QuoteProject
It seems kosher and OK to treat women as objects because the business of cinema is about images and when you have fragmented images of a woman's bosom and her swiveling hip and her twisting navel, it robs the woman of all autonomy and subjects her to the male gaze.
Shabana Azmi
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote criticizes the objectification of women in cinema, highlighting how fragmented images reduce their autonomy.

Shabana Azmi's quote sheds light on the pervasive issue of objectification in the film industry, where women are often reduced to mere visual fragments that cater to a male audience. This reduction strips women of their individuality and autonomy, presenting them instead as objects of desire rather than complex human beings, thereby perpetuating harmful stereotypes and limiting the portrayal of women's roles in society.

Themes

ObjectificationWomenCinemaMale GazeAutonomy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in discussions about gender representation in film classes or workshops.

More from Shabana Azmi

Women's health is not a niche issue - it impacts everyone in some way. That is why a collective effort to improve awareness and understanding of menstrual hygiene is key to closing the gender health gap.
Shabana AzmiRead
I grew up in a family that believed that art should be used as an instrument for social change.
Shabana AzmiRead
We never had money but it was never a problem. The spirit of comradeship, the commitment to gender equality, social justice and a celebration of pluralism and India's composite culture provided the glue that kept us joyous and closely bonded.
Shabana AzmiRead
My being Muslim is only one part of my identity. But particularly in India and the world over, a concerted effort is being made to diminish all other aspects of identity and only take your religious identity as who you are.
Shabana AzmiRead
It is accepted the world over that women are an essential part of what makes a society successful, and only through supporting and empowering women can a country truly be strong.
Shabana AzmiRead
India is a country that lives in several centuries simultaneously, and her people at any given time and place encapsulate all the contradictions that come from being a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual society.
Shabana AzmiRead

Similar quotes

He saw a lawyer killing a viper on a dunghill hard by his own stable; And the Devil smiled, for it put him in mind of Cain and his brother Abel.
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeRead
In living in the world by his own will and skill, the stupidest peasant or tribesman is more competent than the most intelligent worker or technician or intellectual in a society of specialists.
Wendell BerryRead
In bodies moved, the motion is received, increased, diminished, or lost, according to the relations of the quantity of matter and velocity; each diversity is uniformity, each change is constancy.
MontesquieuRead
Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephant.
Frans De WaalRead
I court not the votes of the fickle mob.
HoraceRead
War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.
Carl Von ClausewitzRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.