Daughters of desire : lesbian representations in film / Shameem Kabir.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kabir, Shameem, 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lesbianism in motion pictures.

Physical Description:

viii, 248 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; Washington [D.C.] : Cassell, 1998.

Summary:

From castration and agency to the fetishization of beauty, from mothering, narcissism and Oedipus to rage and trauma, Shameem Kabir breaks new ground in film studies and feminist theory

Shameem Kabir explores lesbians film from early representations to contemporary ones, spanning sixty years and over twenty films. Concentrating on lesbian desire and subtext, Kabir draws on films such as Queen Christina, The Killing of Sister George, Rebecca, The Hunger, Desperately Seeking Susan, When Night Is Falling, Go Fish, The Color Purple and Thelma and Louise. She details their narratives in conjunction with an examination of different spectating positions and new synthesis of filmic languages.

Deploying lesbian history, black subjectivity, feminist film criticism and material from psychoanalysis, Kabir explores narrative, identifications and desire. From castration and agency to the fetishization of beauty, from mothering, narcissicm and Oedipus to rage and trauma, Shameem Kabir breaks new ground in film studies and feminist theory.

Contents:

Filmography viii

Introduction: Desire, Dyke-Icons, Mothers and Others Matter 1

Part 1 Desire 11

1. Lesbian Desire on the Screen: The Mother as Other: The Hunger 13

2. The Castration of Lesbian Desire in Cinema: A Matter of Some Agency: Sister George Not at Her Personal Best 40

3. European Lesbians in Film: Reformulating the Fetishization of Beauty: November Moon Falls At First Sight 64

4. Lesbian Desire for Bedding Lesbians in Cinema: Plural Positionalities: Claire of the Moon Wants to Go Fish ... When Night Is Falling 88

Part 2 Subtext 111

5. Lesbian Representations from Text to Screen: Reworking the Received: The Color Purple and Fried Green Tomatoes 113

6. Lesbians Come Out on Celluloid: Rage and Trauma as Subtext: Lianna on Thin Ice Listens to Nocturne 137

7. Early Cinema Lesbians in and out of the Closet: The Subtext Speaks the Unspeakable: Rebecca Seeks Queen Christina with Several Maidens in Uniform 160

8. Lesbian Spectating of Film: Extratext, Subtext, Intertext, Interdiscourse: Desperately Seeking Susan at the Bagdad Cafe Looking for Salmonberries and Fire 183

9. The Lesbian Subtext in Cinema: Resistant Readings: Thelma and Louise 208.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 232-244) and index.

ISBN:

0304333816

0304333824

OCLC:

36713301