From Gaze to Resistance: The Awakening and Reflections of Female Characters on Screen
Based on the film Like A Rolling Stone
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/whzgyn76Keywords:
Marxist Feminism, Gaze of the Other, Gender Theory, Women’s Cinema, Female RepresentationAbstract
This paper offers a Marxist feminist analysis of the narrative journey of Li Hong, the female protagonist in the 2024 film Like A Rolling Stone, which is inspired by the real-life experiences of Su Min. Utilizing a Marxist feminist framework, the study examines the shift in Li Hong from being dominated by the patriarchal “gaze of the Other” to actively challenging and redefining her own subjectivity. Theoretically, this paper merges Marxist women's liberation ideology with an exploration of how capitalist consumer logic transforms the “gaze” into a disciplinary mechanism governing women's bodies and emotions. It uncovers the dual function of the “gaze” in cinema: serving as an invisible instrument for capital reproduction and being deconstructed by the narrative itself, offering a new critical angle for contemporary feminist film studies. Practically, the film, as a medium of popular culture, represents real-world gender power dynamics through its storytelling. By examining Li Hong’s journey to overcome traditional patriarchy and algorithmic capitalist control-such as her fight for bodily autonomy and redefinition of emotional relationships-the paper reveals the interconnectedness of screen narratives and real-life contexts. The research aims to derive practical strategies for subjectivity that are accessible to modern women, emphasizing the role of academic inquiry in reshaping societal gender perceptions and advancing gender equality. This study highlights the film’s distinct role in both challenging societal gender conventions and spreading Marxist feminist ideologies.
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