Women's film and female experience, 1940-1950

Women's Film and Female Experience takes a fresh look at a wide range of popular women's films in order to discover what American female consciousness in the 1940s was really about. Arguing that popular culture reflects society--throught the mediation of myth and symbol--Andrea Walsh traces the main currents and undercurrents within the female psyche of the period by interpreting such film favorites as Mrs. Miniver, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Woman of the Year, and more. The author traces the evolution and development of the Hollywood women's film, and describes the social history of American women in the 1940s. She then analyzes domiant narrative patterns within popular women's films of the decade: the maternal drama, the career women comedy, and the films of suspicion and distrust.