Publication
Title
Freedom smothered : gang rape as patriarchal punishment of emancipated women in Yugoslav new film
Author
Abstract
This paper investigates how women, and their roles in changing Yugoslav society, were represented in Yugoslav New Film (1961-1972). Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia legalized gender equality in the wake of the Second World War, but the tentacles of patriarchy, which were difficult to eradicate, still lingered from pre-socialist times. In many movies there is a recurring pattern of sexual violence towards women. One possible interpretation of depicted sexual violation, for example gang rape in contemporary-themed Yugoslav New Films, is as a patriarchal punishment for emancipation of women in terms of education, work, or their sexuality. In order to examine this, the feature-length fictional films: Povratak/The Return (Živojin Pavlović, 1966) and Horoskop/Horoscope (Boro Drašković, 1969), in which the freedom of women’s emancipation was smothered by gang rape, are selected for the case study and analysed. The films are explored through the lens of feminist film theory, via close reading. Besides, the concept of the gaze is applied. Furthermore, I scrutinise whether these representations of rape and their aftermaths condone, or condemn brutality toward female characters, or have rather ambivalent stance toward it.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Alphaville : Journal of Film and Screen Media
Publication
2023
ISSN
2009-4078
DOI
10.33178/ALPHA.25.03
Volume/pages
25 (2023) , p. 40-60
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
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Record
Identifier
Creation 22.09.2023
Last edited 23.09.2023
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