DRAFT
WOMEN’S SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM
PARW 7645
WOMEN’S VISIONARY FILM:
MAGIC, MYTH, AND MYSTERY
Semester and Year: Spring 2013
Course Number: PARW 7645
Units: 2
Day/Time/Place: ONLINE, 10 weeks, January 27-February 28 and March 10 – April 18
Grading Option: LG / O
Instructor: Mara Keller: mkeller@ciis.edu; 415-575-6268
Office Hours: Tuesday, 3-6pm, CIIS office 408; or by phone appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Women’s sacred experience and beliefs are increasingly finding expression in the contemporary art of
film. Among the many types of film, a new genre is emerging: women’s visionary film. These films are
written, directed, and/or produced primarily by women and share women's visions of realities and which
inspire a better life for humans, other species, and the planet. The magical and mystical vision of many of
these works is embodied in the daily lives and sacred stories of ordinary persons as well as legendary or
mythical beings. The sacred themes of these films, in diverse cultural contexts, engage women’s selfreflective use of the arts to convey greater insight into the colors, shapes, emotions, and spirituality of
women’s lives—women’s imagination, suffering, hopes, beliefs, and dreams. These films illuminate
women’s spiritual sensibilities, skills, arts, and leadership among culturally diverse groups of women,
including Mexican and Indigenous, African-American, (East) Indian, Pacific Island, and European and
Euro-American women. We will explore the embodied spiritual dimensions of several of these films:
Monsoon Wedding; Mistress of Spices; Fire; Like Water for Chocolate; Blossoms of Fire; Frida; Daughters of the
Dust; The Secret Life of Bees; Whale Rider; Goddess Remembered; The Burning Times; Signs Out of Time: The
Story of Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas.
Prerequisites: none; Co-requisites: none
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
When this course is complete, the student will be able to:
1. Dialogue about the meaning and value of the new genre of women’s visionary film.
2. Write creatively about the spiritual feminist themes and sacred symbolism of these films, in
diverse cultural contexts.
3. Explore with aesthetic, spiritual, and political sensibilities women’s self-reflective use of the film
arts to convey greater insight into the colors, shapes, emotions, and spirituality of women’s
lives—women’s imagination, suffering, hopes, beliefs, and dreams.
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4. Appreciate more perceptively the art of filmmaking as a medium for expressing women’s
spiritual experiences and insight.
5. Identify and discuss issues arising from the successful or unsuccessful translation of women’s visionary
narratives from book form to the screen.
6. Identify the special challenges women filmmakers face in expressing spiritual experience in their
films.
PERCENTAGE OF COURSE COMPOSED OF:
Experiential: Viewing of Films and Discussion: 30%
Lecture & Discussion: 30%
Student co-teaching via film reviews and discussion: 40%
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Attendance and participation
2. Two co-teaching WS film reviews,
one per module, 2-3 pp.
(guidelines to be provided)
3. Final paper
10pp. MAs; 15 pp. PhDs
(guidelines to be provided)
Due Date
Percentage toward Final Grade
weekly, 10 weeks
30%
in synch w schedule
30%
first post on Monday
& turn-in paper by Saturday
April 27
40%
REQUIRED FILMS (to be rented):
Monsoon Wedding. Mira Nair, producer/director. Sabrina Dhawan, writer. 2001. (114 min.)
Mistress of Spices. Paul Mayeda Berges, director. Based on the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakarui. 2005 (92 min.)
Fire. Deepa Mehta, director, producer, writer. 1996. (subtitles in English) (104 min.)
Like Water for Chocolate. Alfonso Arau, director/producer. Based on the book by Laura Esquivel (113 min.; 1993;
Spanish w/ English subtitles)
Frida. Julie Taymor, director; Selma Hayak, producer/actress; based on biography by Hayden Herrera. 2002. (123
min.)
Daughters of the Dust. Julie Nash, director/writer. 1991. (112 min.)
The Secret Life of Bees. Gina Prince-Blythewood, director/writer. Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd.
2008. (1 hr. 50 min.)
Whale Rider. Niki Caro, director/writer/producer. 2002. (101 min.)
Goddess Remembered, Donna Read, director/editor and Starhawk, screenwriter. (available online for free)
The Burning Times, Donna Read, director/editor and Starhawk, screenwriter. (available online for free)
Signs out of Time: The Story of Marija Gimbutas. Donna Read & Starhawk producers, director, screenwriter.
Sorceress. Suzanne Shiffliff, director; Pamela Berger, screenplay. 1987. (97 min.)
Recommended:
Blossoms of Fire: The People of Juchitan Oaxaca. Maureen Gosling, Ellen Osborne, directors/writer. (documentary,
2006, 75 min.)
Pray the Devil Back to Hell. By Abigail E. Disney and Gini Reticker (director). Documentary. 2008. (72 mins.)
Wadjda. Haifaa al-Mansour, director/writer. 2013. (98 min.)
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REQUIRED TEXTS, INCLUDING COURSE READER:
(Some copies will be available through the CIIS bookstore; it is also expected that students will purchase
texts online. Students are advised to purchase these texts well in advance of the first week of the
semester.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Women’s Visionary Film Course Reader (to be purchased before the beginning of class).
Julie Dash. Daughters of the Dust: The Making of An African American Woman’s Film (New York: New Press,
1992)
Jain, Jasbir, ed. Film, Literature and Culture: Deepa Mehta’s Elements Trilogy. Jaipur, India: Rawat
Publications, [2007] 2009. Available from Amazon.
Choose two (MAs) or three (PhDs) of these novels:
a. Laura Esquival. Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes,
Romances, and Home Remedies. New York: Doubleday, [1989]1992.
b. Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Penguin Books, 2002.
c. Chitra Banerjee Devikaruna, The Mistress of Spices. New York: Anchor Books, 1997.
d. Mary Mackey. Horses at the Gate. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco; 1993. (available
from Amazon.com or iUniverse).
Mary Anne Gobble. Chicago Manual of Style: Quick Study (quickstudy.com; available from
Amazon).
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 0, January 21 -24.
Sign-in, introductions, syllabus, texts, assignments, online learning environment, protocols.
Purchase texts early, including course reader, before beginning of semester. Sign in the first week
of the semester. Choose your two co-teaching assignments, which two films you will review for
the benefit of the class (posting on Monday of the scheduled week), and co-lead the discussion
(Tuesday through Friday). Students should plan to engage in substantive discussion of the
lecture and reviews three or four times per week (Tuesday through Friday).
Please note: your participation is required each week. If you are absent for a complete week, then
please contact the instructor right away by email to see how you may make up the missed
coursework. If you miss more than two weeks, please contact the instructor right away to see if it
is possible to make up the work missed or if you should withdraw from the course.
MODULE I.
Week 1, January 27-31. Women’s Visionary Film:
A. Major Themes of the Course.
What is the emergent genre of Women’s Visionary Film?
What films by and about women have you thought of as visionary?
How are women’s visions translated into the media of documentary and feature films?
How can feminist, womanist, postcolonial, queer, and other film theories be useful in
experiencing and reflecting on women’s visionary film? (what is feminism? womanism?
postcolonialism? queer theory?)
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How can we write creative, knowledgeable, and insightful women’s spirituality film reviews of
women’s visionary films?
Readings:
1. Keller, Mara Lynn. “The Emergent Genre of Women’s Visionary Film”
2. Swift, Susan, “Introduction,” Film, Feminism, and The Sacred: The Tension Of Gender
and Mythology in Popular Film. San Francisco: California Institute of Integral Studies
DSS, 2000.
3. Hilary Radner and Rebecca Stringer, “Introduction: ‘Revision’?: Feminist Film
Criticism in the Twenty-first Century” in Feminism at the Movies
4. hooks, bell. “Introduction: Making Movie Magic,” in Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class at
the Movies.
5. Chaudhuri, Shohini, “Introduction,” in Contemporary World Cinema.
6. Miner, Valerie. “An Imaginative Collectivity of Writers and Readers” and “The
Feminist Reviewer” in Rumors from the Caldron: Selected Essays, Reviews, and Reportage.
7. Library Assignment: learn how to access CIIS dissertations: Susan Swift, “Film,
Feminism and the Sacred. “Film, Feminism, and The Sacred: The Tension Of Gender and
Mythology in Popular Film. San Francisco: California Institute of Integral Studies DSS,
2000.
B. (EAST) INDIAN CINEMA
Film: Monsoon Wedding —Mira Nair (114 min.)
Readings: Alpana Sharma, “Body Matters: The Politics of Provocation in Mira Nair’s
Film.” In E. Ann Kaplan, ed. Feminism and Film.
Week 2, February 3-7. (EAST) INDIAN CINEMA (con’t.)
Film: Mistress of Spices, based on the novel by Chitra Banerjee Devikaruni (96 min.)
Readings:
1. The Mistress of Spices, novel by Chitra Banerjee Devikaruni.
2. Cahir, Linda Costanzo. “The Nature of Film Translation,” in Literature into Film:
Theory and Practical Approaches.
Student film reviews comparing the film and the novel:
Week 3, February 10-14. LESBIAN CINEMA
Film: Fire – Deepa Mehta (108 min)
Recommended: The Color Purple; Orlando; The Kids are Alright; The Journey
Readings:
1. Jain, Jasbir, ed. Film, Literature and Culture: Deepa Mehta’s Elements Trilogy.
Specific chapters to be assigned
2. Susan Swift, “Fluid Boundaries: Gender and the Sacred in Sally Potter’s Orlando”
3. Film Reviews: http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/FilmReviews/ > Fire
Student film reviews:
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Week 4, February 17-21. MEXICAN CINEMA
Film: Like Water for Chocolate – produced and directed by Alfonso Arau; screenplay by Laura Esquivel,
based on the novel by Laura Esquivel (113 min.; 1993)
Recommended: Blossoms of Fire, directors/writer Maureen Gosling, Ellen Osborne (75
min.)
Readings:
1. Like Water for Chocolate, novel by Laura Esquival
2. Mary Mackey, “Making the Invisible World of Women’s Spirituality Visible: A
Comparison of the Film Like Water for Chocolate to Laura Esquivel’s Novel Like Water for
Chocolate.”
3. Film reviews
Guest Speaker: Mary Mackey
Student film reviews comparing the film and the novel:
Week 5, February 24-28. MEXICAN CINEMA (con’t.)
Film: Frida —Director Julie Taymor (123 min. 2002)
Readings:
1. Herrera, Hayden, Julie Taymor and Salma Hayek. Frida: Bringing Frida Kahlo’s Life
and Art to Film. Foreward by Hayden Herrera; Introductions by Julie Taymor and
Salma Hayek.
2. Film Reviews
3. Student film reviews
MID-SEMESTER PAUSE: no classes the week of March 3-7. This is an opportunity to catch up on your
postings if you did not yet make 3-4 substantive comments per week regarding the lecture and student film
reviews.
MODULE II.
Week 6, March 10-14. AFRICAN / AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA
Film: Daughters of the Dust– Julie Dash, director/writer (1991, 113 min.)
Recommended: Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Student film reviews
Readings:
1. Julie Dash. Daughters of the Dust: The Making of An African American Woman’s Film
2. Arisika Razak: “Daughters of the Dust”
3. hooks, bell. “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators,” in Reel to Real: Race,
Sex and Class at the Movies
4. Film Reviews:
Guest Speaker: Arisika Razak
Mid-semester Evaluation of Instruction, anonymously and in the classroom:
Halfway through the course, through a discussion thread, and through an anonymous questionnaire,
students are given the opportunity to provide informal comments to the instructor in a constructive
spirit. This is a time for the instructor to receive feedback on his or her efforts, and also a time for students
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to reflect upon their own. This conversation is to be facilitated by a student chosen by the class. The
instructor is to leave the room (or be offline if the course is an online one) while the facilitator is selected.
Please be sure to participate in the midterm course evaluation during the week that it is available, in
order to influence the improvement of the course for the rest of the semester. There will also be an
opportunity to discuss the contents and progress of the course in the online classroom. How well are we
doing in meeting the six learning objectives of the course (see page 1).
MIDSEMESTER VACATION, March 17-21
Week 7, March 24-28. AFRICAN / AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA (con’t.)
Film: The Secret Life of Bees – Gina Prince-Blythewood, director/writer; based on the novel by Sue
Monk Kidd (1 hour 50 min.; 2008)
Readings:
1. The Secret Life of Bees, novel by Sue Monk Kidd
2.
Ziareck, Eva Plonowska “Kinship and Racist Violence in Gina Prince-Blythewood’s
The Secret Life of Bees”
Student film reviews comparing the film and the novel:
Week 8, March 31-April 4. NEW ZEALAND / AUSTRALIAN CINEMA
Film: Whale Rider – Niki Caro, director, writer, producer; based on the book by Imaera (101 min.)
Recommended: Rabbit Fence Run
Readings: Niki Caro interview.
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?Article_ID=7351&p=y
Student film reviews:
Week 9, April 7-11. EUROPEAN / EURO-AMERICAN
Films: Goddess Remembered, Donna Read and Starhawk (55 min)
Signs Out of Time: The Life of Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, Donna Read and Starhawk (55
min)
Recommended: The Burning Times
Readings:
1. Starhawk. “The Burning Times” from Dreaming the Dark.
2. Mackey, Mary. Horses at the Gate
3. Christ, Carol P. Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women’s Spiritual Quest. (Intro and Conclusion)
Guest Speaker: Mary Mackey
Student film reviews comparing films and novel:
Week 10, April 14-18. EUROPEAN / EURO-AMERICAN (con’t.)
Film: Sorceress. (Le Moine et la Sorciere), Suzanne Schiffman, director; screenplay by Pamela Berger.
Readings:
1. Berger, Pamela.
"The Story and Scripting of Sorceress: A Companion Booklet to the DVDs"
2. Keller, Mara Lynn. “Sorceress: Mythic Archetype of the Wise Woman Healer During the
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European Middle Ages”
3. Recommended: Swift, Susan Eleanor. “Sorceress” in
Film, Feminism, And The Sacred: The Tension Of Gender And Mythology In Popular Film. San
Francisco: California Institute of Integral Studies DSS, 2000.
Student film reviews:
Concluding thoughts on Women’s Visionary Film as an emergent film genre.
COMPLETION: FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE: APRIL 27
For the final research paper, please address the purpose of the course (expressed in the course
description) and the six learning objectives for the course. EITHER
1) compare two (MAs) or three (PhDs) of the women’s visionary films discussed this semester,
in light of the course description on page one of this syllabus. OR
2) you may want to focus on one theme for your paper, such as Women’s Visionary Lesbian
Films; Women’s Visionary African /African American Films; Women’s Visionary Mexican /
Mexican- American films, The Films of Deepa Mehta, etc. Please clear your topic in advance
with the instructor.
Please post your final papers online by April 27 in the online classroom, so others can benefit
from your scholarship and creative writing.
Please be sure to participate in the final course evaluation, in order to influence the improvement
of the course for another time.
RESEARCH BIBLIOGRAPHY
Feature Films
Beaches. Based on the novel by Iris Rainer. Screenwriter Mary Agnes Donoghue. 1988.
Bend it Like Beckham. Gurinder Chadha, director. 2002.
Chocolat. Lasse Hallstron, director. Screenplay by Robery Nelson Jaccobs. Based on the novel by Joanne Harris
2000. (121 min.,)
The Color Purple. Stephen Spielberg, director. Based on the book by Alice Walker. 1985.
Dangerous Beauty. Based on the novel The Honest Courtesan by Margaret Rosenthal. Screenwriters
Margaret Rosenthal and Jeannine Dominy. 1998.
Daughters of the Dust. Julie Nash, director/writer. 1991. (112 min.)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Callie Khouri, director; Rebecca Wells, Mark Andrus, and Callie Khouri,
writers; based on Rebecca Wells novels Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Little Altars Everywhere.
2002. (116 min.).
Earth. Deepa Mehta, director, producer, writer. Screenwriters Deepa Mehta, Bapsi Sidhwa. 1998.
Based on the novel Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa. 1998. (110
min.)
Eat, Pray, Love. Ryan Murphey, director; Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt, screenplay; based on the novel by
Elizabeth Gilbert. 2010. (133 min.)
For Colored Girls. Based on the play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the
Rainbow is Enuf” by Ntozake Shange. Screenwriter Tyler Perry. 2010.
Frida. Julie Taymor, director; Selma Hayak, producer/actress; based on biography by Hayden Herrera. 2002. (123
min.)
Fire. Deepa Mehta, director, producer, writer. 1996. (subtitles in English) (104 min.)
The Handmaid’s Tale. Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. Screenplay by Harold Pinter. 1990.
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Hester Street. Joan Micklin Silver, director, writer; based on the novel by Abraham Caham. 1975. (90 min.)
House of the Spirits. Billie August, director; writers Isabel Allende, Bille August; based on the novel by Isabelle
Allende, 1993. (140 min.)
The Journey. Ligy Pullappally, director. 2005.
The Joy Luck Club. Wayne Wang, director; Amy Tan, Ronald Bass, screenwriters. Based on the novel by Amy Tan.
1993. (139 min.)
Julia. Based on the novel Pentimento by Lillian Hellman. Screenplay by Alvin Sargent. 1977.
Like Water for Chocolate. Alfonso Arau, director/producer. Based on the book by Laura Esquivel (113 min.; 1993;
Spanish w/ English subtitles)
Little Women. Gillian Armstrong, director; screenplay by Robin Swicord; based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
1994.
The Man Who Cried. Director/writer Sally Potter. 2000.
The Mistress of Spices. Based on the book by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Screenwriters Gurinder
Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges. 2005.
Monsoon Wedding. Mira Nair, producer/director. Sabrina Dhawan, writer. 2001. (114 min.)
My Brilliant Career. Director Gillian Armstrong. Based on novel by [Stella Marian Sarah] Miles
Franklin. Screenwriters [Stella Marian Sarah] Miles Franklin, Eleanor Witcombe. 1993.
Nine to Five. Director Colin Higgins. Screenwriters Patricia Resnick, Colin Higgins. 1980.
Orlando. Sally Potter, director/writer; based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, 1992 (94 min.)
Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding. Written by Joseph Muszynski and Christina Mengert. 2012.
Persepolis. Director Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi; Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, writers. 2007.
(96 min.)
Rabbit Proof Fence. Phillip Noyce, director. Based on the book by Doris Pilkington Garimara (2002, 130 min.)
The Secret of Roan Innish. John Sales, Dirctor, screenwriter. Based on novel by Rosalie K. Fry
Sarafina! Based on the play Sarafina! by Mbongeni Ngema. Screenwriters Mbongeni Ngema, William
Nicholson. 1992.
The Secret Life of Bees. Gina Prince-Blythewood, director/writer. Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd.
2008. (1 hr. 50 min.)
The Secret of Roan Innish. John Sales, Dirctor, screenwriter. Based on novel by The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry Rosalie
K. Fry.1994.
Silkwood. Screenwriters Nora Ephron, Alice Arlen. 1983.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Sanaa Hamri, director; Elizabeth Chandler, Ann Brashares, writers; based on
the novel by Ann Brashares. 2005, 2008.
Songcatcher. Margie Greenwald, director/writer. 2000 (109 min.)
Sorceress (Le Moine et la Sorciere). Suzanne Schiffman, director; Screenwriters Pamela C. Berger and
Suzanne Schiffman.. (France, 97 min. 1987)
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen. Director Margarethe von Trotta. 2009.
Wadjda. Haifaa al-Mansour, director/writer. 2013 (98 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-bhXoupJy0&feature=share
Water. Deepa Mehta, director, writer; Anaurag Kashyap (dialogue) and Deepa Mehta, writers. 2005. (117 min.)
Whale Rider. Niki Caro, director/writer/producer. Based on The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera.
Screenwriters Niki Caro, Witi Ihimaera. 2002. (101 min.)
Yentl. Director Barbara Streisand. Screenwriters Jack Rosenthal, Barbra Streisand, Isaac Bashevis
Singer. Based on Singer’s story “Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy.” 1982. (132 min.)
Documentary Films
Blossoms of Fire: The People of Juchitan Oaxaca. Maureen Gosling, Ellen Osborne, directors/writer. (documentary,
2006, (75 min.)
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The Burning Times, Donna Read, director/editor and Starhawk, screenwriter. (www.belili.org available online
free)
Goddess Remembered, Donna Read, director/editor and Starhawk, screenwriter. (www.belili.org available online
free)
Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World. Director Pat Ferraro. 1985.
Permaculture: The Growing Edge. Directors/Writers Donna Read and Starhawk. Producer Starhawk.
2010. www.belili.org
Pray the Devil Back to Hell. By Abigail E. Disney and Gini Reticker, director. Documentary. (2008, 72 mins.)
Signs out of Time: The Story of Marija Gimbutas. Donna Read and Starhawk producers; Donna Read, director;
Starhawk, screenwriter. www.belili.org
Women’s Spirituality Trilogy: Goddess Remembered (1989), The Burning Times (1990), Full Circle
(1993). Director Donna Read. Screenwriter Starhawk. www.belili.org
WHAT FILMS WOULD YOU ADD TO THESE LISTS?
See also: Women Make Movies. “Women Make Movies is the world's leading distributor of independent films by
and about women, with a focus on cutting-edge documentaries that give depth to today's headlines, as well as
artistically and intellectually challenging works in all genres. The Women Make Movies collection of more than
500 films is used by thousands of educational, community and cultural organizations annually.” For more
information, visit www.wmm.com.
Film Theory and Analysis / Film Criticism
Beeler, Karin. Seers, Witches and Psychics on Screen: An Analysis of Women Visionary Characters in Recent
Television and Film. North Carolina: McFarland, 2008.
Berger, Pamela.
"The Story and Scripting of Sorceress: A Companion Booklet to the DVDs"
Bluestone, George. Novels into Film. John Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Chakraborty, Mridula Nath. “Crossing Race, Crossing Sex in Gurinder Chadha’s Bend it Like Beckham
(2002): Managing Anxiety in Multicultural Britian.” In Hilary Radner and Rebecca Stringer, eds.
Feminism at the Movies: Understanding Gender in Contemporary Popular Cinema (New York:
Routledge, 2011).
Chaudhuri, Shohini. Feminist Film Theorists: New York: Routledge, 2006.
Codell, Julie F., ed. Genre, Gender, Race and World Cinema. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
Cahir, Linda Costanzo and James M. Welsh. Literature into Film: Theory and Practical Approaches. Jefferson NC:
McFarland, 2006.
Dash, Julie. Daughters of the Dust: The Making of an African American Woman’s Film. New York: New Press, 1992.
Diawara, Manthea, ed. Black American Cinema. New York: Routledge, 1993.
Haskell, Molly. From Reverence to Rape. 2nd edition. Cicago: University of Chicago Press, [1974] 1989.
Herrera, Hayden (intro), Julie Taymor and Salma Hayek (intros), Frida: Bringing Frida Kahlo’s Life and Art
to Film. Foreward by Hayden Herrera; Introductions by Julie Taymor and Salma Hayek. New
York: New Market Press, 2002.
hooks, bell. Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class at the Movies. New York: Routledge, [1996] 2009.
Jain, Jasbir, ed. Film, Literature and Culture: Deepa Mehta’s Elements Trilogy. Jaipur, India: Rawat
Publications, [2007] 2009
Kaplan, E. Ann, ed. Feminism and Film. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Keller, Mara Lynn. “Sorceress: Mythic Archetype of the Wise Woman Healer During the European
Middle Ages”(forthcoming)
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Mary Mackey, “Making the Invisible World of Women’s Spirituality Visible: A Comparison of the Film
Like Water for Chocolate to Laura Esquivel’s Novel Like Water for Chocolate.” (forthcoming)
Radner, Hilary and Rebecca Stringer, eds. Feminism at the Movies: Understanding Gender in Contemporary
Popular Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2011.
Razak, Arisika. “Daughters of the Dust.” (forthcoming)
Sobchack, Vivian. Beyond the Gaze: Recent Approaches to Film Feminisms [special issue of Signs: Journal of
Women in Culture and Society] Vol. 30: no.1 (Autumn 2004), Co-editor with Kathleen McHugh.
_____. "The Active Eye: A Phenomenology of Cinematic Vision," Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 12, no.
3 (1990): 21-36.
_____. "The Scene of the Screen: Envisioning Cinematic and Electronic ‘Presence," in Materialities of
Communication, ed. Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht and K. Ludwig Pfeiffer (Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1994), 83-106.
Schiffman, Suzanne. The Sorceress (interview, in French) in
"The Story and Scripting of Sorceress: A Companion Booklet to the DVDs" by Pamela Berger.
Swift, Susan Eleanor. Film, Feminism, And The Sacred: The Tension Of Gender And Mythology In Popular Film.
San Francisco: California Institute of Integral Studies DSS, 2000. ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses; 1999; ProQuest
Swift, Susan Eleanor. Orlando. (forthcoming)
Sharma, Alpana. “Body Matters: The Politics of Provocation in Mira Nair’s Films.” In Genre, Gender, Race and
World Cinema. Julie F. Codell, ed. (MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007).
Thornham, Sue, ed. Feminist Film Theory: A Reader. New Yori: Routledge, 19923
Walker, Alice. The Same River Twice: Honoring the Difficult. New York: Scribner, 1996.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple (screenplay)
Wartenberg, Thomas, "Philosophy of Film", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2011 Edition),
Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2011/entries/film/
Film Reviews and data:
Feminist film reviews by Linda Lopez McAllister
http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/FilmReviews/
http://mith.umd.edu//WomensStudies/FilmReviews/daughters-of-dust-mcalister
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/
IMDb / InternetMediaDatabase: http://www.imdb.com
For professional reviews at IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104057/externalreviews?backToAmazon=1&asin=B00003TKZB&click_tag=e+Mg4ch
mfETxR2P1
Literature and Literary Criticism, Art Criticism
Divakaruna, Chitra Banerjee. Mistress of Spices. New York: Anchor Books/Random House, 1997.
Esquival, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home
Remedies. New York: Doubleday, [1989]1992.
Christ, Carol P. Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women’s Spiritual Quest. (Intro and Conclusion)
Herrera, Hayden. “Preface,” “Childhood in Coyoacan” in Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. New York:
HarperCollins, 1983.
Keller, Mara Lynn. "Women's Art and Feminist Aesthetics," Book Review of Gisela Ecker, ed., Feminist
Aesthetics. Harriet Anderson, tr. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1986) in Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism, Spring 1989.
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Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Penguin Books, 2002.
Mackey, Mary. Earthsong Trilogy: (available from Amazon.com or iUniverse)
The Year the Horses Came. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco; 1993.
Horses at the Gate. New York: Onyx Books, 1996.
Fires of Spring. New York: Onyx Books, 1998.
Miner, Valerie. “An Imaginative Collectivity of Writers and Readers” and “Feminist Reviewers” in
Rumors from the Caldron: Selected Essays, Reviews, and Reportage, by Valerie Miner, Anne
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992.
Morales, Aurora Levins. Remedios: Stories of Earth and Iron from the History of Puertorriqueñas. Cambridge,
MA: South End Press, 1998, 2001.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Washington Square Press/ Pocket Books, 1982.
Women’s Visionary Film Course Reader
Week 1.
1. Keller, Mara Lynn. “The Emergent Genre of Women’s Visionary Film”
2. Swift, Susan, “Introduction” Film, Feminism, And The Sacred: The Tension Of Gender and Mythology
in Popular Film. San Francisco: California Institute of Integral Studies DSS, 2000.
3. Radner, Hilary and Rebecca Stringer, “Introduction: ‘Revision’?: Feminist Film Criticism in the
Twenty-first Century” in Feminism at the Movies: Understanding Gender in Contemporary
Popular Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2011.
4. hooks, bell. “Introduction: Making Movie Magic,” in Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class at the Movies.
New York: Routledge, [1996] 2009.
5. Shohini Chaudhuri, Contemporary World Cinema: Europe, Middle East, East Asia, South Asia. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 2005.
6. Miner, Valerie. “An Imaginative Collectivity of Writers and Readers” and “Writing with Class”
in Rumors from the Caldron: Selected Essays, Reviews, and Reportage,” by Valerie Miner, Anne
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992.
7. Sharma, Alpana. “Body Matters: The Politics of Provocation in Mira Nair’s Film.” In E. Ann
Kaplan, ed. Feminism and Film. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Week 2.
8. George Bluestone. “Introduction,” in Novels into Film. John Hopkins University Press, 2003.
Week 3.
9. Shohini Chaudhuri, “Indian Cinema” in Contemporary World Cinema
10. Susan Swift, “Fluid Boundaries: Gender and the Sacred in Sally Potter’s Orlando”
Week 4.
11. Mary Mackey, “Making the Invisible World of Women’s Spirituality Visible: A Comparison of
the Film Like Water for Chocolate to Laura Esquivel’s Novel Like Water for Chocolate.”
Week 5.
12. Herrera, Hayden, Julie Taymor and Salma Hayek. Frida: Bringing Frida Kahlo’s Life and Art to
Film. Foreward by Hayden Herrera; Introductions by Julie Taymor and Salma Hayek. New York:
New Market Press, 2002.
Week 6.
13. Razak, Arisika. “Daughters of the Dust”
14. hooks, bell. “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators,” in Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class
at the Movies (New York: Routledge, [1996] 2009).
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Week 7.
15. Ziareck, Eva Plonowska “Kinship and Racist Violence in Gina Prince-Blythewood’s The Secret Life
of Bees”in Feminism at the Movies, ed. Hilary Radner and Rebecca Stringer.
Week 8.
16. Nikki Caro interview. http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?Article_ID=7351&p=y
Week 9.
17. Starhawk. “The Burning Times” from Dreaming the Dark.
18. Christ, Carol P. Introduction and Conclusion Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women’s Spiritual Quest.
Week 10.
19. Berger, Pamela. "The Story and Scripting of Sorceress: A Companion Booklet to the DVDs"
20. Keller, Mara Lynn. “Sorceress: Mythic Archetype of the Wise Woman Healer During the
European Middle Ages”
21. Swift, Susan, “Sorceress”in Film, Feminism, And The Sacred: The Tension Of Gender and Mythology
in Popular Film. San Francisco: California Institute of Integral Studies DSS, 2000.
INSTRUCTOR BIO
Mara Lynn Keller (Ph.D. Philosophy, Yale University) is a Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and
Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the former director of the
Women’s Spirituality MA and PhD program at CIIS. She is a philosopher, thealogian, and a specialist on
the Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, Mother and Daughter Goddesses of Ancient
Greece. Her articles include: "The Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone: Fertility, Sexuality
and Rebirth," “The Ritual Path of Initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries,” “Crete of the Mother Goddess:
Communal Rituals and Sacred Art, “Goddesses around the World,” and "Violence against Women and
Children in Religious Scriptures and in the Home." As the Women’s Spirituality director from 1998-2008,
she produced dozens of special events on women’s sacred arts and scholarship, including a joint art
exhibition with CERES Gallery in New York on Ineffable/Woman. She serves on the Editorial Council of
OCHRE: Journal of Women’s Spirituality. Previously she taught Philosophy and Women’s Studies at the
University of California at Riverside and at San Francisco State University, where she also co-founded
and coordinated the Global Peace Studies program.
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