Maud Ceuterick's captivating video essay, drawing on the concept of screen performance as a source of meaning proposed by Cynthia Baron and Sharon Carnicke (2008), examines the body movements of two mature women – Teresa (played by Paulina García) in La novia del desierto (2017) and Salma (portrayed by Hiam Abbass) in Lemon Tree (2008) – as expressions of resilience and resistance against patriarchal domination. Through a feminist lens and the analysis of seemingly insignificant gestures – for instance, the frowning of the forehead, or the posture of the neck – Ceuterick skillfully demonstrates that the actors' interpretations subvert the more explicit meanings of the films' narratives —the characters' perceived powerlessness and dependence on men, their lack of agency, and their adherence to patriarchal norms. By showing the protagonists' inner strength and almost hidden refusal to succumb to oppression, these performances contribute to the understanding of the ways in which older women can navigate and overcome challenges through subtle means.

The video essay's use of the diptych format strengthens Ceuterick's argument. As Catherine Fowler (2021) persuasively argues, the diptych is a powerful feminist tool, whether used to contrast opposites or to juxtapose similarities. In her diptych, Ceuterick chooses the latter approach, building her arguments effectively through mesmerizing repetitions, pauses, and slow motion that highlight affinities, visual rhymes, and echoes between the gestures of the two women.

Furthermore, Ceuterick's use of sound adds a poetic quality and dream-like atmosphere to the video essay, perfectly complementing the analysis of body movements. The musicality of the accented voice-over creates an effective balance between the explanatory and poetic modes, while the use of seemingly insignificant noises – such as bird chirps, footsteps, or the sound of household tasks – adds depth and meaning to the video essay.  The transformation of the rhythmic ticking of the clock into the sound of footsteps is particularly effective, symbolizing a shift from individual struggles to progress in the fight for women's rights. This transformation is relevant because it serves to discuss and redeem the concept of resilience, which has faced criticism from theorists such as Robin James (2015), or Angela McRobbie (2020), for promoting a neoliberal ideology that emphasizes individual success and ignores the role of structural issues in causing failure. Through both the voice-over and the use of sound, Ceuterick's video essay presents compellingly a nuanced view of resilience, arguing that individual struggles can be significant and can serve as a foundation for resisting oppressive systems.

Ceuterick's work also recognizes the importance of acknowledging the material specificities of the body through its gestures, in this case the aging body, which has recently been marginalized by cultural gerontology, particularly by Margaret Gullette's argument (2004) that culture, rather than biology, shapes the way we age. In doing so, Ceuterick's video essay avoids a dichotomous view of aging as either decline or success, —a binary that has been challenged by recent research (such as that of Sandberg [2013], Medina, and Zecchi [2020])—, advocating for 'affirmative aging' as a framework for empowering individuals to embrace their aging process. Ceuterick's video essay demonstrates convincingly that "affirmative aging" and the bodily signs of resilience can be interpreted as powerful forms of affirmative feminism.

Works Cited

Baron, Cynthia & Carnicke, Sharon. 2008. Reframing Screen Performance, Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Fowler, Catherine. 2021. 'Expanding the field of practice-based-research: the videographic (feminist) diptych', Media Practice and Education, 22(1), pp. 49-60.

Gullette, Margaret Morganroth. 2004. Aged by culture. University of Chicago Press.

James, Robin. 2015. Resilience & Melancholy - pop music, feminism, neoliberalism John Hunt Publishing.

McRobbie, Angela. 2020. Feminism and the politics of resilience: Essays on gender, media and the end of welfare. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Medina, Raquel & Zecchi, Barbara. 2020. 'Technologies of Age: The Intersection of Feminist Film Theory and Aging Studies'. Revista de Investigaciones Feministas, 11(2), pp. 251-262.

Sandberg, Linn. 2013. 'Affirmative old age - the ageing body and feminist theories on difference'. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 8(1), pp. 11–40.