Cheese

Rottenberg’s 2007 film *Cheese* merges farm-girl imagery with the fairy tale *Rapunzel* to create a story loosely inspired by the Sutherland Sisters, known for their exceptionally long hair. Set in a pastoral yet labyrinthine environment made of raw wooden debris assembled into a simple shantytown, the film follows six longhaired women in flowing white nightgowns who "milk" their hair and the goats they live with to produce cheese. Visual contrasts between scenes of animals in pens and the women’s cluttered bunk bed–filled room draw parallels between the women and their goat companions. As caretakers, the women embody maternal aspects of Mother Nature. Through the film, Rottenberg explores the concept of feminine magic—the ability, as she describes it, to "grow things out of the body"—as a profound and wondrous physical enigma.