About Female Nature, Character and Social Context in Contemporary

International Cinematography

"Women are always the focus of your films, women in pain. Is it because of your deep understanding
and sympathy for women and their problems or the opposite?"
"I find women deeply fascinating. Men are clear-cut; in them you can always find one idea or
ambition. They are stronger, but at the same time simpler. Women are more complicated, which is
always more interesting, better suited for film because they are more in touch with life and its
contradictory nature. Besides, women are more exciting, enjoyable and pleasant to watch on the
screen..."
Jean-Luc Godard

As a person increasingly involved in film studies from the theoretical and philosophical point of view, a
young professional in the film and creative industry, and as a person involved in my own gender's
consciousness, I found it interesting to understand the artistic, social and personal implications of female
nature and character in contemporary cinematography.
Film is a complex medium, it always offers two perspectives: social - depicting the societal and political
context of different periods, and personal - interpretation of the author imprinting his/her ideas onto the
social context, creating an intimate and timeless expression. I understand the presence of universal
concepts, subjects and themes in film, resulting from the need to reflect social events and human
nature, which accomplished film authors have long since recognized, and expressed. Yet, at the same
time, film is a testament of a particular time, social conditions and values.
My goal is to research and analyze authors' thoughts about contemporary female problems and
dilemmas and compare them to the developments of the female character in the 20 th century.
I found that the film Jeg er din by Norwegian-Pakistani director Iram Haq reflected my topic in many
ways. It made me think of the complexity of female issues today and their social and personal
manifestations.
Mina, the main character, is a second-generation Pakistani immigrant in Norway. Would-be actress in her
late twenties, divorced, sharing custody of her son with her ex-husband, she rejects the traditional role
of an obedient daughter, and remains alone, with no support in her search of integrity and happiness.
Not truly mature, and lonely, Mina goes astray seeking comfort by idealizing the man she meets.
Without a clear idea of what true love is, she leans on her sexuality which is her last ditch attempt to
affirm her own personality and worth. Because of her overriding need for a man, i.e. the wish to be
taken care of, she neglects her son, even blames him for her inability to have a romantic relationship.
Though Mina's case is made somewhat more complex by the element of search for cultural identity,
stemming the rift between the east and west the author manages to show the dual nature of woman

and her need to be both a good mother, and a good lover, to be independent, yet still supported and
loved. Iram Haq systematizes all the problems of post-emancipation by placing the protagonist into
extremely challenging situations, and exposing the multifaceted problem of modern women.

In order to embark on a more serious analysis of modern cinema, I find it necessary to first to
understand the development of female character through the history of film, and then start with a
comparative analysis.
My idea is to pinpoint the key changes in cinematographic themes, changes in their treatments,
concordant with the development of cinematographic expression. I would like to describe and analyze
with precision the conception of the changing female character, keeping pace with social change, female
emancipation and sexual revolution, including all contemporary varieties.
Therefore, I would also like to analyze Hollywood classics with their gender stereotypes, followed by a
research into the French New Wave and European cinema shattering the existing taboos, and starting to
treat women as personalities with integrity. Later in the text I will share my thoughts on the issues I am
familiar with, and which I see as turning points in the history of film.
Classic Hollywood cinema is most often discussed from the standpoint of the feminist movement and
psychoanalysis, since the protagonist is most often male and the one who initiates the action, while the
woman could be said to be his motivation. In Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema Laura Mulvey
discusses the so-called male gaze, which is dominant, considering that the spectators identify with the
protagonist. In reality the pleasure of looking is split into male (active - pleasure of looking) and female
(passive - pleasure of being looked at). In the case of cinema, the woman's presence suspends the action
and stirs erotic thoughts, while the man sets the action in motion and is the bearer of the spectators'
look. We can overlook the dogmatic psychoanalytic approach, and see Film Noir as a step outside of the
typical Hollywood narrative (which still introduces elements of complexity, cruelty and reality of life,
questioning the idea of the American Dream). European directors introduced a degree of darkness from
occupied Europe into Hollywood, giving a certain charm to these films - city, nighttime, antiheroes and
femmes fatal are the leitmotifs of the transition genre. Women are still presented as stereotypes, but in
a new light of the battle of the sexes. Female character gains a new dimension, becomes dangerous and
fearless, she is a predator even when she plays the victim in order to get what she wants. She goes head

to head with the man, but her power lies in her sexual attraction. In this way, woman's nature and
sexuality are confined by the Hollywood censorship code and the abovementioned details are only used
to provoke, stepping away from the truth.
On the other hand, in post-war Europe avant-garde authors change cinematic expression and the subject
matter of the film itself, with the emergence of the new post-war generation.
The appearance of Brigitte Bardot in Et dieu...cra la femme suddenly makes the body visible as it is, it
becomes the symbol of a morality free of conventions, which is a prerequisite for the creation of the new
cinematic concept that allows for the presentation of life stripped bare - life as it really is. To that effect
the "new" woman is a blend of emotional psychological nature, and physical attractiveness as described
and defined by Godard through his female characters. The often quoted conversation between Jean-Paul
Belmondo and Anna Karina in Pierrot le fou starts with Belmondo asking Karina why she looks so sad, to
which she responds "Because you speak to me in words and I look at you with feelings." He goes on to
accuse her that she is impossible to have a real conversation with, because she never has ideas, only
feelings, to which she almost instinctively responds that there are ideas in feelings.
Afterwards each of them lists the things they love, and in a simple and poetic way illustrate the
difference between the sexes.
Marianne : Flowers, animals...blue sky...the noise of music. I don't know, everything!
Ferdinand: Ambition, hope, the motion of things, accidents. I don't know, everything!
Jean Baudrillard also speaks of the flower woman of blue skies and sonorous music, interpreting woman
as a principle of the indefinite. He claims that the truth of woman lies in seduction and her ability to play
systems of reason and that the feminine never accepted truth and meaning, but is the "absolute ruler of
the phenomenal".

In Clo de 5 7, Agnes Varda, one of the first female avant-garde cinematographers, offers a new
perspective to the female problem, which is not related to sexuality. Cl o is a pop singer at the cusp of
fame, superficial, too dedicated and too focused on her looks and shopping. Awaiting the results of her
biopsy, she does things it is easy to assume she does all the time - changes wigs, clothes, has a singing

rehearsal, and walks through Paris. All these superficial activities, and the ease of summer are in a sharp
contrast with the fact that Cleo is waiting for her biopsy results. On realizing this, her character gains a
certain depth, and each of her seemingly ordinary moves is colored by the idea that she might be sick,
and would in all likelihood die. Trying on hats at a shop she chooses a black winter hat, the symbol of the
bad news she gets in the end of the film. Agnes Varda depicts a woman obsessed by herself, a woman
lead by her ego, woman who cares too much about appearances who, ultimately, invokes her own death
out of fear. Looking at her image in the mirror at the beginning of the film she tells herself " Don't rush
away, pretty butterfly. Ugliness is a sort of death. As long as I'm beautiful, I'm alive."
It is curious that Vardas film, though thematically quite the opposite, at the same time carries an idea
compatible with Godard's Vivre sa vie. The combination of these two films allow us the opportunity to
view the male and female perspective of the concept of woman at the same historical moment. The
connection between the two movies is underlined by the appearance of Godard and Anna Karina (who
plays Nana in Vivre sa vie) in the silent movie sequence Clo watches in the theatre. Clo and Nana are
different in both physical appearance and life context - Cl o is a somewhat successful singer,
economically independent, while Nana lives on the edges of existence. We follow Cl o on a Paris
afternoon on the first day of summer, but Nana, though also in Paris, is in a grey, industrial, winter
setting. What connects them is the anticipation of death, in Nana's case from her decision to venture
into prostitution, which can be interpreted as a moral death, and giving up the fight, symbolically
presented through her visit to the cinema. Watching Dreyers Jeanne D'Arc she cries bitterly just like
Maria Falconetti in huge close-ups, awaiting her fate, which is decided by men. Is it all Nana's fault
because she does not want to take responsibility for her own life, or is it her fate? Does Cl o invite death
by fear and insecurity, or is it her fate? The authors provide no answer to these questions, rather by a
skillful use of close-ups hint that the truth is hiding in their eyes, just out of the sight.

The French New Wave woman is very similar to Antonioni, Bergman, even Buuel's woman, but not as
far as content and idea (in that sense they are completely different). Their similarity lies in the author's
interest to deal with woman and her nature within the same idea of change and progress of the
European society as a whole. After all, woman is emancipated, and earns her place in society evidenced
in the fact that more women become director, resulting in today's widely present women's point of view.
Female directors today come from different backgrounds and they are representing new vision of
women from different point of views. In this regard I can mention the great Chantal Akreman and her

movie La Captive about men's obssesion to possess women. Female character Ariane has no identity
except inside her lover's head. She is not an individual but the object of his fantasy, she represents
elusiveness which again indicates the undetermined and intangible female nature. Then, Catherine
Breillat with her extreme feminist approach, Lucrecia Martel and her films whose narratives indicate
ambiguity like for example her film La mujer sin cabeza which questions the reality and certainty of
everyday events . Then, the previously mentioned Iram Haq and her debut Jeg er din and even Sofia
Coppola, although her films deal with mainstream culture. What makes Virgin Suicides interesting is the
fact that the story brings into focus the phenomenon of woman's suicide. As Elisabeth Bronfen noted :
Female suicide is possible to understand as need to take authorship over ones life and body.'
It would be interesting to contemplate male authors like Lars von Trier, Woody Allen, Soderberg, Pedro
Almodovar, in the similar frame.
Today, when the world is no longer strictly separated into the eastern and western bloc and the idea of
free market is in expansion, cinematography sometimes becomes nationalized, almost localized. The
development of third world cinematography creates a situation where a European audience finds it
difficult to understand an Iranian film without knowledge about the local social and political set up, or
understands it at a subjective level by projecting their own identity. At the same time, the contemporary
fragmented story telling increases the variety of interpretations. Focus is not on the plot, but on
perception and impression. Long shot trend in contemporary film allows for contemplation, which
supports subjective interpretations. That is why I am interested in the inter-cultural aspect of modern
cinematography, which now may be more dominant than ever.
What are the levels on which the messages are perceived? What is a young European's perception of the
work of e.g. Lucrecia Martel or Jafar Panahi? What would be the actual perception of contemporary
European film in China or Africa at the social and personal level? And vice versa: what are the personal
and socio-political consequences of such exchanges?
The following are also among the many issues I would like to explore within my Master's studies:
What is the relationship between the portrayal of modern women on film and everyday reality ? What is
the reciprocal impact between the real and imaginary within and between different cultures, different
social strata, and different age groups? It would be interesting to examine the perception and opinion of
cinematography, using an international sample made up of audiences and colleagues from the field, for
collaborative research with master's students in other countries.
My goal is to conclude my work by asking the right questions, drawing hypotheses, and coming to some
conclusions.