Never done : a history of women's work in media production /
Erin Hill.
- New Brunswick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press, (c)2016.
- 1 online resource (x, 283 pages) : illustrations.
Based on the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of California, Los Angeles.
Includes bibliographies and index.
Introduction -- Paper trail: efficiency, clerical labor, and women in the early film industry -- Studio tours: feminized labor in the studio system -- The Girl Friday and how she grew: female clerical workers and/as the system -- "His acolyte on the altar of cinema": the studio secretary's creative service -- Studio girls: women's professions in media production -- Epilogue: the legacy of "women's work" in contemporary Hollywood.
Never Done introduces generations of women who worked behind the scenes in the film industry-from dressmakers to secretaries to script readers. Challenging the dismissive characterization of these women as merely menial workers, media historian Erin Hill shows how their labor required considerable technical and interpersonal skills. As it pores through rare archives and integrates the firsthand accounts of women employed in the film industry, this book gives a voice to women whose work was indispensable yet largely invisible.
9780813574899
Women in the motion picture industry--History--United States--20th century. Motion picture industry--Employees.--United States Sex discrimination in employment--United States. Sex role in the work environment--United States.