Eva Krainitzki

Exploring the Hypervisibility Paradox: Older Lesbians in Contemporary Mainstream Cinema (1995-2009) Eva Krainitzki A thesis submitted to The University of Gloucestershire in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Media, Arts and Technology July 2011 1 0 Abstract This thesis explores the intersection of age, gender and sexuality in representations of older lesbian characters in contemporary narrative film. Taking the 1990s as a benchmark of lesbian visibility, I explore the turn of the century representability by focusing on British and American film (1995 to 2009). I identify a hypervisibility paradox during this period of cinematic production where the presence of a multitude of young lesbian and bisexual characters can be seen to be in complete contrast with the invisibility of the older lesbian. Mainstream postfeminist culture censors the ageing female body, except in its ‘successfully aged’, youthful, heterosexualised form. Older lesbian characters are excluded from this frame of visibility and, instead, are represented through paradigms associated with the concept of ‘ageing as decline.’ There is little in existing age studies or lesbian film studies to articulate an understanding of the intersection of age, gender and sexuality in cinematic representation. I adopt an interdisciplinary cultural studies approach to make my contribution in what is an under-researched area and present a multifaceted approach to a complex cultural image. I investigate the continuity of the concept of the lesbian as ghostly (Castle, 1993) through narratives of illness, death and mourning. I argue that the narrative of ‘ageing as decline’ stands in for the process of ‘killing off’ lesbian characters (identified in 1960s and 1970s cinema). The intersection of the identity old with lesbian thus results in a double ghosting and ‘disappearance’ of the older lesbian character. Regarding Notes on a Scandal (Eyre, 2006), I pursue two particular readings. One emphasises the return of the lesbian as monstrous based on the construction of ageing and lesbian desire as abject (Kristeva, 1982). A second reading moves beyond the monstrous lesbian as a ‘negative’ stereotype and identifies the protagonist as a queer character who subverts heteronormativity. Finally, I turn to oppositional reading practices in order to optimise the possibilities of identifications across mainstream film texts. Based on Judi Dench’s various 1 transgressive film roles, her role as M in the Bond franchise in particular, I explore this actress’ subversive potential to represent the older lesbian. I conclude that despite mainstream cinema’s hypervisibility paradox, characters who transgress age, gender and sexuality norms can provide opportunities for lesbian identification. 2 Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this thesis was carried out in accordance with the regulations of the University of Gloucestershire and is original except where indicated by specific reference in the text. No part of the thesis has been submitted as part of any other academic award. The thesis has not been presented to any other education institution in the United Kingdom or overseas. Any views expressed in the thesis are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University. Signed …...........………….. Date ... 21/11/2011………. 3 Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation can be a solitary process, I therefore wish to acknowledge the many people that made a hermitic existence more enjoyable. To my ‘little’ sister and my friends back in Portugal, thanks for understanding; to Emily, who came into my life when I least expected, thank you for all your encouragement, support and patience. I also wish to thank fellow WAMers Josie and Abi, and my friends and colleagues Phil, Qiao, Ingrid, Mark and Alex, thank you for listening and proofreading, for providing company and offering advice. I am sincerely and heartily grateful to my advisors Ros, Jo and Sherryl for their support and guidance, I could not have wished for a better supervisory team. A special thanks for letting me use my ‘made-up’ words in the good tradition of cultural studies and for providing great coffee and cake and reading suggestions (not necessarily in that order). Finally, I wish to acknowledge the funding I received from the Faculty of Media, Art and Communication, University of Gloucestershire, namely The Women, Ageing and Media research scholarship, which made it possible to pursue this project. 4 Dedication: To my mother, who did not grow old 5 Contents ABSTRACT 1 LIST OF FIGURES 8 I. INTRODUCTION 9 II. APPROACHING AGE STUDIES 28 INTRODUCTION 29 SURVEY OF LITERATURE: AGE, GENDER AND SEXUALITY 30 APPROACHING AGE STUDIES: MAIN CONCEPTS 34 THE AGEING BODY IN DECLINE 38 AGE DENIAL AND RESISTANCE 40 SEXUALITY AND OLD AGE 46 FEMINIST APPROACHES TO AGEING 48 LESBIAN FEMINIST CONTRIBUTIONS 54 REPRESENTING AGE/EING 59 THE OLDER HETEROSEXUAL WOMAN IN FILM 61 DEATH OF THE ‘OTHER’ 64 THE ‘OLDER BIRD CHICK FLICK’ PARADIGM 67 CONCLUSION 70 III. AGE, SEXUALITY AND REPRESENTATION 73 INTRODUCTION 74 POSTFEMINISM AND LESBIAN ‘CHIC’ 76 LESBIANS AND FILM 83 IDENTITY POLITICS AND THE ‘POSITIVE’ IMAGES DEBATE 87 NEW QUEER CINEMA 92 DISAPPEARING GHOSTLY BODIES 94 THE DEATH OF THE LESBIAN ‘OTHER’ 97 THE MONSTROUS ‘OTHER’ 100 ABJECT AGE 102 THEORIES OF SPECTATORSHIP 108 IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTER ENGAGEMENT 111 LESBIAN VIEWING STRATEGIES 113 JUDI DENCH 120 CONCLUSION 122 IV. GHOSTING THE OLDER LESBIAN IN FILM 125 INTRODUCTION 126 GHOSTING THE OLDER LESBIAN 129 THEMES OF TERMINAL ILLNESS 133 THE DEATH OF THE ‘OTHER’ 137 THE LESBIAN WIDOW 142 6 DELETED SCENES: LOVE ACTUALLY 144 ‘I HAVEN’T ALWAYS BEEN A LONELY OLD DYKE’: HOLD BACK THE NIGHT 151 UN/HAPPY ENDINGS: IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2 156 THE SHIPPING NEWS: ‘MAKING A FUTURE!’ 168 CONCLUSION 174 V. THE OLDER LESBIAN AS MONSTROUS (‘OTHER’) 177 INTRODUCTION: FROM GHOSTLY TO MONSTROUS 178 IDENTITY (POLITICS): IS SHE, OR ISN’T SHE? NOTES ON A SCANDAL’S REVERSE-REVERSE DISCOURSE 182 RE/VIEWING THE MONSTROUS (LESBIAN) 183 CONFESS OR BE MADE TO CONFESS 191 TOUCHING THE MONSTROUS ‘OTHER’ 199 ABJECT AGE 200 MOMENTS OF ABJECTION 203 EXPELLING THE LESBIAN WITHIN 208 THE MONSTROUS ENCOUNTER 212 ALWAYS ALREADY MONSTROUS 214 QUEERING NOTES ON A SCANDAL 221 CONCLUSION 230 VI. (MIS)READING JUDI DENCH 234 INTRODUCTION 235 JUDI DENCH’S STAR IMAGE 238 JUDI DENCH ON FILM 249 LESBIAN VIEWING STRATEGIES: APPROPRIATING JUDI DENCH 257 APPROPRIATING M 263 GOLDENEYE: ENTER DAME JUDI 266 ‘REBOOT’ M 275 JUDI DENCH’S ALTERNATIVE 279 CONCLUSION 281 VII.CONCLUSION 284 APPENDIX 1: BRIEF SYNOPSES 294 SCREENOGRAPHY 301 WEBSITES AND ONLINE FORUMS 306 REFERENCES 307 7 List of Figures Figure 1 - Screenshot from Fried Green Tomatoes (Avnet, 1991) 134 Figure 2 – Screenshot from Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (García, 2000) 135 Figure 3 - Screenshot from Boys on the Side (Ross, 1995) 139 Figure 4 - Screenshot from Love Actually (Curtis, 2003) 148 Figure 5 - Screenshot from Hold Back the Night (Davis, 1999) 152 Figure 6 – Screenshot from Hold Back the Night 155 Figure 7 - Screenshot from If These Walls Could Talk 2 (Anderson, Coolidge & Heche, 2000) 162 Figure 8 - Screenshot from The Children’s Hour (Wyler, 1961) & If These Walls Could Talk 2 164 Figure 9 – Screenshot from If These Walls Could Talk 2 165 Figure 10 – Screenshot Hold Back the Night (left) & The Shipping News (Hallström, 2001) 172 Figure 11 – Screenshot from The Shipping News 173 Figure 12 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal (Eyre, 2006) 194 Figure 13 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal 195 Figure 14 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal 198 Figure 15 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal 201 Figure 16 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal 207 Figure 17 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal 211 Figure 18 – Screenshot from Notes on a Scandal 220 Figure 19 - Screenshot from Nine (Marshall, 2009) 253 Figure 20 - Screenshot from Rage (Potter, 2009) 255 Figure 21 - Screenshot taken from www.pinksofa.com 260 Figure 22 - Screenshot taken from www.ministryofburlesque.com 261 Figure 23 - Screenshot from GoldenEye (Campbell, 1995) 267 Figure 24 - Screenshot from Tomorrow Never Dies (Spottiswoode, 1997) 273 Figure 25 – Screenshot from Casino Royale (Campbell, 2006) 277 8 Chapter One I. Introduction 9 By the mid-2000s, the promise of inclusion into mainstream representation was ‘in the air’ as more diverse lesbian characters appeared in the films playing in the cinemas of Lisbon. The Hours (Daldry) in 2002, My Summer of Love (Pawlikowski) in 2004 and the romantic comedy Imagine Me & You in 2005 (Parker) are some key examples. The latter presented a ‘girl meets girl’ story with a happy-ending giving lesbian viewers the mainstream pleasures of the comforting, familiar format of the British comedy. At the same time a multitude of lesbian characters populated Portuguese television on a weekly basis as I discovered The L Word (2004-2009)1 in what became a five-year long addiction. The following year, with The L Word in its third season and while I was still trying to figure out whether Shane’s2 haircut would work with my hair, a film suddenly broke the spell – Notes on a Scandal (2006).3 In stark contrast to the shiny, glamorous LA lesbians depicted in The L Word each week, Judi Dench’s Barbara Covett came as a shock. Barbara’s character resuscitated the spectre of the predatory lesbian that, to me, seemed long lost in the archives of lesbian celluloid images. I had heard rumours of their existence but (being born in 1979 and coming out in 21st century Portugal) I had managed to avoid such ‘negative’ images until then. As we left the cinema that night, my friend Ana confirmed our shared feeling of apprehension, ‘Oh no! When I get old am I going to end up like that?’ I was hit in the face by what I identify in this thesis as the hypervisibility paradox for ageing lesbians.

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