2
storylines centering around women are still limited in today
=
s Hollywood.
Looking back over Hollywood history, there are two moments in which roles for women saw
some significant development. The first could be dated to the strong women stars of the 30’s and
40’s, bankable enough to inspire many woman-centered films in those decades. The second can be
dated to the rise of television, when there was increasing interest in Hollywood in the panoramic
blockbuster film, and a decline in the domestic storylines that often showcased women stars. This
was coterminous with the setbacks women experienced in the overwhelmingly domestic culture of
the 50’s, when women began to be barred from entering the professions of medicine and law, and
marriage ages dropped. With the rise of the feminist movement in the 70’s, we witness a brief
flowering of feminism in Hollywood, with notable woman-centered films such as Girlfriend (1978),
An Unmarried Woman (1977), and Julia (1977). This very brief moment did not lead to a permanent
feminist transformation in Hollywood film, unfortunately. Other changes in Hollywood
=
s economic
logic affected roles for women. Many date the most recent change in Hollywood to the enormous
success of Spielberg
=
s Jaws in 1975. The type of money this new kind of special-effects blockbuster
pulled in led producers to develop in that direction and to eschew domestic drama once again. Yet,
the 90’s witness some notable changes in feminist directions even when compared to films of the late
70’s and 80’s. This is what we examine here.
First we want to acknowledge that defining a feminist perspective on film is not a simple
task. The feminist movement is diffuse, its ideas are often contradictory. Particularly today, in the
wake of widespread criticism of feminists and the feminist movement for lacking diversity and
encompassing only white, middle-class women (which both of us are), there is no agreement on what
A
feminism
@
is. Now, in fact, there is some question as to whether it
=
s relevant to speak of
A
feminism
@
at all given the current emphasis on cultural, economic, and other differences between
women. Any attempt to pin down what
A
feminism
@
is will necessarily be hopelessly inadequate.
Convention