Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Interpretive textual analysis, informed by a feminist perspective, is applied to five independent films written and directed by female filmmakers in order to understand to what extent the rhetorical construction of motherhood as presented in the films deviates from or supports a patriarchal Western vision. This study provides a rich textual analysis of Amreeka (2009), Frozen River (2008), Waitress (2006), The Dead Girl (2006), and Lovely and Amazing (2001); five films that each considers the role of contemporary mothering as a central part of its plot. Each film has been distributed within ten years of the inception of this study, is considered an independent film, has received some degree of critical acclaim, and is written and directed by a female filmmaker. Using a feminist critical interpretive lens, this study investigates the public and private sphere identification of the mothers, the mother-child relationships, and the family systems that work to unveil a vision of motherhood in contemporary independent film and identify the extent to which this vision challenges or adheres to traditional representations. The readings of these films rely on theoretical insights of feminist film criticism and feminist theory. In addition, feminist rhetorical perspectives provide the framework to reveal the broader cultural implications of the representation of contemporary motherhood in public discourse. The analysis reveals a subversive reading of contemporary mothering characterized by the rejection of domesticity and other traditional mothering ideologies. Informed by resistance theory, the findings suggest the female filmmakers utilize the symbolic inversion tactic as a tool to resist their subordinate status. The subversive discourses give voice to female filmmakers attempting to negotiate power in a traditionally patriarchal forum by invoking a rhetoric of resistance. However, the rhetorical construction of the “indie” mother is characterized by maternal sacrifice and maternal autonomy which ultimately forces women to negotiate their mothering identity in relation to the hegemonic childrearing model of intensive mothering. The production of contradictory messages illustrates an attempt to adapt to existing conditions rather than transform the patriarchal system suggesting that independent film is a dynamic medium that both reflects hegemonic discourse while remaining open to ideological variance.

Thesis (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Master of Arts)--Miami University, Dept. of Mass Communication, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iv, 63 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-63).

The thesis addresses analysis of stories and narrative in relation to the subject of gender. This analysis primarily deals with fairy tale The Beauty and the Beast by Disney. The first part is about general theoretical basis for my thesis and about the most important authors in this field. Archetypes and logocentrism topics are dealt with partially as well. The foundations of the first part are however literary and motion-picture feministic theories, also the concept of the myth of beauty. In the practical part sequences of the The Beast and the Beauty are studied. Findings described in theoretical part is utilized here and the marked and subtle influence of androcentric culture on style and content of the story is shown.

The thesis deals with gender analysis in films studying metamorphoses of archetypes in film Bitter Moon directed by Roman Polanski. The methodical and theoretical sections of the thesis analyse the influence of archetype changes of film characters in gender roles. The thesis identifies and analyses mainly woman film characters appearing in some classical feminist texts, feminist film theoretical and critical articles, in some psychoanalytical works, in dramatheraphy and film science. The sources mentioned above became primary resource materials for our archetypal research. The analysis of each of the film character is focused on the most distinctive archetype with respect to its metamorphosy. Apart from the archetype research the thesis is marginaly concerned with problems linked to the female ideal and her sexuality usually portrayed in an unalterable way, and archetypal patterns are in such a way transmitted to audiences through femininity and masculinity in the context of gender roles. Keywords: archetype, Roman Polanski, Laura Mulvey, Annis Pratt, cinematic archetypal coherence, feminist film criticism, film narrative analysis, archetypal masculinity, archetypal femininity.