The second part of the article focuses on the interaction between women and women’s narrative cinema in the processes of capitalist modernization, as well as the rise and decline of the latter.
In an industrialized context, the influx of a large number of female labourers into the production sphere implies that more and more women have gained greater freedom and power. Entirely new modern architectural spaces have been created, and women have gradually entered the public domain. The image of the female protagonist in the film represents the aspirations of working-class women, depicting an ideal of the new era for them. As women on screen navigate through modernized architectural spaces, film characters connect with the rising modernized society, naturally presenting a breakthrough in women’s self-awakening, becoming the most vivid highlight of that era. Although these working-class films only opened a small aperture on the surface of male-dominated discourse, they are full of boundless vitality.
It is worth noting that architectural space, as a projection of the political-economic environment and its reciprocal influence on social thought, will present a more complex state in today and the future. The diversification of production and leisure spaces and the socialization of gender issues make it inevitably more complex than in the context of the working-class extended family. Therefore, analyzing social space to forecast potential trends in social development could be a wise approach to addressing future risks.
— Qiu Xiaoyuan, 3036126795
Good summarization of the status of women and modernism as depicted in the article. I appreciate your personal thoughts on this discourse, particularly that it is even more relevant today. What themes do you think could be addressed now that would not be in the past?