How To Make Female Action Heroes - Madhusree Dutta

Indian stunt artists who conceal their faces are paid more than those who appear on screen, while Black women stunt performers are often cast in roles so marginal that their characters are not even given names in the script. Madhusree Dutta explores hierarchies and exclusion within cinematic practices, interweaving this analysis with alternating chapters from the life stories of two female film students. Situated between the personal and the archival, Dutta traces the construction of the femme fatale aesthetic and examines the role of body doubles in a film industry where certain identities are consistently favoured over others.