Research on the deconstruction of cinematic visual grammar and narrative innovation mechanisms based on feminist theory

As an important mechanism for constructing gendered power relations, cinematic visual grammar has long formed a narrative paradigm centered on the male gaze. Based on a feminist theoretical perspective, this study undertakes a comparative content analysis of 30 feminist films and 30 traditional male-centered comparison films, matched by period, region, and genre, through the construction of a “visual-narrative-gender” analytical model, aiming to reveal the gendered encoding mechanisms of visual grammar and their deconstruction pathways. The study employs a critical mixed-methods design that integrates quantitative pattern detection with qualitative discourse analysis, treating numerical indices as heuristic tools rather than substitutes for ideological interpretation, examining the gendered characteristics of visual grammar from three dimensions: shot language, editing rhythm, and color esthetics. The research findings show that: the visual power index of male characters in traditional films is significantly higher than that of female characters (0.74 vs 0.38); feminist films effectively achieve visual deconstruction through five pathways—perspective subversion, temporal reconstruction, spatial liberation, bodily writing, and intertextual weaving—reducing the power gap by 63.2%; there exists a nonlinear relationship between visual deconstruction and narrative innovation, with diminishing innovation effects when deconstruction intensity exceeds the 0.75 threshold (read descriptively, not as a normative recommendation, and not impugning radically illegible avant-garde traditions); significant differences exist in the choice of innovation pathways across different cultural backgrounds (offered as a first-order regional approximation that intersectional follow-up research will need to refine). The coding system and quantitative indicators developed in this study provide new analytical tools for feminist film research, and the findings offer important insights for film creation, education, and critical practice, providing theoretical support and practical guidance for constructing a diverse and equal cinematic expression system.