Introduction
This essay examines the 2014 short film Reflections, directed by Erik Torres and Jodie Howard, as an instance of feminist counter-cinema. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks established by Claire Johnston and Sharon Smith, it argues that the film disrupts conventional representations of women through its emphasis on queer female subjectivity, formal ambiguity, and rejection of narrative closure. By foregrounding a multiplicity of female identities and experiences, Reflections aligns with Johnston’s call for a cinema that deconstructs the ideological image of woman. The analysis is structured around four key areas: the portrayal of diverse female identities, the reflection motif as a commentary on representation, the subversion of patriarchal narrative conventions, and the deployment of counter-cinematic techniques. These elements collectively position the film within broader discussions of feminist filmmaking.
Multiplicity of Female Identities and Queer Subjectivity
The film centres on Esther, a pansexual woman, and her asexual friend Diana, whom Esther jokingly introduces as her partner during a tense family dinner. This premise immediately unsettles the heteronormative expectations that underpin much of classical cinema. Sharon Smith (1972) observed that mainstream film typically restricts female characters to roles that “appeal to men either as the self-sacrificing housewife or the sex object.” Reflections rejects both categories. Neither Esther nor Diana exists primarily for male validation or conforms to conventional scripts of romance and femininity. Their relationship is presented as complex and non-romantic, thereby expanding the range of possible female subjectivities on screen.
The dinner sequence, which transitions from the dining room to the kitchen, visually underscores the generational conflict between Esther and her mother. The mother’s visible discomfort with her daughter’s sexuality illustrates how patriarchal norms are often internalised and reproduced by women themselves. As Johnston (1973, p. 2) notes, “women are not only the victims of ideology but also its bearers.” The film uses this dynamic to reveal the subtle mechanisms through which familial expectations reinforce limiting gender roles, without offering easy reconciliation.
The Reflection Motif as Commentary on Representation
Central to the film is the recurring motif of reflections, or rather their absence. Only the men Esther has dated are depicted as possessing reflections; Esther herself has lost hers. This asymmetry functions as a critique of the representational imbalance Smith (1972) identified in classical cinema, wherein male characters receive narrative depth while female figures are reduced to symbolic functions. The film deliberately withholds an explicit explanation for the phenomenon, creating what may be termed a form of “negative capability.” Viewers are invited to interpret the missing reflection as a metaphor for women’s struggle to locate themselves within patriarchal culture and its cinematic apparatus.
Johnston’s insistence that feminist filmmaking must “challenge the myth of woman as spectacle” resonates strongly here (1973, p. 4). Esther’s lack of reflection signals a refusal to participate in the patriarchal visual economy that objectifies women. Instead, the narrative privileges her interiority, frustrations and agency, allowing her subjectivity to emerge outside the constraints of traditional spectacle.
Subversion of Patriarchal Narrative Conventions
The film’s conclusion further demonstrates its alignment with feminist counter-cinema. Rather than reconciling with her mother or achieving a conventional romantic resolution, Esther retreats to her room, vents to Diana, and ultimately decides to leave home. Her self-deprecating remark that she “makes a terrible girlfriend” resists the expectation that female characters must resolve conflict through emotional labour or self-sacrifice. This refusal of a “good ending” directly challenges what Johnston (1973) described as the ideological dependence of Hollywood on closure. By leaving Esther’s future open and self-determined, Reflections subverts the patriarchal values of family unity, heterosexual romance and female subservience.
Counter-Cinema Techniques and Female Perspective
Formally, the film adopts several strategies associated with counter-cinema. Ambiguity surrounding the reflection motif resists classical transparency and encourages critical spectatorship. Spatial shifts from dining room to kitchen to bedroom trace Esther’s emotional trajectory rather than a strictly linear plot. Dialogue-heavy scenes foreground women’s voices and interpersonal conflicts, sidelining male-centred action. These choices support Johnston’s argument that feminist cinema should reveal “the ideological processes by which the image of woman is constructed” (1973, p. 5). By literalising Esther’s struggle with representation, the film exposes the mechanisms through which patriarchal culture shapes identity.
Conclusion
Through its queer-centred narrative, its interrogation of representational imbalance, and its deliberate refusal of patriarchal closure, Reflections exemplifies the aims of feminist counter-cinema. The film challenges the limited roles historically available to women in mainstream cinema, exposes the internalisation of misogynistic norms across generations, and creates space for female subjectivity that remains complex and unresolved. While the film’s short format necessarily limits the depth of its political intervention, it nonetheless demonstrates how modest narrative and formal innovations can productively engage with longstanding feminist concerns in film theory.
References
- Johnston, C. (1973) Women’s Cinema as Counter-Cinema. In: Notes on Women’s Cinema. London: Society for Education in Film and Television.
- Smith, S. (1972) The Image of Women in the Cinema. Women and Film, 1(1), pp. 13-21.
