Dorthy Arzner

In the reading "Author/Auteur: Feminist Literacy Theory and Feminist Film" , it describe auteur as an individual who create films who portray how they view life. The auteur i would like to discuss is Dorothy Arzner.

Dorthy Arzner was a pioneering director during the the "Golden Age " of Hollywood. She was one of a few women who establish a name for herself during the film industry in the 1920s and 30s, despite sexism. Dorothy Arzner was the only female to be a member of the Directors Guild. Many of her work focus on gender and the representation among women. Her works described the lives of strong , interesting women. They are as challenging the dominant, phallocentric mores of the times. Arzner was an lesbian who presented a masculine look to be compared to the men in her field of work.

In a movie she created called The Wild Party, it was both critically and commercailly. This movie was set in a women's college and introduced some of the codes lesbian themes. The Wild Party is about these women who are know to be party girls and display bad behavior. One of the girls named Stella found out that a professor of hers is someone that she had a sexual encounter with. The professor being ignored by these girls behavior don't even notice Stella . Stella tries to gain her respect with the professor.


Work Cited:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002188/bio

http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/arzner.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020590/plotsummary