ACMI: Goddess

To aptly quote Billy Porter’s Prey Tell in Pose: the category is goddess. ACMI’s winter masterpiece blockbuster exhibition is giving power, individuality, fabulosity, old-Hollywood glamour, femme fatale realness. Featuring never-before-seen costumes, archival cinematic treasures and large-scale projections of cult classics, the Goddess exhibition showcases the – often controversial – representation of femininity and sexuality on-screen in cinema.

Goddess is an ode to the tortured heroines, iconic villains and scene-stealers of cinema. The exhibition puts a spotlight on the untold stories of the women who rejected the “feminine ideal” narrative of Hollywood, defied gender norms, pushed the envelope and rallied for change. The beautiful collection pays homage to the stars, including Tilda Swinton, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Geena Davis, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh.

A fascinating element of the exhibition is the perverse tension between the politics of the day and cinematic expression. Through religious-group lobbying came the Hays Code, a self-imposed industry set of guidelines that informed cinema between 1934 and 1968. It prohibited profanity, sexual acts, nudity, graphic violence, rape and excessive “scenes of passion”. The term ‘watermelon women’ referred to the Black actors who were limited to the roles of maids and mammies during the 1930s and 1960s; the most notable example being Hattie McDaniel in her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. The trailblazing Anna Wong May rejected anti-Chinese sentiment fuelled by the Chinese Exclusion Act, and starred in over 50 films – forever resenting the typecast of playing a “murderous, treacherous, a snake in the grass” or subservient ‘lotus flower’. And in the late 1980s, in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, promoting homosexuality was strictly prohibited.

It is an exhibition that celebrates these cinematic goddesses, who with all their might, unapologetically occupied spaces and characters that fundamentally reframed society. The exhibition opens with a shrine to Marilyn Monroe, featuring the iconic bright pink gown worn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and its continued inspiration by Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’, Margot Robbie and Kylie Jenner. Up next is the satirical and gender-redefining 1992 film Orlando starring Tilda Swinton in the eponymous role and Quentin Crisp as Elizabeth I.

The exhibition progresses with poster artwork of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, followed by a look at the marvellous Marlene Dietrich. Goddess concludes with several large-scale projections of too many unforgettable cinematic moments. Muriel’s Wedding, Kill Bill, Thelma and Louise, Blue Velvet, Chungking Express, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Mad Men, and Promising Young Woman are just some that you will see.

Goddess succeeds at leaving you feeling a high. Positive, empowering and uplifting, the beautiful collection pays homage to the extraordinary women who fought for change in front of the lens and behind it. Now at ACMI until Sunday 1 October 2023.

Goddess
Gallery 4, Lower Ground, ACMI, Fed Square, Melbourne, 3000
Open 7 days, 10am to 5pm (til 8pm on Saturdays)