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Still Point

Name: Still Point
Director: Barbara Hammer
Released: 1989
Duration: 9 min

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Representation Score

6.5/10

Good

1989

Director

Barbara Hammer

Runtime

9 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Barbara Hammer’s *Still Point* is a groundbreaking piece of avant-garde cinema that redefines the cinematic gaze. By centering queer subjectivity and women's ability to drive the story, the film challenges patriarchal structures. The work uses sensory experiences to affirm underrepresented identities, making female-to-female intimacy and autonomy central to the narrative. However, the film’s scope is limited. While it excels in addressing gender and sexuality, it does not engage deeply with racial diversity or disability, leaving those aspects largely unexplored.

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Category Breakdown

Does Still Point have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film explores lesbian intimacy and non-straight relationships to challenge traditional norms. It uses sensory experiences of touch to affirm lesbian identities.

How does Still Point portray gender?

Excellent

This work challenges traditional gender roles by presenting women as active agents. It emphasizes female control and autonomy through a female-focused perspective, avoiding the stereotype of women as passive objects.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Still Point?

Fair

While the film focuses on gender and sexuality, it acknowledges socioeconomic differences through urban settings. However, it lacks a diverse racial cast and does not explore multi-layered racial dynamics.

How does Still Point represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative questions established social norms and institutional morality. It examines how social position and privilege shape perceptions, reflecting postmodern critiques of dominant Western structures.

Does Still Point include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not address physical or neurodivergent disabilities. The focus remains on gendered and sexualized bodily experiences.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender roles through a female-centric perspective.
Validates queer subjectivity and lesbian identity.
Uses sensory experiences to reclaim bodily autonomy.

Limited or Absent

Lacks engagement with racial and ethnic diversity.
Does not represent physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
Minimal engagement with multi-layered identities beyond gender and sexuality.

Official Synopsis

‘Still Point’ serves as Barbara Hammer’s definitive reassessment of 70’s cultural feminism. She literally places side-by-side the romantic image of her companion walking and stretching under the sun in a landscape and the gritty realism of a methodical garbage picker on the street of New York city, pushing a shopping cart and moving on to the next waste container. Our world view must encompass both realities, the film indicates. Privilege can’t obscure vision.

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