Gender stereotypes in documentary cinema: a comparative analysis of women's representation in historical conflicts

Purpose This paper examines how women are represented in a purposive sample of war documentaries on the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Syrian War, gauging the persistence and evolution of gender stereotypes across these historical contexts. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods content analysis was conducted on 18 documentaries produced between 1963 and 2023. Their transcribed scripts (approximately 154,000 words) were coded and analyzed to identify dominant archetypes and narrative framing, as well as the influence of the director's gender on the representation of women. Findings The analysis shows that women in these documentaries are still most often portrayed through caregiving and victim/vulnerable roles, especially in older and male-directed films. Over time, there is an apparent increase in empowered portrayals of women as combatants, leaders, and activists, particularly in more recent works and those directed by women. Female-directed documentaries give women greater visibility and narrative voice than male-directed ones, indicating that sociohistorical context and directorial gender can support a shift away from patriarchal patterns toward more agentic and diverse images of women in conflict. However, this does not mean that recent productions or female directors automatically produce more representative films, as other factors such as social progress, production context, market pressures, funding structures, and editorial choices may also influence how women are portrayed. Originality/value The study contributes to feminist media research by illustrating that documentary cinema can reproduce patriarchal narratives while also offering potential spaces for progress, depending partially on the directorial perspective and context. It highlights the impact of the sociohistorical context in shaping collective memory and gender representation in films.