thaw expresses MacDonald’s frustration with images of femininity in Western visual culture. Using popular paintings from the history of European art, the film explores the feelings of panic and immobility that accompany the filmmaker’s exploration of her sense of self in the face of gendered cultural expectations. The film also presents a meditation on grief and the loss of MacDonald’s grandmother as a broader theme in the work. This is the final film in The Self-Portrait Series (2001-2006).