The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).
Over at RogerEbert.com, Bob Calhoun discusses the liberated women of 1950s sci-fi cinema — classics like Them! (1954) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) — and why the woman scientist archetype waned in later decades:
In her October 8, 2013 RogerEbert.com piece, “Visual Pleasure and Voodoo Demographics: a Reflection on Woman and Film,” Carrie Rickey writes that “in the 1930s and 1940s each studio has female screenwriters to create female characters.”
With the collapse of the studio system, the woman scientist character seemed to vanish from future remakes and re-imaginings of ‘50s science fiction movies even as more actual women scientists graduated from America’s universities.
…There are also no lady ichthyologists on the expedition to kill the shark in Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” (1975), Universal’s slick updating of its “Creature from the Black Lagoon” formula. Spielberg also has no space for educated women in his 2005 remake of “War of the Worlds,” reducing Ann Robinson from the original to a cameo as a grandmother, and casting an 11-year-old Dakota Fanning in the film’s most prominent female role.
nywift
Related Posts
NYWIFT Member Spotlight: Jane Weinstock’s ‘Three Birthdays’ Captures the Spirit of the 1970s
NYWIFT Member Jane Weinstock is a director and writer based in NYC. In 2023, NYWIFT proudly presented her with the NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking at the Woodstock Film Festival for her most recent film, Three Birthdays. It also won the best feature director award at the LA Femme International Film Festival. The film – set in 1970 – follows a middle-class couple and their 17-year-old daughter creating a web of secrets and lies as they try to choose between their safe, domestic life and the lures of sexual and personal freedom. Weinstock spoke to us about the inspiration behind the film and how it resonates with modern audiences today.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Cameron Kit
Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to Cameron Kit! Cameron is an award-winning feminist sci-fi director living in Brooklyn whose short film Chlorine was a big hit at multiple film festivals and won “Best Cinematography” at NYCA. Altogether, Cameron’s projects have been featured at 30+ film festivals across the U.S. and Japan. From 2013 until recently, Cameron was the CEO and Artistic Director at Whiteboard Geeks in Richmond, VA. As her website highlights, Cameron’s overarching goal is to “join in the development of an art that will contribute to a world in which women, people of color, and queer folks are respected as equal citizens on Planet Earth.” To learn more about Cameron, check out her interview as we discuss the triumphs and setbacks that come with leading an animation studio, her ongoing Sci-Fi podcast They Came from Outer Space, the unyielding longevity of radio, how to make the most of your NYWIFT membership, and the magic that becomes possible when pairing feminism with science fiction!
READ MORENYWIFT @ Tribeca: In Conversation with Producer Steffie van Rhee
Cynthia Lowen’s latest documentary "Battleground" offers an eye-opening window into the anti-choice movement, featuring three women from varying walks of life who have dedicated themselves to rendering abortion illegal. Per the Tribeca website: “Told with restraint and balance, director Cynthia Lowen seeks to clarify rather than condemn, and presents a new point of entry for this challenging topic.” While the film itself clearly aligns with progressive pro-choice advocates (who also appear throughout) it offers a fascinating perspective on the sheer systemic power of the anti-abortion movement and the perilous future, felt painfully today, of Roe v. Wade. "Battleground" was Executive Produced by NYWIFT member Ruth Ann Harnisch and co-produced by member Steffie van Rhee, who sat down with us to discuss the premiere and how this film – from this particular perspective – came to fruition.
READ MORENYWIFT @ Tribeca: In Conversation with Filmmaker Signe Baumane
Signe Baumane’s "My Love Affair With Marriage" is a brilliant animated film for a decidedly adult audience. It’s a semi-autobiographical musical exploration of love, sex, romance, and gender as viewed through the lens of neurochemistry – not your average animated love story! New York Women in Film & Television was proud to present Baumane with a NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant for the film, and even prouder to then see it premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival! We sat down with Signe to discuss her wildly inventive, intelligent, and very fun film.
READ MORE
