Concerning transitional justice, the turn towards advocating for localized action and gendered analysis has engendered a focus on female agency. In documentary film studies, a similar pattern...Show moreConcerning transitional justice, the turn towards advocating for localized action and gendered analysis has engendered a focus on female agency. In documentary film studies, a similar pattern emerges: over time, scholars have started to question prevailing representations of women, and to celebrate well-rounded, agentive representations. This thesis, which analyzes representations of female agency and victimhood in documentaries concerning sexual violence during the Yugoslav Wars, utilizes an interdisciplinary approach which draws from both of these fields. It incorporates the aesthetic analytical tools provided by documentary film scholars to analyze Sexual Violence and the Triumph of Justice (2012) and Mission Rape - a Tool of War (2014), while keeping as its main focus the gendered agency framework created by Björkdahl and Mannergren Selimović. Thus, it marries the two disciplines to provide a thorough understanding of prominent issues in transitional justice. This concerns both how transitional justice is practiced and how this practice is portrayed to the public by challengers and proponents of the prominent methods in the transitional justice space. I hope to contribute to knowledge in both fields, and to demonstrate how well-rounded and agentive representations of women’s agency can challenge the traditional narrative of passivity and victimization of women in conflict-zones.Show less
