Karen Hollinger provides an accessible overview of women’s representation and involvement in film, complemented by analyses of key texts that illustrate major topics in the field. Key areas include: a brief history of the development of feminist film theory, the theorization of the male gaze and the female spectator, women in genre films and literary adaptations, feminism and avant-garde and documentary film, women as auteurs, lesbian representation and women in Third Cinema. Each chapter includes a 'Films in Focus' section, which analyzes key texts related to the chapter’s major topic, including examples from classical Hollywood, world cinema, and the contemporary period.