Christian S. Hammons, a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and an MFA in Film Production, holds a unique position at the University of Colorado Boulder . His work is "ethnographically informed," focusing on the everyday lives of marginalized populations and the nuanced relationship between culture and the state in "out-of-the-way" places like the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia.
Butler’s (1990) theory of gender performativity suggests that identity is produced through “stylized repetition of acts.” In film, repetition becomes literal: the looped gesture, the ritual scene, the montage of daily routines. Consider Sciamma’s Tomboy (2011), where ten-year-old Laure’s passing as a boy named Mikäel is rendered through mundane acts—tying hair back, spitting, choosing a swimsuit. The camera’s patience (long takes of dressing, silence over dialogue) refuses to sensationalize passing; instead, it mimics ethnographic observation. Yet this is not “natural” culture. It is a deliberate performance scaffolded by cinematic time. Gender here emerges as learned choreography , not inner truth.
This book is highly recommended for:
A central pillar of Hammons’ analysis of gender in film rests upon the foundational work of Laura Mulvey and the concept of the "male gaze." Hammons expands on this by contextualizing it within a broader cultural framework.
While Hammons' book is a significant contribution to the field, there are areas that warrant further consideration: Christian S
In exploring the roots of cinematic realism, Hammons often points to Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves . While the protagonist is male, the film offers a crucial window into post-war Italian culture and the construction of masculinity.
Hammons' book takes readers on a journey through various cinematic representations of culture and gender, examining films from diverse genres, periods, and geographical contexts. By employing a critical cultural studies approach, the author skillfully unpacks the ways in which films reflect, shape, and challenge dominant ideologies and power structures. Through a nuanced exploration of filmic narratives, Hammons sheds light on the intricate dynamics of cultural identity, power relations, and social inequalities. Yet this is not “natural” culture
This moment crystallizes what I call transcultural spectatorship : reading without translating gender into one’s own cultural binary. The viewer must tolerate ambiguity.