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Women, Convergent Film Criticism, and the Cinephilia of Feminist Interruptions

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Women, Convergent Film Criticism, and the Cinephilia of Feminist Interruptions University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses November 2016 Women, Convergent Film Criticism, and the Cinephilia of Feminist Interruptions Rachel L. Thibault University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, and the Other Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Thibault, Rachel L., "Women, Convergent Film Criticism, and the Cinephilia of Feminist Interruptions" (2016). Doctoral Dissertations. 809. https://doi.org/10.7275/9054133.0 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/809 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WOMEN, CONVERGENT FILM CRITICISM, AND THE CINEPHILIA OF FEMINIST INTERRUPTIONS A Dissertation Presented by RACHEL LEA THIBAULT Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 2016 COMMUNICATION ©Rachel Lea Thibault 2016 All Rights Reserved Women, Convergent Film Criticism, and the Cinephilia of Feminist Interruptions A Dissertation Presented By RACHEL LEA THIBAULT Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________________________ Anne T. Ciecko, Chair ___________________________________________ Jarice Hanson, Member ___________________________________________ Alexandra Keller, Member _______________________________________ Erica Scharrer, Department Head Communication ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The process of completing a PhD presents itself with a series of obstacles beyond the actual completion of courses, exams, and dissertation that often seem insurmountable. Working conditions and struggles for graduate students vary widely but I seemed to experience every challenge possible. To cope with these challenges, I must thank an extended network of family, friends, and lifesavers who helped me stay afloat so I could finish the work that is so important to me. I am grateful to the faculty and staff of the Communication department including Jarice Hanson, Lisa Henderson, Shawn Shimpach and Kathy Ready, and to my advisor, Anne Ciecko, for many years of sincere encouragement and unbridled enthusiasm for my work. I also extend thanks to those who supported my writing and endless editing, and this includes fellow PhD students in my Writing Group: Maureen Gallagher, Evan Torner, Nahir Otano-Gracia and Delene White. Several people assisted me with my many moves around the Valley and to find housing when I thought I would have nowhere to go, including Razvan Sibii, Steph Kent, James Richie, and Lisa Friedland. I am also thankful to Dr. Jennifer Lexington and to my amazing acupuncturist Jana Lussier for helping me to manage my stress levels when they were cranked all the way up to 11. Immeasurable support through friendship came from Robin Anderson, Daniel Kim, Mariama Changamire, Maureen Gallagher, Matthew Ferrari, Mike Soha, and Julie de Chantal, which sustained me during this challenging time. While I was away from UMass-Amherst, I was lucky to find a stimulating Visiting Lecturer position at SUNY Geneseo, and I am forever grateful for the iv collegiality and support from colleagues Andrew Herman, Atsushi Tajima, Mike Saffran, Mary Mohan, and Meredith Marko Harrigan. Most of all, I want to thank my sisters, Lise Frank, Diane Thibault, Michele Gore, as well as “baby” sister Sara Thibault for her patience, understanding, and taxi service during the final stages of my dissertating life. Warmest thanks also go out to Yishai Neuman, who offered love, care, and support, often from more than 5,000 miles away. v ABSTRACT WOMEN, CONVERGENT FILM CRITICISM, AND THE CINEPHILIA OF FEMINIST INTERRUPTIONS SEPTEMBER 2016 RACHEL L. THIBAULT, B.A. KEENE STATE COLLEGE M.A., EMERSON COLLEGE Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Anne T. Ciecko This dissertation examines the ways in which female film critics practice film criticism in the convergent age. In original research drawn from ethnographic interviews with eight female film critics and bloggers as well as textual, historical, and reception analyses of criticism, this dissertation argues that women who write film criticism in the convergent era are not only writing from a space of marginalization based on the patriarchal dominance of the film industry, but also face a series of obstacles and conflicts that are unique to writing online and which do not exert the same impact on male film critics. The findings reveal that women often draw on a feminist impulse to disrupt critical film discourse. I deem this disruption the “cinephilia of feminist interruptions”—a space where women who are knowledgeable about cinema must address issues of representation, identity, misogyny or sexism that interrupt the pleasure of moviegoing and their own writing practice. Women writing film criticism today not only must fight for cultural authority but must defend their knowledge of film, their feminist approach to film and media, and be constantly aware of how the simple fact of their gender shapes how male critics and audiences will receive their criticism. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1. WOMEN, CONVERGENT FILM CRITICISM, AND THE CINEPHILIA OF FEMINIST INTERRUPTIONS .....................................................................................1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Where Are the Women?...........................................................................................7 Chapter Outlines ....................................................................................................20 Film Criticism as Historical Document: The Significance of this Study...............22 2. THE SPACE OF FILM CRITICISM: NEW MEDIA, CONVERGENCE AND FILM BLOGGERS ................................................................................................................24 Cinephilia ...............................................................................................................24 Feminist Film and Media Theories ........................................................................33 Convergence, Publics, and New Media Users .......................................................36 Gender and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) ....................................40 Conclusion .............................................................................................................48 3. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF FEMALE FILM CRITICS ......................................................................................................................49 The Nickelodeon Years: The Cinema is for Women .............................................50 Film Curator and Champion: Iris Barry .................................................................52 Deming: Curating the ‘40s .....................................................................................56 Molly Haskell, Marjorie Rosen, and the “Images of Women” debates .................58 Pauline Kael, Penelope Gilliatt, and Cultural Authority at the New Yorker ..........63 Historicizing Women Film Critics .........................................................................77 4. METHODOLOGY: BLOGGING AND THE GENDERED CONFLICTS OF FILM CRITICISM .................................................................................................................81 Methodology ..........................................................................................................84 Cinephilia and the “Cinephile” ..............................................................................91 Gender and Discursive Conflict .............................................................................95 The Feminist Impulse ............................................................................................99 Social Media and Networked Film Criticism ......................................................104 vii The Writing Process .............................................................................................111 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................112 5. BLOGGING AS CRITICAL WOMEN’S CINEPHILIA...........................................114 Reardon and the Feminist Space of cléo ..............................................................116 The Actor’s Critic ................................................................................................118 Marilyn Ferdinand and the Female Director ........................................................122
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