Among all the available definitions of cinema, few are at once truer and more politically incorrect than the one offered by Jean-Luc Godard. “The history of cinema,” the director of Breathless, Contempt, and Weekend once said, “is boys photographing girls.”

In its day, Godard’s remark undoubtedly inspired a thousand dissertations on the evils of the so-called male gaze. And in ours, it would be used as an example of the way directors objectify, exploit, or deny agency to women. No amount of woke hand-wringing, though, can fully obscure the fundamental truth of Godard’s insight. Since the earliest days of movies, directors have used the tools of cinema to present their ideal visions of femininity: D.W. Griffith was enchanted by the chaste dignity of Lillian Gish, Howard Hawks was beguiled by the salty offhandedness of Lauren Bacall, and Francois Truffaut was entranced by the ambiguous allure of Jeanne Moreau.