Locating Gender in The Cinematic Construction of Student Activism

Abstract

Mainstream cinema has flourished to become an accommodating space for the expression of student activism. Many 21st century films employ student protest narratives to explore the ideological agendas of the youth and its constantly evolving ethos. This research employs Qualitative Character Analysis of the female protagonists of seven student protest films to unearth ideological identification of student leadership and gender-specific placements of leadership attributes in cinema. It uses the Marxist Film Theory and the Feminist Film theory to analyze the intersectionality between student activism and gender in the context of mainstream cinema. In doing so, the research outlines the gendered misrepresentation of female narratives and the consequent alienation of women from positions of advocacy.