Molly Haskell: Feminism and the Movies

Fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms speaks with movie critic and author Molly Haskell. A legendary film critic, with her first book, ‘From Reverence to Rape: the Treatment of Women in the Movies’ (1973) Molly Haskell fundamentally changed the way we look at women in film and basically started the whole field of feminist film theory and criticism. Starting her career in the mid-1960s at the French Film Office in New York, writing press releases about French films and translating for visiting directors, Molly began reviewing in the late 1960s. Over the next five decades, she went on to write for New York Magazine, Vogue, Ms., Viva, The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire, The New York Review of Books, Film Comment, and many other publications, in addition to writing five other books. From a traditional Southern background, Molly forsook the expected path of a housewife, instead choosing a career and a marriage built on a shared passion for film—she was married to fellow film critic Andrew Sarris for 43 years, until his death in 2012. Of course, this conversation touches on movies, but also about growing up in the South in the 1940s and 50s, feminism, the life of a writer and critic, and so much more. To sign up for my newsletter, visit https://laurakitty.substack.com/ For full show notes, episode resources, video clips, and a slideshow of photographs, head to https://sighswhispers.com/episode-46-molly-haskell Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms Featured Guest Molly Haskell