Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Women's and Gender Studies

Advisor

Matt Brim

Subject Categories

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Film and Media Studies

Keywords

Sexuality, gender, film production, intimacy coordinator, heteronormativity, queer phenomenology

Abstract

This thesis explores under theorized questions of power, sexuality, and gender on the film set by analyzing the role of the Intimacy Coordinator (IC), a recent arrival in that space. A film set has its own culture, built from conventions, rituals, and hierarchies. The work of the IC occurs at the nexus of some of the most entrenched and invisible of these dynamics, including gender roles, bodily autonomy, and the power to consent. The author, having worked professionally as an actress, a director, and most recently an Intimacy Coordinator in film and television, now turns to feminist and queer theory, including the work of Sara Ahmed, to explore the ways lines of thought and lines of motion operate on set. The chief finding of the thesis is that the IC, in bringing attention and language to scenes that had previously been sites of avoidance and manipulation, can work to interrupt and destabilize them and ultimately enable a more creative and respectful work environment. The project, an annotated screenplay, stretches between the audio/visual world of filmmaking and the conceptual world of theory. It is presented in three sections: a two-column documentary screenplay, an abbreviated storyboard, and an annotated audio script. The storyboard helps to visualize a few of the metaphors in this project, among them Ahmed's path, Fraulein Maria's modesty garment, and Virginia Woolf's angel in the house. In the end, it is a Desire Line, an unauthorized footpath that is created when someone deviates from the official line, which may offer a different way to be in the world (on set), and leave a trace for others to follow.

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