Examination of central texts in early feminist theory, psychoanalytic theory, structuralism, and semiotics, with particular emphasis on feminist deconstructions of hetero-patriarchy. Exploration of the use of Freud and Lacan by early feminist film theorists and the tendency by many of these thinkers to turn to Kristeva’s maternal/semiotic as an alternative to Lacan’s logocentrism. Consideration of theoretical texts that approach theory, gender, and sexuality as products of language, but also those approaches that attempt to move beyond language. Analysis of affect theory, specifically the work of Berlant, as one of the key theoretical movements to emerge from this early intersection of psychoanalysis and feminism.