Between Gazes Camelia Elias postmodernism yokes together different modes of genre, periods blends high and low art plays and challenges the voice of authority thematizes and challenges grand narratives (love) and universals such as truth and evil (can love last?) intertextuality hybridization feminist/queer postmodernist films concerned with: the question of gender the signification of gender the spectacularity of gender postfeminism through the queer eye androgyny Queen Elizabeth played by Quentin Crisp agency postmodernism does deconstruct, but doesnt really reconstruct. No feminist is happy with that kind of potential quietism, even if she (or he) approves of the deconstructing impulse: you simply can't stop there. This important issue of agency has become central not only to feminism, of course, but to "queer theory" and to postcolonial theory. (Theorizing Feminism and Postmodernity: A Conversation with Linda Hutcheon (1997) Kathleen O'Grady) Orlando played by Tilda Swinton postmodern film and consumerism the postmodern consumer spectacle the commodification of signs (Virginia Woolf, tee-shirts, films, hard rock, sisterhood) the satisfaction of spectacle the encouragement of surface identifications (surface as history) the emergence of subjectivity through the visual the androgynous mind the psychological androgyne balance in the psyche (Woolf): the socio-psychological androgyne postmodernism (Lyotard) the essential androgyne beyond gender roles postfeminism (Potter) the performing androgyne multiplicity of selves and gender (Butler) gendered selves all gendered selves can be read as a series of performances gender can only be understood inside discourse gender is always negotiated Sasha played by Charlotte Valandrey Shelmerdine played by Billy Zane There is no I before discourse (Butler) or is there? Essentialism is a way beyond gender roles (Potter) really? Essentialism is not performative or is it? Orlando gender arbitrary performative essential history circular the past is before us vs future is behind us form aphoristic