Friday Friyay: 'From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies' by Molly Haskell

Hi all, happy Friday! I'm back into the swing of things with the semester, but I've also found myself in the middle of something of a creativity rut. I'm not really connecting to anything I'm reading, watching, or listening to. I'm taking it in, even seeing things I enjoy about it, but nothing is really making me sit up and go "oh", you know. So that is in part why I've decided to read some academic works, including Haskell's From Reverence to Rape, which I've had on my TBR for ages.

A revolutionary classic of feminist cinema criticism, Molly Haskell's From Reverence to Rape remains as insightful, searing, and relevant as it was the day it was first published. From the golden age of Hollywood to films of the late twentieth century, Haskell analyzes images of women in movies, the relationship between these images and the status of women in society, the stars who fit these images or defied them, and the attitudes of their directors. This new edition features both a new foreword by New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis and a new introduction from the author that discusses the books' reception and the evolution of her views.

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but Anne over at My Head is Full of Books is thankfully keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. 

BB:

'Introduction
If it weren't for selective memory, the consolation of the loser, our consciousnesses might have risen a long time ago.' p.xxxi

'The Big Lie
The big lie perpetrated on Western society is the idea of women's inferiorty, a lie so deeply ingrained in our social behavior that merely to recognize it is to risk unraveling the entire fabric of civilization.' p.1

I like the starts of both the original Introduction and the first chapter. The Introduction has me a little more intirgued though, as it feels very prosaic and I'm wondering whose consciousnesses she is addressing!

F56:

'The range of emotions expressed by the trio in The Female of the Species - the sense of isolation, the jealousy, the ugly, building hatred, and finally the sudden rush of love - is quite extraordinary, not only for a film of its time, but for actresses who might wish only to be loved as America's sweethearts.' p.56

Super intrigued by this quote! I haven't seen the film, nor know from what decade it stems, but I am absolutely intending to see it. I work with emotions myself, and so I am intrigued by the idea of extraordinary cinematic displays of emotion. Why such strong emotions?

BBH:

This week's question comes from Billy himself:

You are in a dilemma: stream your favourite TV show or movie, or read your favourite book. Which one do you pick?

Ok this is mean. Mainly because it is making me realise I probably make this decision on the daily without thinking about it and because I don't actually know what my favourite TV show is. BUT the other day I actually found myself in this exact position, so I have an answer! I wanted to watch the Keira Knightley adaptation of Pride & Prejudice from 2005 and for some reason I couldn't find it. So instead I ended up dipping into the audiobook. Sooo I guess my firs instinct in this case was to go for my favourite film, but that is because I was specifically in the mood for that. I think generally it really depends on my mood, whether I have the brainspace to dedicate to reading or would prefer the noise of a film. Oh God, this really is a dilemma...

Update on last week's read: I'm still in the midst of reading Warrior Women by Toler. It's a lot of history to cover and while I enjoy dipping into it, I'm not good at reading through it in one go.

And that's it for me this week! What are you reading?