- Title
- A world ruled by hilarity : Gender and low comedy in the films of Amy Heckerling
- Creator
- Speed, Lesley
- Date
- 2002
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/41166
- Identifier
- vital:1860
- Identifier
- ISSN:1443-4059
- Abstract
- Beneath their surface frivolity and boisterous humour, the films of Amy Heckerling use comedy to address themes such as gender difference, adolescent sexuality and parenthood. Although the association between female directors and genres such as teen film, comedy and romance has been seen to reinforce a gendered hierarchy, close analysis of Heckerling's work offers a more complex view of the relationship between women directors, teenage audiences and Hollywood entertainment. This article situates Heckerling's most well-known films, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Look Who's Talking (1989) and Clueless (1995), in the context of the significance of some female film directors in contemporary Hollywood. While her films exemplify Hollywood's tendency to absorb and de-politicise feminist values, Heckerling's career also reflects the role of contemporary female film directors in expanding teen film and low comedy beyond their traditional masculine preoccupations.
- Publisher
- Senses of Cinema Inc.
- Relation
- Senses of Cinema Vol. 22, no. 4 (2002), p.
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- Copyright Senses of Cinema Inc.
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- 1902 Film, Television and Digital Media
- Full Text
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