Hollywood and Catholic Women

As an adult convert to Catholicism, Kathryn Schleich was introduced to the partriarchal hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Seeing the reality of Catholic women barred from full participation in so many of the important, meaningful practices of the faith, Schleich asked, "Why?"

So, in the same way someone put peanut butter and chocolate together in one bite-sized package, Hollywood and Catholic Women was born.

Why should a group of nuns who escaped East Germany need the help of a wandering handyman to build a chapel? How is it that the brutaul murder of a whore can trigger redeemption of an ambitious priest? And why can't Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman live the religious life side-by-side?
Entertaining and insightful, Hollywood and Catholic Women addresses important questions of women in the Church and women in Hollywood, sparking lively debate.

Meticulously deconstructing female roles in movies, By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

Knowledgeably written by Kathryn Schleich (an adult convert to Catholicism), Hollywood And Catholic Women: Virgins, Whores, Mothers, And Other Images blends two seemingly disjoint questions into a thoughtfully reasoned whole: "Why do Hollywood roles for women tend to typecast them as virgins or vamps, with little depth or complexity?"; and "Why are Catholic women to this day restricted from full participation in many meaningful practices of the Church?". Deftly exploring the history of how women have been perceived in Catholicism, and meticulously deconstructing female roles in movies such as "The Song of Bernadette", "True Confessions", "Sister Act", "Dogma", and others, Hollywood And Catholic Women is a unique, thoughtful, and thought-provoking survey and commentary of institutionalized of Catholicism and Hollywood studio perspectives with respect to and its lasting impact upon the female gender.

Bookviews by Alan Caruba

"Another book about women is so unique that it deserves notice. It is Kathryn Schleich's Hollywood and Catholic Women: Virgins, Whores, Mothers and Other Images (iUniverse). The author examines how the Church has dealt with women throughout its long history and how Hollywood has adopted its point of view in films such as Song of Bernadette, The Bells of St. Mary's, A Nun's Story, Agnes of God, and even Sister Act, to name just a few of those examined for their content and their message. You don't need to be Catholic to enjoy this intellectual journey and I think any woman will find it resonates with her life. This book is now recommended among our Featured Books.

The intent of writing Hollywood and Catholic Women was to demonstrate the powerful influence film has on culture and society, and to not be afraid to challenge the bias that often accompanies those cinematic images. Challenge often arises through discussion, and included here are 11 questions to start a conversation, dialogue, and/or debate in classrooms or reading groups on how Catholic women are portrayed in film.

What is your definition of a "Catholic woman"?

Although some of the films included are dated by today's standards, are the portrayals of clerical and religious Catholic women in film realistic?

Focusing on the film portrayals of non-clerical and Catholic women who are not religious, are the images of these women realistic?

Is the fear, mistrust, or hatred of women present in the patriarchal ideology of Roman Catholicism reflected in these films? If so, how?