Jewish Journal Quotes CSW Director in article on “In the Land of Blood and Honey”
Jewish Journal Quotes CSW Director in article on “In the Land of Blood and Honey”
Susan Freudenheim quotes CSW Kathleen McHugh in an article on the premiere of “In the Land of Blood and Honey” in the Jewish Journal:
Kathleen A. McHugh, director of UCLA’s Center for the Study of Women, which was one of the presenters of the premiere event, spoke to me as well about her impressions of the film, which she had already seen twice. McHugh is a film scholar as well as a leader in women’s studies, and we discussed how Jolie depicted horrific rape scenes with tremendous empathy for the women: “The camera spends most of its time on reaction shots,” McHugh pointed out. “You saw people’s feet, but not the act. Everything is being used to de-eroticize rape.” McHugh added that “Hollywood has no trouble showing women in the worst circumstances being perfectly coiffed,” but these women are shown without makeup or enhancements and yet are allowed to be beautiful in their own right.
What is most important about this film, she noted, is not just the story it tells of what once happened, but also of what might.
“I got the sense that the reason Jolie made the film is that the situation is still very fragile,” McHugh said.
Read the whole article: A Moment for Angelina Jolie
