Mothers of Invention: Film, Media, and Caregiving Labor

353 Pages·2022·5.623 MB·English

by  So Mayer, Corinn Columpar

Praise for Mothers of Invention
“ This gathering of outstanding film and media scholars and makers demon-
strates how becoming and recognizing mothers— quite literally the oldest
job in the world—h as changed and challenged their work. Here the fusion
of their personal experience, art- making, and scholarship breathes new life
into disciplinary methods.”
— Amelie Hastie, author of Cupboards of Curiosity:
Women, Recollection, and Film History
“ What a timely collection on parenting, caregiving— and especially
mothering—i n film and media cultures. Contributors examine not just
representations of motherhood and maternity onscreen but working con-
ditions for mothers and caregivers in media industries, mothering as a form
of media labor and media consumption, and the radical possibilities of
feminized caregiving on set, in the classroom, and at home.”
— Shelley Stamp, author of Movie- Struck Girls
and Lois Weber in Early Hollywood
“ Never has the media industry been in greater need of attention. In Moth-
ers of Invention, Mayer and Columpar approach this challenge— with care.
They propose a refocused media scholarship that turns the spotlight from
longstanding discourses of innovation to reveal the foundational under-
pinnings of the industry: labours of caregiving. This wide-r anging collec-
tion of essays effortlessly models what it means to care, and the manifold
benefits of caring about care, carers, and caregiving in global audiovisual
industries.”
— Deb Verhoeven, Canada 150 Research Chair,
University of Alberta

Mothers of Invention
Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media Series
A complete listing of the books in this series can
be found online at wsupress. wayne .edu.
General Editor
Barry Keith Grant
Brock University
Mothers
of Invention
FILM, MEDIA,
AND CAREGIVING
LABOR
Edited by
SO MAYER
and
CORINN COLUMPAR
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
DETROIT
Copyright © 2022 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, 48201. All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
ISBN (paperback): 978- 0-8 143- 4852-9
ISBN (hardcover): 978- 0-8 143- 4853-6
ISBN (e-book): 978- 0-8 143- 4854-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021943124
On cover: Agnès and Rosalie Varda on the set of Cléo from 5 to 7 (1961), a film by
Agnès Varda. Photograph by Liliane de Kermadec. © Ciné- Tamaris. Cover design by
Will Brown.
Wayne State University Press rests on Waawiyaataanong, also referred to as Detroit, the
ancestral and contemporary homeland of the Three Fires Confederacy. These sovereign
lands were granted by the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Wyandot nations, in
1807, through the Treaty of Detroit. Wayne State University Press affirms Indigenous
sovereignty and honors all tribes with a connection to Detroit. With our Native
neighbors, the press works to advance educational equity and promote a better future
for the earth and all people.
Wayne State University Press
Leonard N. Simons Building
4809 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201- 1309
Visit us online at wsupress .wayne .edu.
References to internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither
the author nor Wayne State University Press is responsible for URLs that may have
expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
For the beloveds who are helping us learn about caregiving:
Freddie, Issy, and Mollie on one side of the pond,
and Daniel and Harper on the other

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
So Mayer and Corinn Columpar
I.
Working Parents
1. Messy Play: Privileging Anec- Data and Messy Research
Practice to Understand Creative Working Lives 19
Raising Films Research Collective
2. Managing Feelings: Raising Films’ Testimonials and
the Impact of Caring Responsibilities on the Emotional
Well-b eing of Mothers Who Work in the UK Film and
Television Sector 45
Susan Berridge
3. How to Do Everything: A Conversation between
Filmmakers 61
Kristy Guevara- Flanagan and Irene Lusztig
4. Watching while a Mother: Parenting, Spectatorship,
Criticism 81
Claire Perkins