Horses, Heroism, and Heimat: Rebuilding and Reinstating Gender Roles in \u3cem\u3eDie Mädels vom Immenhof\u3c/em\u3e (1955)

The following presentation examines the 1955 West German heimatfilm Die Mädels von Immenhof and its relationship with the renegotiation of gender roles and class status in the emergent capitalist state of West Germany. Issues addressed include the conflict in redefining gender norms in the post-World War II era, with attention drawn to the questions of unstable masculinity and normative femininity among future generations of young West Germans. The issue of class and what it means to experience financial stability is also tied to the discussion of gender norms in this film. This paper is a selection from a longer undergraduate thesis which examines 1950s heimatfilm and popular media (including advertisements) in relation to the transformation of gender and class notions during the Wirtschaftswunder era in post-war West Germany