Feminist cinema as counter cinema: Is feminist cinema counter cinema?

Abstract

The article of Peter Wollen “Godard and Counter Cinema: Vent D’est” is considered as the beginning of counter cinema. In 1979, “Women’s Cinema As Counter Cinema” which was written by Claire Johnston and the article of Laura Mulvey “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” are accepted as the first theoretical studies of feminist cinema. Johnston, in her article, states that feminist cinema may be counter cinema and may be an alternative language against Hollywood movies in terms of production and content. When counter cinema, which has been produced with a different narrative and a different ideology against Hollywood (the dominant cinema), is analyzed with the seven sins of Wollen, how feminist cinema is counter cinema is the question of this study with the feminist movies. It is possible to say that feminist cinema shows counter-wiev in terms of ideological and the representation of woman against the dominant cinema. However, when the movies are considered in terms of narrative, it is wrong to consider as counter cinema of Wollen.