Yifen Beus, the dean of Arts and Letters and a professor of Film Studies, explains how she has seen the role of women evolve throughout time in the film industry.
How did you get into film?
“In Taiwan, I loved watching films. I would always watch films with my family. A good friend was in charge of a theatre and ran classic films. Back then, I loved watching war films. Not so now. I used to as a kid, but to me now many of the war genre films glorify unnecessary violence for visual stimulation, which doesn’t interest me.
“In fact some of the best war films, such as Jean Renoir’s ‘Grand Illusion,’ do not have a single battle scene, which I prefer, as they investigate the fundamental and philosophical questions about warfare and depict how humans have more in common than the perceived differences that are supposedly the cause of conflict. I prefer the humanistic approach to the action-packed war narratives we often see today.”
What influenced you in your career choice?
“Film is a mass medium. Most people are not aware of the impact of film. Many of the gender and race stereotypes are perpetuated in popular media, and certainly cinema, that many audiences brush them off as nothing but entertainment tropes. But it is these depictions that became fixated and allowed the audience to make assumptions without nuanced portrayals.
“I studied theoretical aspects and influences of film. It gave me a chance to study other cultures.”
How have women influenced the film industry?
“The influence was not felt in film studies until the 1970s. There was, of course, the women’s movement during that time. I remember an article came out and it said the industry was objectifying women. For the industry, images mattered.
“One influential woman was Agnes Varda, who recently passed away. She is known as the mother of French New Wave. She changed cinema allowing more women to be directors. She influenced Hollywood stars like Kathryn Bigelow and Barbra Streisand.
“They have won recognition and many awards. The two were actresses turned directors. Kathryn Bigelow directed ‘The Hurt Locker.’ Barbra Streisand starred in films like ‘Yentl’ and ‘The Prince of Tides.’ These two and other women are well known for appearing in front of and behind the camera. They know how to not subjugate women.”
Has the portrayal of women’s influence in film become more empowering recently? How?
“The film ‘Captain Marvel’ did what ‘Black Panther’ did for other cultures. Both characters motivated the progression of the narratives. They were key to the plot. However, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was a disservice to Black Widow and Captain Marvel. The directors were male and the film was male centric. It was like the directors didn’t know what to do with the female characters. They just stuck them into the film and had little to do. Black Widow does sacrifice herself to motivate Hawkeye. She is what we call a ‘causal agent,’ or the reason for events occurring.
“The women in ‘Hidden Figures’ are great examples of female empowerment. They are black women mathematicians. They helped NASA in the space race. Captain Marvel is another example. She has no love interest. Some had the wrong impression and thought the characters were lesbian. People read it wrong. There was no need for love interests.
‘Princess Bride’ is a good example. It’s an earlier film that broke from the whole rescuing the damsel in distress. It also poked fun at the stereotype.”
Which women empowerment films do you recommend?
“Before I became dean, I taught Women’s Cinema. Here are the films in the class:”
“Clueless” (Amy Heckerling, USA, 1995). “I used this film as a counter example for women.”
“Cleo 5 to 7” (Agnes Varda, France, 1962)
“Sugar Can Alley” (Euzhan Palcy, France/ Martinique, 1983)
“Salam Bombay” (Mira Nair, India, UK, France, 1988)
“Halving the Bones” (Ruth Ozeki Lounsbury, USA, 1995)
“Silences of the Palace” (Moufida Tlatli, Tunisia/France, 2004)
“La Nuit de la verite” (Fanta Nacro, Burkina Faso/France, 2004)
“Sepet” (Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysia, 2005)
“Persepolis” (Marjane Satrapi, France, 2007)
“Bride & Prejudice” (Gurinder Chadha, UK/India/USA, 2004)
Writer: Bruno Maynez