Daisies (1966)
A film by Věra Chytilová
An essay by Sámal Jákup Jakobsen
Class: Moving Narratives
Tutor: Helen McGregor
21st of January 2012
Introduction
“Chytilová's heroines rebelliously try to subvert the patriarchal system and gender stereotypes—and fail”! That is how Małgorzata Radkiewicz puts the film in a very short description. In the middle of a very Communist society in Czech Republic the imbalance between male and female roles is vast. In order to get through to the political realm, Věra Chytilová made Sedmikrásky (Daisies, 1966) that would show to the public their society from another point of view. When the film came out the government not only banned the film from being screened in the entire country but
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Looking at the two girls in Daisies, Weston is struck by how much they remind of Cléo Victoire’s self-absorbed heroine in search of something more.
We see a lot of flowers throughout the film including the crown of flowers, worn by one of the Maries. With this in mind I can’t help thinking of the Hippie revolution in the United States that affected the whole world. Chytilová might have heard of this and thus tried to fit it with her own culture.
One of her biggest inspirations must have been her teacher Otakar Vávra who was a film director in Czechoslovakia. He had students including Milos Forman, Ivan Passer and Jiri Menzel who were all directors in the Czech New Wave. He has probably encouraged Věra to stand firmly by her own actions and to say in an interview by Galina Kopaněvová “I don't know any action that would not be risky”. This has inspired many filmmakers around the globe and especially female filmmakers. Technically the film stands out from most other films in the world, which has inspired the world of cinema.
The technical part of the film
Daisies was made in 1966 with a State-approved script written by Chytilová herself. It is noticeable that the film is very much about the costumes and design, which is almost inevitable when the screenplay was co-written by costume designer Ester Krumbachová. Despite its very uniqueness in the storyline itself, Chytilová thought completely out of the box when it came to
The influential career of Leni Riefenstahl has been a point of great contention amongst scholars and filmmakers over the last few decades. The legacy Riefenstahl leaves behind are her achievements and failures of her
(Should i give the year the book took place?)In order to express her belief about the US presences in Vietnam, during dinner she wore a painted yellow flower on her cheek, in symbol of hippies who believe in peace, and understanding. On the other hand, her father is market-based and only thinks about what the hippies are worth, not what they want to prove. After quarrelling back and forth, Heather is forced to wash off the flower, as the father is a candidate for the Chamber of Commerce Business, and will not honored to the award if they know his daughter calls herself a “flower child” (36). That night, Heather storms into his room, sarcastically thanks Holling for his help, and states, “Maybe it’s time to think about growing up. So you can become who you’re supposed to be: Holling Hoodhood... When I look at you, you’re just the Son Who Is Going to Inherit Hoodhood and Associates… Why don’t you ever stand up to him?” (37). Evidently, Holling never would have to courage
Clarisse is always doing something new and try ping to discover new things around her. "I guess it's the last of the dandelions this year. I didn't think I'd find one on the lawn this late. Have you ever heard of rubbing it under your chin? Look." She touched her chin with the flower, laughing."..."Why?""If it rubs off, it means I'm in love. Has it?"He could hardly do anything else but look."Well?" she said."You're yellow under there.""Fine! Let's try YOU now."..." (22)Montag takes interest to her discovers and try's them for himself. Montag will later take affect to her trying to discover new things such as books and going against society and read them. She effected not only Montag as a person but his personality.
The major influences that led to Leni Riefenstahl’s rise to prominence includes a fateful event that kindles her fascination with film, the continual influence of mountain (Berg) films and acclaimed director Dr Arnold Fanck as well as her first début as a director and producer.
A wise person once said, "Worrying is like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain. " People may say that you can simply take the umbrella away, others may just convince you to change your mind and just trust there will be no rain. Someone with anxiety cannot simply remove these thoughts quite so easily. Like telling someone to just brush the worry off or just forget about the anxiety, convincing someone that it will not rain is nearly impossible. The anxiety within a person controls their life and the decisions they make.
This genre is typically modern, perky and upbeat, but the common narrative in all of them is that it features a woman who is strong and she overcomes adversity to reach her goals. There is also a message of empowerment that also struggles with a romantic predicament and using comedy to poke fun at the male characters. Industries are still producing soppy romantic comedies for the female audience but the divide between the standard chick flick and romantic comedy is slowly disappearing. Similarly to the beginning of this essay it is evident that institutions are moving in the direction of women’s place in culture in relation to this film genre; women are usually shown as the super power since they are made to appeal to the female audience. However
According to the newspaper company The Telegraph, daisies can become “serious weeds” and have the ability “thrive in generally inhospitable conditions.” This informative description of a common daisy mirrors F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character, Daisy Buchanan. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Daisy tries to preserve the stability of her wealthy lifestyle through her marriage with Tom Buchanan instead of pursuing true love with Gatsby. Daisy becomes monotonous and dependent on wealth to act as an equilibrator of her life. Her dependency becomes uncontrollable, and that like that beautiful, innocent flower, she becomes a vile weed rooted in corruption. Fitzgerald implements Daisy as a way to convey the innate destructive property of wealth; it
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Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov are among the most identifiable names in early Soviet film. Their contributions to film, in the areas of montage and documentary film respectively, have helped to structure film, as we know it today. However, apart from their theoretical contributions to the field, both directors played an imperative role in Soviet film during the 1920s and 1930s. This paper examines historical revisionism within their film, how their theories of montage influenced the revisionism, and how they were persistent in the use montage throughout their careers as filmmakers to assert themselves as artists.
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In society, women are often perceived as the weaker sex, both physically and mentally. In modern times women have leveled the playing field between men and women, and feminism is a highly discussed topic, but for years, women faced discrimination and prejudice both in life and in the workplace, due to their sex. This way of thinking flooded into the world of film. In their works, the authors of each of the various sources address the limitations and liberations of women both on and off the screen in nineteenth century Film and Cinema. Not every source is completely filled with information related to the research topic, but they do cover and analyze many of the same points from different perspectives. Prominent points addressed in each