1. Was this hoax more successful due to repression of women during this time period? Did it have anything to do with this specific industry(art), or was it more of a general thing?
2. How did the medium (film) help to more accurately depict the effects of this hoax? Would any other methods have been more successful?
3. Overall, what made this hoax so successful? The methods behind it, or the fact that no one would have had reason to question it in the first place?
Nice questions, Rachel. The first especially will hopefully lead you to some interesting sources about gender discrimination, and gender discrimination in art more specifically. This is actually still a very live debate in the art world!
The second and third strike me as questions that you will answer in your own analysis of the film, but you may find some really good sources in things like film reviews!