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Women Make Movies: Progressively Multicultural Films by and about Women

Multicultural Education, Spring 2004 by Gorski, Paul, Habib, Caitlin, Hackman, Heather W, Subbaraman, Sivagami

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While Cusp can open dialogue on a number of levels, some dynamics of the film should caution us from seeing it as a universal representation of today's young women. First, it is largely hetero-normative in its approach and thus would not speak to young women who are questioning and forming sexual identities outside of the dominant, heterosexual identity category. Connected to this is the undercurrent of sexism and how Alice's burgeoning sexual orientation and gender identity are significantly constructed in relation to the attention and affirmation she receives from various men throughout the film. Sergel underscores this point through an over-exaggerated and threatening male gaze directed toward Alice during a moment at which she is more "dressed up" (wearing make-up and more sophisticated clothing) and walking around town.

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To her credit, Sergel does not allow this to go unchallenged by Alice and the next scene shows her back in her non-made-upself at school with her friends. While it can be thin at times, the film ultimately demonstrates Alice's resistance to this male domination through her choice to fight back against a boy who is harassing her at school. Upon arriving home she announces, "I fought back...at least I fought back," and the film closes with her mother affirming her choice to do so.

True to its title, Cusp introduces the viewer to some of the contemporary challenges of adolescence. Its artistic, story telling approach gives it a realism that can be felt while simultaneously denying it a more universal appeal. In particular, there was almost no representation of people of color, people with disabilities, or LBGTQ folks in the film. I recommend the film for those wishing to find a short clip that can quickly introduce issues for white, working class young women in U.S. society today, but do not recommend it for those working with more diverse populations of young people.

-Heather Hackman

Sumar, Sahiha. Don't Ask Why: Girls Around the World, 1999. New York: Women Make Movies. 58 minutes, color. $195.

Sabiha Sumar, an independent filmmaker from Pakistan, produces a stunning video documentary of a young girl, Anousheh, 17, growing up in an upper class household in Karachi. Don't Ask Why draws out the intricacies, the struggles, the rich joys, and the complexities of growing up a woman and Muslim in contemporary Pakistan.

The documentary evokes the multiply layered worlds that Anousheh navigates with the humor, tenderness, and compassion that make her struggle resonate for non-Islamic, non-Asian viewers. She is indulged, loved, and privileged, but her role as a woman is clearly laid out both by her father (a benign patriarch) and the culture and religion around her. It causes the usual mother/daughter conflicts over appropriate clothing and behavior and lengthy discussions with her father which leave her even more bewildered, for his apparent indulgence is offset by his strict, "rational" views on pre-ordained "natural roles" for men and women, which need to be maintained for "order" to prevail in society.

Women Make Movies: Progressively Multicultural Films by and about Women

Multicultural Education, Spring 2004 by Gorski, Paul, Habib, Caitlin, Hackman, Heather W, Subbaraman, Sivagami

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