When we think of women in film, who do we think of? Some might think of today’s biggest Hollywood stars, from Zendaya to Nicole Kidman and Tilda Swinton. Others might return to the forever icon, Marilyn Monroe, only hoping to recall her glamorous era of stardom. But for those amongst us who seek out a sense of familiarity from the silver screen, perhaps there’s no one quite like Michelle Yeoh, charting a path no one else has in an industry that favours the Western eye. Such is the subject of Goddess: Brave. Bold. Beautiful. the latest exhibition to have landed itself at ArtScience Museum, after an initial iteration at ACMI in Melbourne, Australia. Reinvigorated with an Asian lens, the exhibit seeks to take its audience through 120 years of extensive moving image history—only this time, it’s being done through the eye of the female.
To set the tone, a sprawling red carpet meets an overhead soundscape assembled by composer and music producer Chiara Costanza at the exhibition’s entrance. You’ll soon realise that you’re listening to strings of words that strike an emboldening sense of female solidarity—all sampled and extracted from the various talk shows, acceptance speeches and films of the most influential women in film today. This sentiment is constantly mirrored all throughout the rest of the experience. Each dedicated zone of Goddess flits from past to present, photography to moving image, motif to costume—all to portray how actresses from all over the world have constantly risen above their assigned ‘roles’ and stereotypes, fighting back in one way or another.
Perhaps aptly so, the exhibition begins with a look at the impact of Marilyn Monroe—who was often typecast in roles that portrayed her as a sex symbol. Whilst some might consider her position in film as antithetical to feminism, it is precisely the way she sought to reclaim her body and fought back against a restrictive film studio system that have earned her an iconic status. With three original costumes of other filmic roles that paid tribute to Monroe, such as Margot Robbie’s Monroe-esque sequence as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey, the exhibition celebrates Monroe’s feminist legacy—in all of her pink, blonde glory.
On the flip side, Goddess’s keen attention to the fluidity of the female is also elucidated throughout its entirety. Like a powerful tribute to Dorothy Dandridge, who paved the way for every person of colour to come. Or the exquisite costumes Tilda Swinton wore in cult classic Orlando, in a section titled ‘Breaking the Binary’. “It’s really about how gendered roles in cinema are quite absurd, if you think about the roles women and men were meant to play,” offers Deborah Lim, the curator of Goddess: Brave. Bold. Beautiful.
If parallels could be made to the Asian landscape, then Goddess puts forth the richness of Chinese opera—where playing roles of the opposite gender had long been normalised. Renowned actress and Cantonese opera legend Yam Kim-fai is one such focus in the exhibition, and her charming portrayals of the male characters in Princess Cheung Ping and Sixteen Years of Love and Hate can be taken as a starting point of discussion for ideals of masculinity amongst Asians today.
Throughout the rest of Goddess, Asian representation remains ripe. From portraits of Gong Li in Curse of the Golden Flower to a notable homage to Singapore’s first Hollywood actress Fann Wong and an electrifying display of the real costumes worn by Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi in wuxia classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the exhibition magnifies the undeniable impact of these Asian leading ladies who went above and beyond to shatter the once-commonplace beliefs that Asian women should only fit one of two moulds in the industry: of either the evil ‘Dragon Lady’ or the contrived ‘Lotus Flowers’ on screen.
As the cherry on top, an entire section has also been dedicated to three film icons who ruled the roost in the golden age of Malay cinema: Maria Menado, Saloma and K. Fatimah. The uninitiated can glean a taste of the powerful on-screen characters these women once played in their heydays, and even admire the kebayas and costumes worn by these women.
But at its core, Goddess doesn’t forget to be fun. Towards the end, a vivid display of vintage posters from the ‘Blaxploitation’ era of films join an entire series of super cuts taken from films that displayed women in positions of literal power—and fighting back against their male counterparts. “It packs a punch and adds a sort of energy that people normally wouldn’t expect to see in a museum,” quips Honor Harger, vice-president of ArtScience Museum. Adding to the dynamic, eclectic mood of the exhibit is an interactive experience that allows its users to try on a series of AI-developed digital filters—to prompt every individual to feel empowered to transform into their screen personas.
With spirits high and the woman emboldened, there is nothing quite like its finale, where a series of hanging LED displays feature clips of iconic scenes led by famed actresses across film and television, be it a certified punchline or an actress taking their final bow out of the screen. In essence, it’s a stirring end and a you-had-to-be-there sort of moment that speaks to female solidarity—nothing short of brave, bold, and beautiful.
Goddess: Brave. Bold. Beautiful. will be on exhibit at ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands from now till 11 August 2024.
