Woman and the Car, The (ATOM Study Guide)

Overview

The Woman and the Car explores motherhood, feminism, mobility and how the car contributed to shaping these aspects of women’s experience. The documentary is framed as an intergenerational conversation between two Adelaide artists, director Kate Blackmore and ceramist and filmmaker Margaret Dodd. Although growing up years apart, both have an interest in the everyday experiences of women.

Dodd is best known for her ceramic Holden cars and This Woman Is Not a Car (1982), her iconic short film which presents a nightmarish vision of a young mother trapped in suburbia. Like many of her generation, Dodd longed for a Holden, since at the time owning a car was a form of liberation not often realised. Now, a generation later and sitting in an FX Holden, Blackmore talks to Dodd and two of her friends, Mary Christie and Julie Ewington, about the context in which that film was made, discussing marriage, motherhood, feminism and what has changed for women since 1982. 

The conversations and excerpts from Dodd’s film are intercut with archival footage of 1970s Adelaide. Also included are interviews with Holden enthusiasts and ex-factory workers, linking with broader issues of identity, class, race and industry, factors which also impact on the experiences of women.

Curriculum Links

This study guide is designed to support high school, undergraduate and graduate teachers and learners from a wide range of fields of study, including:

• English
• Media Arts
• Cultural Studies
• Women’s Studies
• History (in particular, Modern History Unit 2: Movements of change in the 20th century)