ABSTRACT
In the late nineteenth century, movies were originating in the penny arcades as "peep shows". The 1980s had no monopoly on violence, pornography, or cynicism. In every era of filmmaking, women onscreen have been subject to excesses and distortions, or at least pernicious cliches. Already in the justly celebrated work of Alfred Hitchcock, one finds many of these problems. He is arguably the greatest director of suspense or thriller material in the history of the cinema, a popular entertainer with a genuine vision of human corruption or corruptibility. The opening credit sequence of Kathryn Bigelow's Blue Steel, for example, shows Megan preparing for graduation from the police academy. This includes loving close-ups of shiny bullets being placed into a gun, juxtaposed with the buttoning of Megan's blue shirt. The metaphoric counterpoint of breasts and ammunition being tucked away suggests the closing off of sexuality.
