Alice Guy Blaché and Lois Weber were filmmakers in the silent film era, but such opportunities for women disappeared by the 1920s--with the notable exception of Dorothy Arzner. Based on her research for an oral history project sponsored by the Women in Film Foundation, Mahar (history, Siena College, New York) showcases early woman directors and analyzes trends in the Hollywood film industry. Blending feminist with historical scholarship, she attributes this shift from a more egalitarian theatrical model to the rise of big business. She concludes that: "A century after the integration of women as filmmakers, the promise held out by the early American cinema is still unfulfilled." Illustrations include vintage movie stills. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) - (Book News)
Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood explores when, how, and why women were accepted as filmmakers in the 1910s and why, by the 1920s, those opportunities had disappeared. In looking at the early film industry as anindustry—a place of work—Mahar not only unravels the mystery of the disappearing female filmmaker but untangles the complicated relationship among gender, work culture, and business within modern industrial organizations.
In the early 1910s, the film industry followed a theatrical model, fostering an egalitarian work culture in which everyone—male and female—helped behind the scenes in a variety of jobs. In this culture women thrived in powerful, creative roles, especially as writers, directors, and producers. By the end of that decade, however, mushrooming star salaries and skyrocketing movie budgets prompted the creation of the studio system. As the movie industry remade itself in the image of a modern American business, the masculinization of filmmaking took root.
Mahar's study integrates feminist methodologies of examining the gendering of work with thorough historical scholarship of American industry and business culture. Tracing the transformation of the film industry into a legitimate "big business" of the 1920s, and explaining the fate of the female filmmaker during the silent era, Mahar demonstrates how industrial growth and change can unexpectedly open—and close—opportunities for women.
- (
Johns Hopkins University Press)
Karen Ward Mahar is an associate professor of history at Siena College, New York.
- (
Johns Hopkins University Press)
Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood explores when, how, and why the industry accepted women as filmmakers in the 1910s and why, by the 1920s, those opportunities had disappeared. In looking at the issue in terms of workplace, Karen Ward Mahar not only unravels the mystery of the disappearing female filmmaker but uncovers the complicated relationships among gender, work culture, and business within modern industrial organizations.
"With meticulous scholarship and fluid writing, Mahar tells the story of this golden era of female filmmaking . . . Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood is not to be missed."—Women's Review of Books
"A scrupulously researched and argued analysis of how and why women made great professional and artistic gains in the U.S. film industry from 1906 to the mid-1920s and why they lost most of that ground until the late twentieth century."—Journal of American History
"Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood offers convincing evidence of how economic forces shaped women’s access to film production and presents a complex and engaging story of the women who took advantage of those opportunities."—Business History Review
"Mahar views the business of making movies from the inside out, focusing on questions about changing industrial models and work conventions. At her best, she shows how the industry's shifting business history impacted women's opportunities, recasting current understanding about the American film industry's development."—Reviews in American History
Karen Ward Mahar is an associate professor of history at Siena College, New York.
- (
Johns Hopkins University Press)
Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood explores when, how, and why the industry accepted women as filmmakers in the 1910s and why, by the 1920s, those opportunities had disappeared. In looking at the issue in terms of workplace, Karen Ward Mahar not only unravels the mystery of the disappearing female filmmaker but uncovers the complicated relationships among gender, work culture, and business within modern industrial organizations.
"With meticulous scholarship and fluid writing, Mahar tells the story of this golden era of female filmmaking...Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood is not to be missed."— Women's Review of Books
"A scrupulously researched and argued analysis of how and why women made great professional and artistic gains in the U.S. film industry from 1906 to the mid-1920s and why they lost most of that ground until the late twentieth century."—Journal of American History
" Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood offers convincing evidence of how economic forces shaped women’s access to film production and presents a complex and engaging story of the women who took advantage of those opportunities."—Business History Review
"Mahar views the business of making movies from the inside out, focusing on questions about changing industrial models and work conventions. At her best, she shows how the industry's shifting business history impacted women's opportunities, recasting current understanding about the American film industry's development."— Reviews in American History
Karen Ward Mahar is an associate professor of history at Siena College, New York.
- (
Johns Hopkins University Press)