Page "Feminist film theory" Paragraph 1

The development of feminist film theory was influenced by second wave feminism and the development of women's studies within the academy.

Feminist scholars began taking cues from the new theories arising from these movements to analyzing film.

Initial attempts in the United States in the early 1970s were generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of women characters in particular film narratives or genres and of stereotypes as a reflection of a society's view of women.

Works such as Marjorie Rosen ’ s Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies, and the American Dream ( 1973 ) and Molly Haskell ’ s From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in Movies ( 1974 ) analyze how the women portrayed in film related to the broader historical context, the stereotypes depicted, the extent to which the women were shown as active or passive, and the amount of screen time given to women.