Silent Women: Pioneers of Cinema

I could not recommend or praise this book highly enough.
If you are a feminist, this should be required reading.
If you are interested in film or media at all, this should be required reading.

Silent Women is presented as a series of essays by experts and researchers of remarkable creative women of the previous century who should be iconic and cemented within cinema history, however circumstances have caused each of these women to be forgotten, or in some cases, their work has even been buried or uncredited.

One of the things I love about Silent Women, is the double meaning of the title; women filmmakers in the silent era, and women filmmakers whose work and contributions to cinema history has been silenced. The book doesn't just highlight one type of woman either. They look into women of multiple races, nationalities and reasons for initially entering the film industry.

I admit, before I started this book, I had not heard of any of the women mentioned, however this enlightening collection has opened my eyes to multiple women who were courageous, innovative and original creative directors. In the case of Nell Shipman, I too share the enthusiasm of Karen Day, who wrote the chapter on her. I shared equal parts enthusiasm and fascination for every women featured in this book. They truly all were pioneers of film-making, whether that be due to their race, subject matter, dedication to their work, or time in which they created their material. I gained a deep sense of admiration for every women mentioned in this book after reading their stories, and I feel as though this would be the case for multiple other people who read this book in the future.

I also particularly enjoyed quotes from the women themselves, and those in direct contact with them, which were interspersed throughout Silent Women. These gave me a better sense of exactly who they were, rather than just having the opinions of the writers, or simple facts presented to me.

I can also see Silent Women being an important book and tool for film and media students in the future. It could also be a tool for those students studying sociology, and the repression of women due to the rise of a patriarchal industry, or anyone involved with gender equality movements and social feminist groups. I believe this book could be invaluable to a great number of people, and like me, could open up their eyes to a group of visionary, forgotten women. In my eyes, Silent Women could not only have academic weight, but also practical weight, and could inspire a new wave of aspiring filmmakers into creating their own content.

I greatly commend both Melody Bridges, Cheryl Robson and all of the writers who contributed to this book, and for compiling and editing it in order to create a piece of work that will acquaint many readers with these exceptional women.

This is a book that is created by women, about women, accessible to anyone, and written for anyone, regardless of gender.