Film Images of Androgyny – Androgyny of Film Image

Paulina Kwiatkowska

Abstract

A book review of Karolina Kosińska’s Androgyn. Tożsamość, tęsknota, pragnienie. Postać androgyniczna w brytyjskiej kulturze popularnej i filmie lat 70. [The androgyne. Identity, longing and de­sire. The androgynous figure in British pop culture and film of the 1970s] (2014). The book is a fascinating attempt at examining not only a specific phenomenon in the context of history of culture and film, but also misconceptions associated with androgyny. The author of the book focuses on the analysis of four films: Performance (1970) by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) by Nicolas Roeg, Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Velvet Goldmine (1998) by Todd Haynes. The insightful analysis, full of references and contexts, is also an excuse for an incredibly inspiring reflection on the ambivalent and unstable category of androgyny. According to Kosińska androgyne ceases to be just one of many recurring themes in culture over the centuries and becomes a way of challenging the very foundations of Western culture based on the conviction that basic dichotomies female – male, surface – depth, margin – center, are insurmountable.