Dr. Cynthia Lucia

Since arriving at Rider University two years ago, Dr. Cynthia Lucia, an assistant professor of English, has made significant strides, publishing her first book and creating the University's cinema studies concentration.

Both ventures have been a natural extension of a subject about which she is most passionate: analyzing and writing about film, particularly the representation of women in film. For the past 14 years, she has served as one of three active editors on the board of Cineaste, a quarterly publication devoted to the art and politics of Hollywood, independent and international cinemas.

"I love working as a film review editor for Cineaste," said Lucia. "I get to see current films - both fiction and documentary - and to consider how best we might cover them.

"I have also read articles and interviews submitted on a variety of film-related topics. Working with the editors and various critics and scholars who write for the magazine has been a richly rewarding learning experience."

Lucia's book, Framing Female Lawyers: Women on Trial in Film (University of Texas Press, 2005), has been 12 years in the making. She began working on it as her doctoral dissertation in the department of cinema studies at New York University.

"I have long been intrigued by the complex factors that shape the way women and other minority groups are represented in film," said Lucia, who closely examined films ranging from the 1949 "Adam's Rib" to those of the '80s and '90s, including "The Accused" and "The Client." "During the early '90s I began to notice that there were many films about female lawyers as protagonists - a profession chosen by Hollywood for women far more frequently than any other profession," said Lucia, who is currently working on a book on the French filmmaker Patrice Leconte and on a film study textbook.

"Despite this development, I noticed that in the guise of adopting a progressive, liberal stance, the films actually undermined the power of the female lawyer. As I delved more deeply into it, I became aware that the films suggested a kind of crisis in masculine/patriarchal power - even if it is done unconsciously. I am fascinated with how this specific genre of film meshes with other genres such as thrillers, action romance and romantic comedy."

At Rider, English majors now have the opportunity to examine such issues and myriad others in film in greater depth. Since her arrival at Rider, Lucia created Rider's cinema studies concentration for English majors and minors. Starting this fall semester, English majors enrolled in the concentration are required to take 18 credits in film in addition to the required English courses, and students minoring in English with the concentration must take nine credits in film.

Special emphasis is placed on three areas: film aesthetics, film theory and film history. Students also have the opportunity to take several courses in other departments such as Film Music (MUS 309), Psychology and Film (PSY 375) and Documentary Film (COM 291), among others. To date, approximately 12 are enrolled in the concentration. Several are involved in Rider's Alternative Film Club, which has been in existence since spring 2004, and have writing-based film internships.

"I'd most like students to watch films actively rather than passively," said Lucia. "I want them to feel a passion for seeing a single film repeatedly to figure out how it works. I'd love to see them look for a particular film from the '30s and '40s or pick a foreign film rather than immediately choosing the latest Hollywood blockbuster. I also believe it's important for students to appreciate a wide range of writing on film - from theory, to history to criticism."

Return to top