Feminist and Lesbian Film
Feminist and Lesbian Film
FILMS STUDIED: Mädchen in Uniform (Children in Uniform) Germany, 1931, Directed by Leontine Sagan, Show Me Love (Sweden, 1998), Directed by Lukas Moodysson The cycle of free expression followed by total persecution experienced by members of the homosexual community as a whole, before and post World War 2, was a symbolic and strengthening experience for Lesbian and Feminist film makers alike. It is now a time of freedom in Europe, where filmmakers are establishing future goals to educate and liberate Lesbianism/ Feminism through the art of film. To many of the women and men within these movements, it was a time where ideologies, of what was once filled with discrimination towards homosexuality and the rights of women, are in the past and the future provides growth in new ideologies for a generation of individualistic lifestyles. By researching these filmmakers, from the occupancy of Nazi Germany in 1931 to a more recent date of Sweden, 1998, one is captivated by a history of people who have fought for the freedom they now rightfully own. Thus Feminist and Gay Cinema has begun to take the world by storm. In the films Mädchen in Uniform (Children in Uniform) Germany, 1931 and Show Me Love (Sweden, 1998), though they are from two diverse countries and cultures, both share the thematically similar narrative of the exploration of homosexuality in women during childhood, and the tribulations of their countries’ prejudiced ideologies conjoined to them. Maedchen in Uniform (Germany, 1931) is considered one of the first films ever to display lesbian love, and with this, the films’ controversial history is not all that bewildering to audiences. The film centers upon the relationship between two women, hence the first ever lesbian film. Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is a young student newly enrolled at a boarding school that is controlled and educated strictly to properly raise the daughters of German officers during World War 2.
FILMS STUDIED: Mädchen in Uniform (Children in Uniform) Germany, 1931, Directed by Leontine Sagan, Show Me Love (Sweden, 1998), Directed by Lukas Moodysson The cycle of free expression followed by total persecution experienced by members of the homosexual community as a whole, before and post World War 2, was a symbolic and strengthening experience for Lesbian and Feminist film makers alike. It is now a time of freedom in Europe, where filmmakers are establishing future goals to educate and liberate Lesbianism/ Feminism through the art of film. To many of the women and men within these movements, it was a time where ideologies, of what was once filled with discrimination towards homosexuality and the rights of women, are in the past and the future provides growth in new ideologies for a generation of individualistic lifestyles. By researching these filmmakers, from the occupancy of Nazi Germany in 1931 to a more recent date of Sweden, 1998, one is captivated by a history of people who have fought for the freedom they now rightfully own. Thus Feminist and Gay Cinema has begun to take the world by storm. In the films Mädchen in Uniform (Children in Uniform) Germany, 1931 and Show Me Love (Sweden, 1998), though they are from two diverse countries and cultures, both share the thematically similar narrative of the exploration of homosexuality in women during childhood, and the tribulations of their countries’ prejudiced ideologies conjoined to them. Maedchen in Uniform (Germany, 1931) is considered one of the first films ever to display lesbian love, and with this, the films’ controversial history is not all that bewildering to audiences. The film centers upon the relationship between two women, hence the first ever lesbian film. Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is a young student newly enrolled at a boarding school that is controlled and educated strictly to properly raise the daughters of German officers during World War 2.
Cited: Thuleen, Nancy. "Mädchen in Uniform: Traditional and Innovative Strategies in an Early Women 's Film." Website Article. 18 December 1994. . Grosz, Elizabeth “Feminist Futures?” http://www.jstor.org/pss/4149212, Tulsa Studies in Women 's Literature © 2002 University of Tulsa, 13, January, 2011 http://www.haro-online.com/movies/show_me_love.html Show Me Love. Dir. Lukas Moodysson. Sonet Film, October 23, 1998. DVD. Mädchen in Uniform. Dir. Leontine Sagan. Bild und Ton GmbH US: Filmchoice, 1931. DVD.