The Sydney Feminists

  In film theory, the Hawksian woman archetype describes the female lead characters in movies directed by Howard Hawks. An archetype is a character model, or pattern, that is common in storytelling. Hawks made a number of films during Hollywood’s Golden Age that featured female characters with very similar traits. The Hawksian woman archetype stepped outside the Hollywood norm – his female characters were not reduced to being damsels in distress or sexualised objects – and instead had spunk, charisma, wit, intelligence and were cool under pressure. They knew exactly what they wanted and were not afraid to go after it, but, most importantly, had the respect of their male counterparts and were considered “one of the gang” among them. Film critic Naomi Wise (1945-2011) first coined the term Hawksian woman in 1971. Howard Hawks, himself, was born on May 30 th , 1896. He made his way to Hollywood in the 1920s where he landed a position at the Mary Pickford company. H...

Mary Pickford was an actress who is synonymous with silent film and early Hollywood. In 1919, she formed the film studio United Artists alongside other screen legends of the day; Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith. Chaplin had become famous playing the Tramp in comedies and was known internationally. Fairbanks was one of the most sought after male leads of his era and known for doing his own, dangerous stunts. At the time, he was also married to Pickford. Griffith was one of the first great directors. He popularised many common camera techniques and angles that, as a modern audience, we take for granted today. One of the first close-up shots in a Hollywood film featured Pickford in Friends (1912). Pickford had been acting in plays since an early age to support her family. Her mother, sister and brother – Charlotte, Lottie and Jack – were all vaudeville actors too. Pickford’s father died when she was y...

The alarm clock sounded and she stirred in bed. It was 4:30am and too early to get up. She felt like her head had only hit the pillow a moment ago. She couldn’t remember what day of the week it was; the days were blurring into one continuous shift. She and other women, of the Disney ink and paint departments, had been working double shifts to get the celluloid prints for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs finished in time for its premier. She reluctantly placed one foot out of bed and onto the cold surface below. She got up and raced to get ready before her mind had time to catch up, and complain about the sudden exertion. After leaving her apartment eating the last remnants of a quick breakfast, she shivered waiting for the bus. It was still early, but she fretted because anything could still happen to make her late. After hours of zigzagging on public transport, she had made it to the studio. She was just in time for the 9:00am start. Managers rhythmically walked back and fo...

To all the amazing women out there, fighting for justice, raising families, working hard at their jobs, trailblazing, speaking out, surviving…. We wish you all the best on this special day (and every day).  You matter, your voice needs to be heard and you deserve equal representation, opportunities and rights. Let us take a moment to remember that not all our sisters are able to celebrate today.  Many are locked away in the dungeons of sweatshops and factories, or are imprisoned for standing up for themselves, or are too afraid of abuse, or are unjustly detained in refugee detention centres around the world. Feminism is for all women, and those of us who are free to fight for women’s rights must remember to fight for the rights of all women!  Today, think what you can do to help other women less fortunate than yourself, who may not have the opportunity to fight for herself for fear of persecution or death. There are hundreds of organisations you can suppo...

In 1937 Walt Disney Animation Studios released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . The film was a commercial success with ground breaking visuals. It was the world’s first feature-length animation with over 1.5 million hand drawn cells being used for its production. With a number of timeless classics following in only a few short years ( Pinocchio , Fantasia , Dumbo and Bambi ), the studio quickly obtained a reputation for pioneering innovation. Like Walt Disney himself, the studio’s Nine Old Men animators (as they were affectionately known in later years) had reached a level of celebrity and praise for their work. Little was publicly known about the handful of women that had made the transition from the ink and paint departments to join the male animators. They worked for less money and, in many cases, didn’t even receive a credit on the final film to acknowledge their contributions. Though the records are scarce, there are four female animators who standout: Bianca Majolie, Sylvia ...

There’s been fair amount of discussion in recent years about women in gaming.  In feminist spaces, much of it has centred around what happened to Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian when she so much as dared to start a conversation about it on YouTube, and think pieces and op-eds abound about the various ways in which women are depicted and discriminated against both in games and in the industry. Women and girls have not just recently wizened up to sexism in games, though. It’s been sitting uncomfortably with many of us for most of our lives.  I went the path so many 80’s girls took when they saw pathetic, stereotyped, damseled female characters all around them in media; I tried to emulate the boys. I went with a “if girls are really as silly as they are shown to be, then I want nothing to do with them!” attitude, proudly proclaiming I liked boys’ toys and shows, boys’ clothes and boys themselves (though strictly platonically). I devalued the feminine, not because...

By Matthew J. Healy A television series is only as good as its creative team. Star Tre k is no exception. For 50 years now the franchise has been a cultural phenomenon, pulling in new fans with each new incarnation. The original series (1966-1969) pioneered many things and seriously went where no TV series, of the time, had gone before. It presented a unique view of the future where humanity had put their differences aside and explored the galaxy peacefully in starships. Our hero ship, the USS Enterprise , was led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) with Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Doctor McCoy (DeForest Kelley) not too far behind. A big behind the scenes imprint came from writer D. C. Fontana. Not only did she write some of the most notable episodes, but she held a position very few women had in the male-dominated era of 1960s Hollywood. Dorothy Catherine Fontana was born in Sussex, New Jersey, on the 25 th of March, 1939. From an early age, Fontana had a ...