Despite the accusation of abstraction and of lacking of an historical base, the Feminist Film Studies have considerably contributed to the historical research, underlining the cultural value of performance and of the act of watching. The analysis and comparison of two texts belonging to the cinema of the origins make explicit the function of cinema as an instrument for the definition of gender identity. It also stimulates a reflection on the values associated with women at the beginnings of the last Century. In particular the essay detects a strategy of representation of women enhancing their creativity and freedom versus the one of men, alienated and subject to production logics.