Silent film fans should check out Welcome to Silent Movies, an exhaustive resource. The cinetrix is still working her way through the essay "The Speeding Sweethearts," which argues persuasively that
[n]othing is more illustrative of silent film actresses' assertiveness than their adoption of the automobile during the 1910s when the new invention in transportation, like that other new invention, the cinema, was transforming and reshaping the very fabric of society. In an era when the motorcar was still widely considered the province of men, silent film actresses not only became skilled drivers but also performed daring stunts, broke records and, in one instance, even contributed to the invention of mechanical improvements for automobiles. As the silent film actresses gained wide publicity, both on and off screen, for their prowess behind the wheel, they won greater acceptance for women drivers, simultaneously contributing to revolutions in transportation and social mores as well as the development of a new art.
Why the sudden shift to silent films? Well, if you must know, the cinetrix lost her voice sometime last night.
