From Partisans to Housewives: Representation of Women in Yugoslav Cinema

Ovaj rad analizira načine na koje se predstavljanje žena promijenilo od partizanki kao revolucionarnih tema, do kućanica i potrošačica u kasnim 60tim godinama. Ova je promjena vezana uz društveno-političke promjene u jugoslavenskom kontekstu i uz napuštanje ideje ženske emancipacije koja je osmišljena i prihvaćena tijekom i nakon rata. Naime, partizanska borba za oslobađanje od nacističke okupacije te socijalistička revolucija dva su temeljna mita Socijalističke Jugoslavije. Žene su igrale aktivne uloge u toj borbi, kao borci ali i daleko od borbenih linija (logistička podrška, špijuniranje, liječenje i dr.). Također, jednakost između muškaraca i žena je bio važan segment službene ideologije države. Ovi su se narativi kasnije i zabilježili u kolektivnoj memoriji kroz književnost, film, glazbu i stripove. U našem radu istražujemo pet načina prikazivanja ženstvenosti u jugoslavenskom filmu: (1) partizanka, (2) žena u pozadini, (3) suradnica, (4) radnica i (5) domaćica, kako bi prikazali načine na koje predstavljanje žena između 1947. i kasnih 60tih korespondira službenoj politici emancipacije te na koji način ovi prikazi korespondiraju svakodnevici tog vremena. Nadalje, ovo predstavlja analizu filma sagledanog kao skup priča koje su jugoslavenski muškarci i žene sami iznosili o sebi. Ovakav pristup ima potencijal ukazati na antagonizme unutar društvenog konteksta u kojem su ovi filmovi nastajali, tako što naglašava nedostižne ideala slobode i emancipacije. Istovremeno, cilj ove analize nije samo otvoriti još jedan vid istraživanja prošlosti, već također ponovno razmotriti emacipacijski potencijal kojeg ovakvo istraživanja pruža danas.This paper will analyse ways in which representation of women changed from partisans as revolutionary subjects to housewives and consumers in the late 1960’s. This transformation is linked with sociopolitical changes in the Yugoslav context and the abandonment of women’s emancipation as it was framed and adopted initially during and after WWII. Namely, the partisan struggle for the liberation from Nazi occupation, as well as the socialist revolution were two foundational myths of Socialist Yugoslavia. Women played an active role in this struggle, both as fighters and through their work behind the lines (as logistical support, spying, nursing, etc.). Likewise, equality between men and women was an important part the country’s official ideology. These narratives were later memorialized through literature, cinema, music as well as comic books. In our work, we will explore five tropes of femininity in Yugoslav cinema: (1) the role of the partisan, (2) woman in the background, (3) collaborator, (4) worker and (5) housewife, in order to map out ways in which the representation of women between 1947 and the late 1960’s corresponds to official emancipatory politics of the time and how these tropes related with everyday life in this period. Finally, this will lead to an analysis of cinema as a collection of stories Yugoslav women and men told themselves (and others) about themselves.1 This approach has the potential to indicate the antagonisms within the social context in which these films were produced, by highlighting the unattained ideals of freedom and emancipation. Simultaneously, the goal of this analysis is not to merely open up another space for a more complex exploration of the past, but also to reconsider the emancipatory potential this exploration offers us today