It may not be as up to date as you might want, but Molly Haskell's _From Reverance to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies_ might work well. MG ----- Original Message ----- From: <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 4:02 PM Subject: request for text suggestions > there is one course i teach regularly for which i have never > found a text that really works well . . . so i approach the > list one more time in the hopes of finding some helpful > suggestions > > the course is an expository writing course, for first year > students who have previously done little [if any] careful > reading and serious writing . . . the course is designed to > be built around a single topic and to culminate in a small > scale research paper . . . the topic i have used with success > in the past and want to use again is "Sexism in Hollywood" > and considers the various ways sexism shapes hollywood > practices both on the screen and behind the scenes . . . > > trouble is, i have never found a book that i can assign for > this course . . . books i find most interesting [by kuhn, modleski, > doane, stacey, for example] are far far beyond their grasp-- > and more difficult writers -- doane, de lauretis, silverman, > might as well be in a foreign language . . . in short the sort > of stuff that comes out of duke, routledge, or BFI is almost > by definition out of the question . . . > > on the other hand the books that they might have some success > with -- i think offhand of susan douglas' WHERE THE GIRLS > ARE--are hard to take credit as academic prose or as serious > explorations of complex issues . . . . > > surely there MUST be writers who deal with issues of sexism > and feminism in cinema using an approach and a language that > are serious and sophisticated yet available to what are, in > fact, novice readers > > i suppose the level i'm looking for is best represented by gary > wills JOHN WAYNE'S AMERICA or robin woods' work on > hitchcock . . . i've assigned woods in a hitchcock class and while > the students did not find it easy they were at least able to work > through it more or less successfully, something i have not been > able to achieve with any of the books i've used in the sexism > in cinema class . . . > > so, if you know of any books at all that might lend themselves > to these purposes i'd be grateful to learn of them > > thanks very much > > mike > > ---- > For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: > http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html > ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html