Overview

In Feminist Film Theory and Pretty Woman, Mari Ruti traces the development of feminist film theory from its foundational concepts such as the male gaze, female spectatorship, and the masquerade of femininity to 21st-century analyses of neoliberal capitalism, consumerism, postfeminism, and the revival of “girly” femininity as a cultural ideal. By interpreting Pretty Woman as a movie that defies easy categorization as either feminist or antifeminist, the book counters the all-too-common critical dismissal of romantic comedies as mindless drivel preoccupied with trivial “feminine” concerns such as love and shopping. The book’s lucid presentation of the key concerns of feminist film theory, along with its balanced reading of Pretty Woman, shed light on a Hollywood genre often overlooked by film critics: the romantic comedy.

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9781501319426

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Reviews

Don't mistake this for a book just about Pretty Woman! It is that, but it is so much more: a beautifully pitched introduction to feminist film theory, a powerful critique of our postfeminist and neoliberal age, and, above all, a bold, passionate and nuanced contribution to thinking about gender relations today. A truly wonderful book written with verve, elan, and Mari Ruti's trademark ability to convey complex ideas with an enviable lightness of touch. I'll be recommending it to all my students. Rosalind Gill, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, City, University of London

Author Information

Mari Ruti is Professor of critical theory at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is the author of several books, most recently The Singularity of Being: Lacan and the Immortal Within (2012), The Call of Character: Living a Life Worth Living (2013), and Between Levinas and Lacan: Self, Other, Ethics (2015).

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