3TH070 Women, Theology and Film - Week 5 Lecture
WOMEN, THE BIBLE & FILM
Aim
This lecture discusses the correlation between images and treatment of women in the Bible and contemporary film and explores the usefulness of the feminist 'hermeneutic of suspicion' approach to the bible for studying film.
Objectives
To explore:1) The continuance of biblical stereotypes of women in contemporary film.
2) The sanctioning of violence against women
3) An exploration of the scope and methods employed in a 'hermeneutic of suspicion' and its appropriateness for analysing film.The Bible, like film offers women a problematic means of identification. On one hand, she is codified as temptress, whore and chattel on the other, brave, intelligent and beautiful. At times she is honoured, praised and bestowed with gifts; at others she meets a violent and undeserved death. In both, she is variously demonised, idealised and eroticised. - often in deeply distressing and disturbing ways. The same contradictions are continually manifested in cultural representations of women - from sacred texts, through fairy and folk tales and more recently in the tabloid press and film.
The Bible continues to be very much a cultural artefact whose images and stories are deeply embedded within the Western psyche so that it is impossible to be precise about the extent that it is influential on cultural products (film) or indeed, theory. By now you will be aware that there is a dominant way of interpreting the text - one which is usually intended by the (male) author - and an alternative way (feminist) which 'reads against the grain.' Feminist biblical hermeneutics have been engaged in this for a number of years so their methods can prove helpful for uncovering the male bias in film. It often involves telling or re-imagining the story from the subjectivity of the woman rather that the (male) objective view.
There has been some pioneering and important work done by feminist theologians in this field. Two important ones to know about are Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza who recovers female subjectivity in the early Christian Church and of women Rosemary Radford Ruether who uncovers the sexism at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition in Sexism & God Talk. There is also more radical, post-Christian work done by Carol Christ who seeks to recover the Goddess and Mary Daly who articulates an alternative specifically female non-Christian spiritual philosophy in Beyond God the Father. Here the Bible is rejected as hopelessly biased towards the male view point. You may or may not agree with this but you cannot deny that the Bible influences cultural images of women sometimes explicitly but more often in subtle and implicit ways. It is worth bearing in mind that while woman in the Bible are often invisible, unnamed or marginal to the text in film a woman can be highly visible but still invisible in the sense that her real self is not apparent - only the sexual, objectified body is on display.
1. Biblical Stereotypes
The most consistent and dominating image of woman that film and the Bible share is that of the Temptress or femme fatale. If we are looking at explicit representations of Biblical women you will notice how they reflect the social and cultural ideas of the time. Eve, Salome, Delilah or Jezebel would be typical examples. The latter were popular in the 1940's - of note is Cecil de Milles's 1949 film Samson and Delilah. A comparison between the temptress in this film and Fatal Attraction will reveal the difference in cultural understandings whilst reproducing a similar thread of the notion of woman as 'fatal to man- sexually irresistible , at once both fascinating and frightening, and ultimately deadly,' (Exum, 1996, p.176) found in the Biblical texts.
Molly Haskell in From Reverence to Rape (1975) deals specifically with the development of women characters over time. The vamp was popular in the 1920's, whilst during the 1960's and 1970's women were more likely to be the victim of male violence. However, in the 1980's - 90's Ripley in the Aliens Trilogy and Sarah Connor in the Terminator films are displayed a strong and independent heroines. In The Diary of Bridget Jones in 2001 the female protagonist is portrayed as a more realistic character but one who was hopelessly romantic. As we move into the 21st century the message seems to be that it's OK to be girlie as well as successful in the public sphere in such films as Legally Blond. Parallels with all these stereotypes can be found in the Bible.
Further questions to consider:
Where are characters of a similar 'type' such as Judith, Leah, Hagar, or Miriam reflected in contemporary film? Are they role models or expressions of male control?
If representations of women in film have implicit references to stereotypes such as the 'good wife' or the 'harlot' they will rework the Biblical theme and set it in a contemporary context. A typical example would be the leading female characters in Fatal Attraction where the dichotomy between the 'Madonna' and the 'whore' is explicit. Regardless of context, it is interesting moreover to note Annette Kuhn's argument in Women's Picture's (1994) that there is 'a tendency on the part of Hollywood narrative to recuperate woman. Moreover, it is often woman - as structure -, character, or both - who constitutes the motivator of the narrative, the 'trouble' that sets the plot in motion […] woman may thus have to be returned to her place so that order is restored to the world.' Kuhn suggests that this may be achieved in a number of ways: being restored to her family, falling in love, getting married or generally accepting a 'normative' role. If she fails to do so she is punished by 'exclusion, outlawing or even death.'(Kuhn (1994) p.34)
For instance in The Piano, Ada eventually returns to domesticity while Thelma and Louise become outlaws from patriarchal law and choose death rather than allowing themselves to be recuperated. Hagar in the Hebrew Scriptures is eventually cast out from Abraham's household due to Sarah's jealousy. Hagar can be 'read' as a woman under the control of patriarchal rule or (as in womanist theology) as symbol of resistance (she runs away from slavery) and believes in God's promise to look after black women and their children (God provides a miraculous spring preventing her and her son Ishmael from perishing in the desert.) The character of Ruth in the Book of Ruth presents similar ambiguities for a feminist interpretation. On one hand she could be seen as compliant and self-effacing and under to control of an older dominant woman (Naomi) on the other, she can be praised for her loyalty, for making radical moves and for taking dangerous risks.
Perhaps the middle way is to see her as being trapped in patriarchy but nevertheless questioning and resisting it at the same time. The more pessimistic view is that she is effectually 'erased' as her child is given to Naomi. (See Meyers, Carol et al Women in Scripture (2000) p.146 -147). On a more optimistic note, women today are more likely to be able to argue their cause. Hence in Disney's The Little Mermaid - the original story by Hans Christian Anderson, where the Little Mermaid dies, has been changed to suit a contemporary audience by giving it a 'happy ever after' ending. Arial is able to persuade her father concerning what she wants to make her happy - in other words - she finds her voice.
2. Violence against Women
There are places with the Bible where the rape and humiliation of captive women is taken for granted (Judges 5:30; Lamentations 5:11; Amos 4:2-3). There are also more detailed cases of the rape and murder of individual women such as the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34) the Levite's wife in Judges 19 and Tamar (2 Samuel 13). Furthermore there are instances where the Deity or God appears to dish out metaphorical violence to women codified in the trope of 'wayward wife' such as that depicted in Ezekiel 16. As such she is supposed to represent the sinful ways of Israel but Cheryl Exum suggests that this in fact 'suggests that abuse can be instructional and that it leads to reconciliation.' (1)
If you read Ezekiel 16: 59-63 you will notice that God's idea if reconciliation does not shape up to much. She is forgiven as long as she keeps her mouth shut - in other words- that she remains silent and submissive. You will also recognise similarities with the ethos employed by the sisters The Magdalene Sisters to redeem the 'sinful' women who entered its doors. Films such as Boys Don't Cry and Thelma and Louise where women refuse to submit are not reconciled back into society. Resistance to any form of domination tends to result in violence. Brandon in Boy's Don't Cry represents a typical response to a woman who transgresses her gender. In the real world of course this is not limited to women alone and often has racial implications.
Feminist Biblical Hermeneutics:
Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza has suggested that we need to approach Biblical Texts with a 'Hermeneutic of Suspicion.' In her words the Bible should have a warning label which reads "Caution-could be dangerous to your health and survival!" The links between cultural products i.e. film, have already been expressed and I am further suggesting here that a feminist critique needs to see both these links and to approach the reading of the Bible and Film with a similar 'hermeneutic of suspicion.'
In Wisdom Ways (2001) Schussler Fiorenza suggests a number of hermeneutical strategies. In particular, I suggest that you look at:
Worksheet 12 'Hermeneutics of Experience' (p.195)
Worksheet 15 'Cultural-Ideological Hermeneutics' (p.200)I am suggesting that her proposals and methodology can be equally applied to filmic texts especially in the respect that the bible is such a powerful influence underpinning the representation of women in films. Please read/use Schüssler Fiorenza's ideas by extending them into the area of interpretation of women's representation in filmic texts. You might want to consider whether her methodology provides a more suitable framework for feminist analysis of film than feminist film theory which relies more on (male) psychoanalytical perspectives.
Note. Her term 'kyriarchy' may be unfamiliar to you. It refers to the rule in antiquity of the 'lord, slave master, husband, elite freeborn, propertied, educated gentleman to whom disenfranchised men and all wo/men were subordinated.' She suggests that all modern systems and institutions are still 'stratified by gender, race, class, religion, heterosexuality, and age '(p.119)
Suggested Reading:
'Why, Why, Why Deliah?' in Exum, C (1996) Plotted, Shot and Painted pp.175- 238.
'Wisdom Steps,' in Schüssler Fiorenza. E (2001) Wisdom Ways pp 135 - 206.
'Making Visible the Invisible' in Kuhn, A (1994) Women's Pictures, p.67 - p.81)
(This is useful for accessing whether feminist biblical hermeneutics is a more appropriate approach to interpreting film than feminist film theory)
'The Silence of the Daughters: The Little Mermaid' in Warner, M. From the Beast to the Blond (1995) pp.387 - 408
(1) Exum, J C. (1996) Plotted, Shot and Painted, Sheffield Academic Press., p.112.
© Sue Yore 2004
