Citation

Gordon S. Fem. Media Stud. 2007; 7(2): 171-187.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14680770701286987

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article develops a feminist critical approach capable of responding to the uniquely pessimistic portrayal of female friendship in Crush (Alison Maclean 1992, NZ). Crush questions the possibility of supportive or empathetic relationships, disclosing instead a powerful feminist “need” for violence, between women. This poses a challenge for feminist theory which has yet to be fully understood (it is the first aim of this article to remedy this). Secondly, the article uncovers the same pessimism at the centre of Melanie Klein's psychoanalytic theories of idealization, demonstrating the “negativity” of Klein's work and its value for feminist approaches to cinema spectatorship.