Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema

by Yvonne Tasker

Overview

Working Girls investigates the thematic concerns of contemporary Hollywood cinema, and its ambivalent articulation of women as both active, and defined by sexual performance, asking whether new Hollywood cinema has responded to feminism and contemporary sexual identities.
Whether analysing the rise of films centred around female friendships, or the entrance of pop stars such as Whitney Houston and Madonna into film, Working Girls is an authoritative investigation of the presence of women both as film makers and actors in contemporary mainstream cinema.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134826599
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/11/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Yvonne Tasker

Table of Contents

CONTENTS: Introduction: Bad Girls and Working Girls in the 'New Hollywood' PART ONE: Chapter One: Crossdressing, Aspiration and Transformation Chapter Two: Cowgirl Tales Chapter Three: Action Women: Muscles, Mothers and Others Chapter Four: Investigating Women: Work, Criminality and Sexuality Chapter Five: New Hollywood, New Film Noir and the Female Fatale Chapter Six: Female Friendship: Melodrama, Romance, Feminism PART TWO: PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTION Chapter Seven: Comedy and Authority Chapter Eight: Music, Video, Cinema: Singers and Movie Stars Chapter Nine: Performers and Producers Notes and References Filmography Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

Tasker (film and cultural studies, U. of Sunderland) investigates contemporary cinema's complex relationship with gender and sexual identities in the wake of feminism, and explores four versions of the working woman common in Hollywood films--spunky heroines of action movies, female police and FBI agents, the singer as movie star, and sharp-shooting cowgirls of the new Westerns. She also discusses the increasing prominence of women as producers and directors. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

'Working Girls presents useful analyses of the figure of the working woman in cinema that are thought-provoking and astute assessments of the cultural content of popular film. Much of this book is riveting, both in content and presentation.' - Brenda A. Risch, Scope: online journal of film studies

From the Publisher