I am not particularly despondent yet: the political tone of Jill Craigie’s equal pay film to be a woman

Wearing, Sadie (2021) I am not particularly despondent yet: the political tone of Jill Craigie’s equal pay film to be a woman. Journal of British Cinema and Television, 18 (4). pp. 423-441. ISSN 1743-4521

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Abstract

To Be a Woman is a short campaigning film made in 1950-1 by documentary film-maker Jill Craigie. This article offers an account of the film which aims to recover the affective life of both the film text and the archival correspondence between Craigie and the General Secretary of the National Union of Women Teachers, which refers to its production history. The article analyses the 'feeling tones' of the letters that describe both Craigie's attempts to get the film made and her difficulties in distributing it. It is argued that paying attention to these affective aspects of the archive and the film together enables a recalibration of (in a variant of Raymond Williams's formulation) the structure of feminist feeling in both the film and, to an extent, the wider public realm in the immediate post-war period. Paying attention to the film's affective dynamics in this way is also revealing, it is suggested, of its class and race positionality, enabling a more nuanced critical account of its politics.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://euppublishing.com/loi/jbctv
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Author
Divisions:	Gender Studies
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Date Deposited:	05 Aug 2021 16:00
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2024 07:30
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/111555

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