Stilwell (2001) uses psychoanalytic theories from feminist film studies to compare
film’s visual signs to its musical signs.
1. The visual is a masculine domain, while the aural is a feminine domain.
Stilwell (2001) divides film spectatorship into the masculine
look and the feminine sound. Though she is quick to hedge this claim by
clarifying that these categories should not be taken as discrete or essential
(a problematic aspect of most psychoanalytical theories), her argument stems
from the idea that the enveloping nature of sound casts the movie theater as a
womb, causing the male gaze to collapse in on itself if the spectator closes
her eyes.
2. By emphasizing the aural, films can position themselves to present a feminine experience with which women can more closely identify as spectators.
Stilwell applies
the idea to feminist independent film Closet
Land. For Stilwell, the film’s feminist spirit is best exemplified by its
emphasis on sound, a trait that manifests in a highly emotional experience that
prompts the viewer to take on a feminine subjectivity, identifying with the
female protagonist and rejecting the masculine space in which she is trapped.
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