Different Modes of Expression: Subtle Offensives

Abstract

What happens if the filmmaker directing the audience’s gaze is a woman? Radkiewicz uses two very different examples of “female” film art to portray the two directions into which this kind of undertaking can lead. In so doing, she demonstrates that traditional methods of analysis no longer suffice to thoroughly examine the work of an artist. Since there is no neatly defined category of “feminist art,” one has to take into consideration different kinds of approaches in order to do justice to the work of film directors like Jane Campion and Sally Potter. Radkiewicz does exactly that in her work, and thus provides an analysis that is informed by a feminist perspective. She includes the filmmakers’ artistic trajectory, background, biography, and goals into her interpretation of Campion’s and Potter’s films. While Radkiewicz does not re-invent or expand feminist theory, she succeeds at providing a complex portrayal of the two filmmakers and their work, and offering a good overview over their work. The conciseness of Radkiewicz’s book provides a useful introduction to these issues and invites its readers to further explorations.