The name is absent

Appendix 3.1: Analytic methods - 6 films from 1954

Three sets of questions follow. I can ask about contemporary
audiences’ possible responses (their readings) by considering
audience pleasure and point of view, drawing on theoretical
propositions about the reading process. Answering this
question will entail consideration of contemporary published
material. Secondly I can ask how many female characters in
each film are developed, constructed to invite audience access
to their point of view, and affected by the narrative closure:
how often, in short, and in what ways is female experience
imbricated in the satisfactions the audience is invited to
experience as a consequence of the resolution of the
narrative. The answer to this question will be of particular
interest in comparison with sets of films from different
moments in my period, since I shall be in a position to say
whether the representation of women in popular film is more or
less consistent or whether there are appreciable changes over
time, and if so what these changes are. The numerical
relation of male and female characters on screen will also be
of interest. Finally I can ask detailed questions about the
particular ways in which women are represented in the sample
group of films. Specifically these questions can be framed as
follows: what female roles are represented? How are women
presented on screen and what is the narrative significance of
various modes of presentation?, and in what ways are female
characters affected by the resolutions of the narratives?

FEMALE CHARACTERS IN SIX FILMS POPULAR AT THE BRITISH BOX
OFFICE IN 1954

HM = Hobson's Choice

MP = The Million Pound Note

DH = Doctor in the House

RR = Rob Roy the Highland Rogue

OW = On the Waterfront

GM = The Glenn Miller Story

NOTE: the number preceding the character's name indicates her
order of appearance in the narrative

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