Be Natural
By: Sydney Kerr
“There is nothing connected with the staging of a motion picture that a women cannot do as easily as a man.”
- Alice Guy Blaché
https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/alice-guy-blache-and-julia-crawford-iverss-films-on-kino-lorber-blu-ray/
Women have historically been excluded from history in order to elevate and promote heroic and dominating stories of men, placing males in the light of the hero where women are forced onto the sidelines. However, in many male-dominated industries, women are essential to the foundation. Alice Guy Blaché is no exception though her story continues to be erased from our history books. Her ambition, drive, and dreams continue to live through all-female stories now.
The Moving Picture News, an American film industry paper, in 1913 wrote that Alice was “a fine example of what a woman can do if given a square chance in life.” Alice Guy Blaché was a French filmmaker in the U.S., who was a dominating figure at the beginning of the American film industry. Over her career, she directed and produced over 1,000 films, which, for her time, was groundbreaking. Her work started when she became a secretary in Paris for a man named Léon Gaumont, the inventor of motion-picture cameras, where she first picked up a camera and started making films.
Blaché’s first film was called The Cabbage Fairy which is considered the first fictional film ever recorded. As the New York Times put it in “Overlooked No More: Alice Guy Blaché, the World’s First Female Filmmaker,” in 2019, “A pantomimed one-minute charmer, it shows a young woman who, with a smile and a bosom wreathed in flowers, plucks squalling naked babies from a cabbage patch constructed out of wood.” This film details the sexual and political representation of women in the Victorian era, and scholars argue that Alice was using her films as a way to reject the idea that a woman cannot be the heroine of their story. All of her movies feature strong women who defend the weak by defeating the “bad guys.”
She made many more historical and key discoveries that reimagined the film industry as well. One of the most influential discoveries she made was using multiple reels. Her production work at Solax, her very own production company of which she was president and Chief Operating Officer, is about equal to that of D.W. Griffith, the man hailed as one of the most influential directors of the extremely racist film Birth of a Nation. Why has Alice Guy Blaché, a major influence on both fictional and feature films, been erased from history, while the director of one of the most racist pictures created is continually celebrated? It is simple: he is a man, and she is a woman.
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blaché was directed in 2018 by Palema B. Greene, and it documents her story and work as cinema’s first female director, screenwriter, and producer. The name, “Be Natural,” comes from the sign Alice hung behind all her sets to remind her actors to be authentic and real when performing, a reminder we all need to be our true and honest selves. Finally, her story has started to come to light as the historical icon she is. In 2013, She was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2013 for her historical work in the industry. As Alice puts it, “My youth, my lack of experience, and my sex all conspired against me.” As history begins to accept women into its embraces and books, we have finally begun to learn more about women and their influence on our country and world. Women are strong, passionate, and determined beings, and it is about time that they are regarded as such.
Women’s History Month is all about recognizing and celebrating the major accomplishments and impacts that women have had on history. As a future filmmaker, women such as Alice Guy Blaché, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, Lois Weber, the Wachowski sisters and so, so many more have paved the way in the industry welcoming me in. The film carries so much power in our society, shaping and mirroring our beliefs, values, and morals as humans, and it is important to recognize the power this media carries. Women have and always have been powerhouses pushing the world to progress and move forward, and as part of the new generation of female filmmakers, I hope to continue their legacy. Alice called cinema her Prince Charming, and she devoted her life to her passion, something we all hope for. She deserves to be remembered for her work, and that starts with us taking the time to share her story.
“Be Natural.” This reminder sits with us as we remember the cultural and historical accomplishments of Alice Guy Blaché, and so many other forgotten women.
https://www.thecinetourist.net/
Learn more about Alice Guy Blaché here!
The New York Times article, “Overlooked No More: Alice Guy Blaché, the World’s First Female Filmmaker,” (2019) written by Manohla Dargis.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/obituaries/alice-guy-blache-overlooked.html
The documentary, Be Natural (2018), directed by Pamela B. Greene.
Her memoir, The Memoirs of Alice Guy Blaché, edited by Anthony Slide.