Cinematic Howling

Book excerpt: Cinematic Howling presents a refreshingly unorthodox framework for feminist film studies. Instead of criticizing mainstream movies from feminist perspectives, Hoi Cheu focuses on women's filmmaking itself. Integrating systems theory and feminist aesthetics in his close readings of films and screenplays by women, he considers how women engage the process of storytelling in cinema. The importance of these films, he argues, is not merely that they reflect women's perceptions, but that they have the power to reframe experiences and, consequently, to transform life. A major contribution to feminist scholarship that will appeal to scholars of both gender and film, Cinematic Howling is written in an approachable and inviting style, full of vivid examples and attention to detail, which will suit both undergraduate and graduate courses in gender, film, and cultural studies.