Communicating women’s perspectives and concerns in the films of Julie Lopes-Curval using l’écriture feminine

ABSTRACT

As film is a form of communication that has the potential to reach and affect large audiences internationally and most films have male directors, studying what female directors communicate in their films is important. This paper therefore conducts close readings of the films of Julie Lopes-Curval using Hélène Cixous’ l’écriture feminine or French feminism. The films are Bord de mer, Toi et moi, Mères et filles, and le Beau monde. The readings consider characters, plot, dialogue, settings, and visuals to describe how the films communicate female perspectives and concerns, follow the écriture feminine plot, subvert conventional men’s language, and communicate femininity and female sexuality. Some particularly innovative aspects of the films are the use of multiple female characters to communicate that all women are different, realistic cinematography to emphasise that events shown could be real, comparisons of abusive and supportive male communication, and a visual that breaks the male gaze.

KEYWORDS:

• Julie Lopes-Curval
• Hélène Cixous
• feminist film
• l’écriture feminine
• representations of domestic violence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marilyn Mitchell

Marilyn Mitchell completed her doctoral thesis on the visual representation of time and has continued researching visual and other types of representation. She has previously published in Sign System Studies, Visible Language, Journal of the Australasian College of Road Safety, International Journal of Literacies, and Cogent Social Sciences. She currently lectures in Mass Media, Organisational Communication, and Research Methods.