Feb. 15-March 14: Gender in Film series
Gender in International Film series set Wednesdays in Gore Hall
8:22 a.m., Feb. 1, 2012--The University of Delaware Department of Women's Studies has announced the spring 2012 Gender in International Films series, which will run Feb. 15 through March 14.
The films will be shown from 3:35-6:35 p.m., Wednesdays, in 217 Gore Hall.
Events Stories
June 5: Blue Hen 5K
June 6-9: Food and culture series
The series is open to the public and is also a one-credit pass/fail course (WOMS 290.010).
Films will be shown as follows:
• Feb. 15 -- The King of Masks or Bian Lian (China). This film offers a glimpse of China's past history of male supremacy and son preference. It poses the question as to whether deeply embedded prejudice can be penetrated by the heart. Themes include: wealth and poverty; Confucian values of a hierarchal social order; and gender crossing as a valued form of entertainment.
• Feb. 22 -- Fire (India). This film was pulled from theaters in India following outrage at the subject matter -- a lesbian relationship. The backdrop of the film is arranged marriage, patriarchal control and extended family interaction. Themes include: marriage without love; wifely duties; the desire for freedom; and a cultural system that expects female closeness, but has no word for lesbianism.
• Feb. 29 -- Yesterday (South Africa). South African filmmaker Daryl James Roodt depicts real life and troubles in rural South Africa through the story of one young, HIV positive mother. She was named Yesterday by her father because he said times were better yesterday than today. This film gives viewers a personal account of an epidemic affecting almost 25 percent of South Africa’s adult population. Themes include: education, work and poverty in rural South Africa; racism and the legacy of Apartheid; HIV/AIDS and the health care system; gender roles; domestic violence; dealing with anger; and courage and the human spirit.
• March 7 -- Persepolis (Iran). This animated film offers a heartfelt and often amusing glimpse into what it was like for a young girl to grow up in Iran from a time preceding the overthrow of the shah, through the early days of the Islamic Republic and into her teen years. The film is based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical book called Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Persepolis portrays confusing contradictions between home life and public life and the toll that oppressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Themes include: competing notions of growing up female; listening and watching societal change through a child’s eye; the tension between the importance of norms and rules and the need to be free; and how a modern country with a measure of equality for women can be abruptly changed into an extremely patriarchal and repressive state.
• March 14 -- Ma Vie En Rose or My Life in Pink (France). The translation of this title is “My Life in Pink.” It is the story of a seven-year-old girl born into the body of a little boy. As the story unfolds, the audience meets Ludovic, who is sensitive and hopeful that his inclinations can be fulfilled. The parents of Ludovic are distraught and cannot agree what is best to do. Neighbors, family members and friends all get involved in this drama, which opens up to viewers similar social/psychological scenes that must occur often, with differing reactions depending on the norms of the location. Themes include: childhood gender socialization; gender identity and biology; sexuality and gender; and love over conformity.
The film series is coordinated by Marie Laberge, 831-6748 or mlaberge@udel.edu.