Film Images of Androgyny – Androgyny of Film Image Cover Image

Filmowe obrazy androgynii – androgyniczność obrazu filmowego
Film Images of Androgyny – Androgyny of Film Image

Author(s): Paulina Kwiatkowska
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Sociology of Culture, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
Published by: Instytut Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Androgyny; David Bowie; Todd Haynes; Donald Cammell; Nicolas Roeg; Jim Sharman; British culture

Summary/Abstract: A book review of Karolina Kosińska’s „Androgyn. Tożsamość, tęsknota, pragnienie. Postać androgyniczna w brytyjskiej kulturze popularnej i filmie lat 70.” [„The Androgyne. Identity, Longing and Desire. The androgynous figure in British pop culture and film of the 1970s”] (2014). The book is a fascinating attempt at examining not only a specific phenomenon in the context of history of culture and film, but also misconceptions associated with androgyny. The author of the book focuses on the analysis of four films: „Performance” (1970) by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, „The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976) by Nicolas Roeg, Jim Sharman’s „The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975) and „Velvet Goldmine” (1998) by Todd Haynes. The insightful analysis, full of references and contexts, is also an excuse for an incredibly inspiring reflection on the ambivalent and unstable ca tegory of androgyny. According to Kosińska androgyne ceases to be just one of many recurring themes in culture over the centuries and becomes a way of challenging the very foundations of Western culture based on the conviction that basic dichotomies female – male, surface – depth, margin – center, are insurmountable.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 91
  • Page Range: 221-226
  • Page Count: 6
  • Language: Polish