can be made in advance through the Critical Studies Office, room 405, LUCAS, (213) 740-3334.