Introduction
Feminist film theory provides a critical lens through which to examine the portrayal of gender in popular cinema, revealing underlying assumptions and societal norms that shape and are perpetuated by film narratives. Emerging in the 1970s, this theoretical framework scrutinises how cinema, as a cultural artefact, often reinforces patriarchal ideologies through gendered representations, narrative structures, and visual language. By applying feminist film theory, we can uncover the subtle and explicit ways in which gender roles are constructed, challenged, or upheld in cinematic works. This essay focuses on two films—Lee (2023), a biographical drama about war photographer Lee Miller, and Hidden Figures (2016), a historical drama about African-American women mathematicians at NASA—to illustrate how feminist film theory enhances our understanding of gender assumptions in popular cinema. Through an analysis of representation, the male gaze, and intersectionality, this essay will explore how these films both reflect and resist traditional gender norms, offering insights into the broader dynamics of gender in film culture.
Feminist Film Theory: A Framework for Gender Analysis
Feminist film theory, pioneered by scholars like Laura Mulvey, critiques the ways in which cinema often positions women as passive objects of male desire, perpetuating a patriarchal worldview. Mulvey’s seminal work on the ‘male gaze’ argues that mainstream cinema constructs visual pleasure through a gendered perspective, where women are frequently depicted as spectacles for male viewers (Mulvey, 1975). This theory is particularly useful for dissecting how popular cinema embodies gender assumptions by prioritising male perspectives and marginalising female agency. Beyond the male gaze, feminist film theory also examines issues such as representation, narrative roles, and the intersection of gender with race and class, offering a multi-dimensional approach to understanding cinematic portrayals. In the context of Lee and Hidden Figures, this framework helps to unpack whether these films challenge or replicate traditional gender assumptions, providing a deeper insight into their cultural significance.
Representation and Female Agency in Lee and Hidden Figures
One key way feminist film theory enhances our understanding of gender assumptions in popular cinema is through the analysis of representation and female agency. In Lee, directed by Ellen Kuras, the protagonist Lee Miller is portrayed as a fiercely independent woman who defies conventional gender roles by working as a war photographer during World War II. Her character subverts traditional expectations of femininity, often associated with domesticity and passivity in mid-20th-century cinema, by engaging in a male-dominated profession and documenting the horrors of war firsthand (Kuras, 2023). This representation challenges the gender assumption that women are unsuited for roles requiring physical and emotional resilience, offering a counter-narrative to the stereotypical damsel or supportive sidekick often seen in popular cinema.
Similarly, Hidden Figures, directed by Theodore Melfi, centres on the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who played pivotal roles in NASA’s space programme during the 1960s. The film foregrounds their intellectual prowess and persistence, directly confronting the gender assumption that women, particularly women of colour, lack the capability for scientific achievement (Melfi, 2016). By depicting these women as protagonists who drive the narrative, Hidden Figures disrupts the traditional cinematic tendency to marginalise female characters to secondary roles. However, while both films present strong female leads, a feminist analysis reveals limitations in their portrayals. For instance, in Lee, the focus on Miller’s personal struggles sometimes risks reducing her to a tragic figure, echoing older tropes of female suffering. This demonstrates how even progressive representations can inadvertently perpetuate certain gender stereotypes, a nuance that feminist film theory helps to uncover.
The Male Gaze and Visual Language
Another critical contribution of feminist film theory is its examination of the male gaze and how visual language in cinema reinforces gender assumptions. Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze highlights how cinematography often positions women as objects of visual pleasure, aligning the audience’s perspective with a male viewer (Mulvey, 1975). In Lee, while the film largely avoids sexualising its protagonist, there are moments where the camera lingers on Miller’s physical appearance, arguably framing her through a lens that prioritises aesthetic appeal over her professional achievements. This subtle adherence to the male gaze reveals how deeply ingrained gender assumptions can persist, even in films with feminist intentions.
Conversely, Hidden Figures largely resists the male gaze by focusing on the protagonists’ intellectual and professional contributions rather than their physicality. The visual language prioritises shots of their work environments—calculations on blackboards, meetings, and computers—over any sexualised or objectifying imagery (Melfi, 2016). This deliberate choice aligns with feminist principles of representing women as active subjects rather than passive objects. By contrasting the visual approaches of these films, feminist film theory exposes how cinematic techniques can either challenge or uphold patriarchal gender norms, deepening our understanding of how popular cinema shapes societal perceptions of gender.
Intersectionality and Broader Gender Assumptions
Feminist film theory also encourages an intersectional approach, examining how gender intersects with other axes of identity such as race and class, to reveal more complex gender assumptions in cinema. In Hidden Figures, the intersection of gender and race is central to the narrative, as the protagonists face compounded discrimination as Black women in a predominantly white, male-dominated field. The film illustrates how gender assumptions—such as the notion that women are less competent in technical roles—are exacerbated by racial stereotypes, a dynamic that feminist film theory helps to articulate (Hill Collins, 2000). For instance, scenes depicting Katherine Johnson’s exclusion from key meetings highlight not only sexism but also systemic racism, offering a critique of the multiple layers of oppression embedded in American culture during the 1960s.
In Lee, intersectionality is less pronounced, as the protagonist is a white woman whose primary struggle is gendered rather than racial. However, the film touches on class assumptions, as Miller’s ability to pursue her career is partly enabled by her socio-economic privilege, a factor that feminist film theory prompts us to consider when evaluating representations of female agency (Kuras, 2023). By applying an intersectional lens, feminist film theory enhances our understanding of how popular cinema can both challenge singular gender assumptions while sometimes overlooking broader systemic inequalities, thus presenting a more nuanced critique of the medium.
Conclusion
In conclusion, feminist film theory offers a valuable framework for dissecting the gender assumptions that inform and are embodied by popular cinema, as demonstrated through the analysis of Lee and Hidden Figures. By focusing on representation, the male gaze, and intersectionality, this theoretical approach reveals how these films both resist and, at times, reinforce traditional gender norms. Lee challenges expectations of femininity through its portrayal of a determined female protagonist, yet occasionally succumbs to visual tropes aligned with the male gaze. Meanwhile, Hidden Figures powerfully subverts gender and racial stereotypes by centring the agency of Black women, though it too is constrained by the broader conventions of mainstream cinema. Ultimately, feminist film theory not only deepens our appreciation of individual films but also illuminates the pervasive influence of patriarchal ideologies in shaping cinematic narratives. This critical perspective encourages viewers and filmmakers alike to question and reimagine the gender dynamics embedded in popular cinema, paving the way for more equitable representations in the future.
References
- Hill Collins, P. (2000) Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. Routledge.
- Kuras, E. (Director). (2023) Lee [Film]. Hopscotch Features.
- Melfi, T. (Director). (2016) Hidden Figures [Film]. 20th Century Fox.
- Mulvey, L. (1975) Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Screen, 16(3), pp. 6-18.
