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PICTURES OF GIRLHOOD: MODERN FEMALE ADOLESCENCE ON FILM. Sarah Hentges. McFarland, 2006. 266 pages; $32.00.
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Sarah Hentges' Pictures of Girlhood: Modern Female Adolescence on Film begins with an ambitious goal: not only to review motion pictures targeted at teenage girls, but to actually change the films. By documenting and exploring the ways in which girls' films alternately empower and diminish their protagonists, she directs attention to the many adolescent experiences that are not represented in mainstream titles, and hopes to pave the way for movies that offer more unconventional, and more complex, portrayals of girlhood.
Pictures of Girlhood challenges the reader to critically ponder teenage movies comprehensively and the options they present to adolescent girls. Where, Hentges asks, are young women of color in mainstream films? Where are those from poor backgrounds? Where are those who are questioning their sexuality? And, most importantly, what does it mean to be...