Description
Book SynopsisNoting that motherhood is a common metaphor for film production, Lucy Fischer undertakes the first investigation of how the topic of motherhood presents itself throughout a wide range of film genres. Until now discussions of maternity have focused mainly on melodramas, which, along with musicals and screwball comedies, have traditionally been viewe
Trade Review"Erudite and insightful, great portions of the book are excellent."--Choice
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments1Introduction: Motherhood and Film: A Critical Genealogy32The Trick Film: The Lady Vanishes: Women, Magic, and the Movies373Silent Melodrama: Way Down East: Melodrama, Metaphor, and the Maternal Body564The Horror Film: Birth Traumas: Parturition and Horror in Rosemary's Baby735The Crime Film: Mama's Boy: Filial Hysteria in White Heat926Film Comedy: "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child": Comedy and Matricide1117The Thriller: The Hand That Shocks the Cradle: The Maternal Thriller1318The Postmodern Film: Postmodernity and Postmaternity: High Heels and Imitation of Life1629The Nonfiction Film: "The Reproduction of Mothering": Documenting the Mother-Daughter Bond17910Epilogue: Maternity and the Artist: "A Remarkable Zoological Species"214Index231
