Dylan Moran Post #1

The article for this week is entitled, “Producing and Consuming the Woman’s

Film.” It explores the female subjectivity of films in the 40s and 30s, particularly Now

Voyager. The article states that the traditional realm of the woman’s experience is the

familial, the domestic, and the romantic. These are the character traits that make up the

majority of the female characters of that time period. Movies then were often structured

around the glamour or lure of the woman. Advertising was often presented by having the

alluring female characters use of the products, such as cigarettes. In the beginning of the

film Now Voyager the main character Charlotte is projected as an undesirable woman.

This becomes a factor to her self-esteem, for it is based your popularity with other

people. Then there is a transformation with the scene on the boat when she is presented as

glamorous. She is framed as a person to be looked at; well lit, centered, and has a new

wardrobe in every scene. Being a movie star, Betty Davis brings a certain personality

type to all the roles that she plays. Independent woman in cinema usually fall into two

categories; the strong, noble, sympathetic or the evil, sexual and domineering. Betty

Davis has often gone back and forth between these two character personalities. She was

not only a big movie star but also a great actress, so her characters were able to avoid

feminine norms. This article talks about narrative pattern of womans text to be

predominately “herione’s text,” which is a story about a woman’s personal triumph over

adversity. These were other representations of woman that demonstrated woman-

enduring hardships completely on their own and how they are able to overcome them.

The ending of this film offers this type of character arch was the woman was able to

triumph over her adversity and become stringer in the process. By studying the female

character traits in Now Voyager and reading this article we are able to have a greater

understanding of the way female characters were portrayed in cinema during the 1930’s.