As film stars, actresses have contributed to the film industry's glamorous surface. To talk about women in film as invisible may thus seem odd. This book, however, is concerned with the paradox that on the other side of the camera, women are clearly underrepresented. This is true of contemporary film culture, and has been true historically, despite significant variations between countries/geographical areas, historical time periods and different roles/professions in film production, distribution and exhibition.
Considering women's gradually increasing participation in the paid workforce during the 20th century, women's representation in film work might also be expected to increase gradually from the beginning of cinema and onwards. However, as the Women Film Pioneers Project has suggested, the number of women who at all levels inside and outside the Hollywood film industry was greater in first two decades of cinema than at any time since. This may partly reflect the fact that it was easier for women to enter the film industry in an early, experimental phase, before it had become apparent how lucrative the medium of film could be. Nevertheless there is arguably a need to extend the attention on women's contributions to film history beyond the silent era, making visible what has been absent in traditional film history books, and reclaim women's agency in a wider film historical perspective.
This anthology represents a step in this direction. The articles included in the book deal with women's agency in a wide range of roles, in film production, exhibition and criticism, but also with new perspectives on stars/actresses and their agency, and extending focus to include LGBT and queer identities. We pay particular attention to the challenges and opportunities that digitization offers for projects of this kind, including a wider range of methods, subjects and themes.
