Christoph Straub

Department	Department of English and American Studies
PhD Supervisor	Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ralph Poole
PhD Co-Supervisor	Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hanna Wallinger
Start	SoSe 2017
Contact
Topic/Title	Visions of Femininity in Contemporary Indigenous Film

Abstract

For a long time, the portrayal of Indigenous identity in North American, Australian and Canadian cinema was shaped by the colonial gaze: where Indigenous characters were not entirely excluded from the plot, their portrayal conformed to the clichéd notions of white filmmakers. For Indigenous women, this stereotyping went even further, as they were subject not only to racism but also to the sexism of the colonial imagination.It is only in recent decades that a shift has become apparent: whilst there are still only a few films produced solely by Indigenous filmmakers, a fairly productive Indigenous film scene has nevertheless managed to establish itself. The works of these ‘subaltern’ actors, directors and producers not only challenge the dominant cinematic perspectives on history and indigeneity. They often portray strong Indigenous women, thereby creating opportunities to discuss the social role of the Indigenous population as a whole and, in doing so, to renegotiate the understanding of Indigenous femininity.This doctoral project aims to critically examine these new perspectives and, in doing so, to investigate whether and how such more self-determined ‘visions’ of Indigenous women engage with, play upon and thereby subvert the old clichés of Western perceptions.

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