Search - Great Women Writers: Emily Dickinson on DVD

In the Context of Her Times

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 11/05/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Like all installments of the Kultur series, this was a lecture accompanied by a slideshow. It may seem dull to many. This reminded much of Kultur's work on Jane Austen, given that both women were Anglophones living in the same time period. Those who love period pieces may love this because it was filled with photos in which no one smiles, women with ornate braids in their hair, and men with mutton chop sideburns.

In the same way that Crazy Horse refused to take photos, Emily Dickinson took about about 3 in her life. The significance of her poetry and its popularity comes up, but it is never recited here.

Lisa Simpson, while at an all-male military academy said Emily Dickinson died insane, but this work says she died of Bright's disease. They don't define it, so I had to look it up: it's a disease of the kidneys, not the mind. The narrator basically says something like "We won't talk about modern theories of Dickinson's insanity." It instead uses terms like "reclusiveness." I wish the suggestions that she was crazy were spelled out more. This documentary positions Dickinson as completely heterosexual and her lover "Master" as being male. Wikipedia says "Master" may have been a woman and Notable Names Database lists Dickson's sexuality as "Matter of Dispute." The word "bisexual" never comes up in this lecture. This may be a sign of heterosexism from the documentary's producers. In the same way that Diego Rivera's mistresses may have hurt opportunities for Frida Kahlo's work to be seen, a scorned wife may have played a role in Dickinson's work being published even later than possible.

This may be a good work for students to see in high school English classes."

Not What I expected!

Sylviastel | 05/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First I think this documentary is worth learning about Emily Dickinson. It's set up where pictures are shown and narration is told by an unseen face. It would have been nice if a literary scholar/critic spoke about Emily's contributions to poetry and her life to the film. I think it would have brought some life into this documentary style. It's not bad though."