Beyond Fertile Memories: Palestinian Cinematic Expressions of Generational Female Resistance to Patriarchal and Colonial Oppression

Abstract

Under both occupation and a patriarchal society, Palestinian women of different generations take up varying roles in resistance, or lack thereof, and this is a trope often explored within the context of Palestinian cinema. To examine this, I will consider the role of women in Michel Khleifi’s Fertile Memory (1980) and Wedding in Galilee (1988), Annemarie Jacir’s When I Saw You (2012), and Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention (2005) from lenses of space occupied by the female characters, as well as their generational differences. In a Palestinian context, a dynamic often exists with regards to female resistance against the occupation and against the patriarchy.&nbsp