Pink-Slipped

In general a good analysis and speculation on the role of women in early film, as film pioneers, directors and actresses, an especially tricky task in that a lot of this information, like much silent film has been lost or gotten destroyed over the years. Some interesting insight into the era.

As for negatives, it does suffer mildly from overuse of quotes. Not necessarily an awful thing, in that it shows the author has definitely done their research, but I feel the amount of quotations could make reading a bit strenuous for some.
While it has some issues, I commend the author for writing such an in-depth and factual-as-possible book, when it is so difficult to find records on the topic. I would recommend to those with an interest in silent films and feminist history.

This was such a good read, it was on a topic that I really haven't read much on but was always curious about it. It was really sad to think about, but onto the book, it was really good. It was well written and seemed to be well researched on something that is rarely talked about.

We see the role of women increasingly being explained within the greater scope of universal history, and it is not surprising that these new information is being gathered by women themselves.  Jane M. Gaines is looking into the area of motion pictures finding that women had been part of it even when this is barely mentioned (if it is at all) in film history books.  This is a very short book, so it barely touches on the subject, but it does in a way that the readers feel prompted to explore it more.  At about 297 pages, 200 of those pages belong to the actual text and the rest of them are devoted to tools such as an appendix, notes, a bibliography, and an index which users can use to expand more on this subject.  I think this book will be a nice addition to any Women’s Studies and Film Classes as it may help readers find direction within a relatively new subject.  I received a free copy via NetGalley.

Intriguing book. I had hoped it would be a pleasanter read, but it bogs down and gets a tad confusing at times. Still, it was interesting enough of a read about a subject I don't think has been explored enough. I love the old silent films! I had hoped to at least glean enough info to get started looking up women in the early industry on my own. sadly, much info has been lost or buried, so it was exciting to discover this book. Jane M. Gaines does deserve some credit for attempting to get the info she found out here for all of us. And there are good leads in it. More research likely needs to be done. I'm not sure I'd recommend this book to any but real silent film fans, and even then, maybe they should check out this book in a library before purchase for their collection.

Gives an insight into an area I am interested in but knew little about (women in the silent movie era). Sometimes reads more like an academic text but enjoyable nonetheless.