Watching Rape: Film and Television in Postfeminist Culture

Looking at popular culture from 1980 to the present, feminism appears to be over: that is, according to popular critics we are in an era of postfeminism in which feminism has supposedly already achieved equality for women.
Not so, says Sarah Projansky. In Watching Rape, Projansky undermines this complacent view in her fascinating and thorough analysis of depictions of rape in U.S. film, television, and independent video. Through a cultural studies analysis of such films as Thelma and Louise, Daughters of the Dust, and She's Gotta Have It, and television shows like ER, Ally McBeal, Beverly Hills 90210, and various made-for-tv movies, Projansky challenges us to see popular culture as a part of our everyday lives and practices, and to view that culture critically. How have media defined rape and feminism differently over time? How do popular narratives about rape also communicate ideas about gender, race, class, nationality, and sexuality? And, what is the future of feminist politics, theory, and criticism with regard to issues of sexual violence, postfeminism, and popular media?
The first study to address the relationship between rape and postfeminism, and one of the most detailed and thorough analyses of rape in 25 years, Watching Rape is a crucial contribution to contemporary feminism.

Author: Sarah Projansky
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 08/01/2001
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.18h x 6.22w x 0.79d
ISBN: 9780814766903

Review Citation(s):
Women's Review of Books 06/01/2002 pg. 25
Choice 04/01/2002 pg. 1429

About the Author
Projansky, Sarah: - Sarah Projansky is Professor of Film and Media Arts and of Gender Studies at the University of Utah. She is author of Watching Rape: Film and Television in Postfeminist Culture (also available from New York University Press) and co-editor of Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek.