Examining the ideas, philosophies and strategies that inform and enable
a young woman's self-determination for a new century, this is a
detailed, insightful study of Greta Gerwig's much-loved, influential and
critically acclaimed film.
Drawing on Transcendentalism, French feminist thought, Californian art
and the work of iconic American essayist Joan Didion, Rob Stone
approaches Lady Bird as a film about young women's self-determination
in relation to other women and waves of feminist history. Structured to
emulate the evolving conscience and emerging consciousness of the film's
eponymous protagonist, this new volume in the Cinema and Youth
Cultures series provides an incisive portrait of a particular American
youth subculture struggling to assert its identity between the shock of
9/11 in 2001 and the global financial crisis of 2008. It also
sensitively examines tensions between Gerwig and Lady Bird, and between
Lady Bird being set in 2002 and made in 2017. Written by an expert on
American independent cinema and the dynamics of World Cinema, this
volume explores strategies of self-determination that ignite in the
friction between mothers and daughters and culminate in considerations
of how the film's form and aesthetics lead to reflections on its
philosophy and politics.
Situating Lady Bird in the genre of youth movies and feminist film
practice and culture, this book is ideal for students and researchers
looking at wider dialogues and discourses about feminism, philosophy,
gender, genre and American independent filmmaking.
