Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Humanities and Cultural Studies

Major Professor

Scott Ferguson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Todd Jurgess, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Amy Rust, Ph.D.

Keywords

male gaze, #MeToo, popular feminism, Incel, black pill, red pill

Abstract

Scholarship on women filmmakers has not significantly emphasized the burden women auteurs carry when bracing themselves for the reception from misogynistic community discourse online, the manosphere. Director Greta Gerwig and screenwriter Diablo Cody are not simply perceived as filmmakers but as birth mothers of their work: Barbie (2023) and Jennifer’s Body (2009) which convey inherently popular feminist narratives. I argue Cody and Gerwig faced the wrath of the men online because they are inextricably linked to their productions, the feminization of their work in the eyes of the manosphere equals personalization. Despite Cody having the freedom to write any film she wished after her breakout hit Juno, she had to do so within the constraints of the masculine eye. After its release, Jennifer’s Body was attacked on social media because it did not meet the expectations posed by the misogynistic marketing campaign. Whereas, from the onset, Barbie had a strong woman-centric fanbase to support the film and its marketing campaign; one could attribute this to the residue from the #MeToo movement. I contend that #MeToo provided a space of solace for women filmmakers with the ungovernable presence of the manosphere. The duality of online discourse within the manosphere and the subsequent retaliation from women supporting #MeToo must be examined to understand the effects of online reception. This exploration’s mission is to assess whether the auteurist framework serves as an asset or a liability for the promotion of women filmmakers’ and their feminist pieces.

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