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Female Sexuality In Daisies, By Andrzej Zula

1195 Words5 Pages

Surrealist filmmakers seem to take a special interest in exploring female sexuality. The surrealist movement aimed to expand their viewer’s and their own perception of reality. Often this was through the exploration and the human mind, especially repressed urges. Female pleasure is one such area that is repressed in the patriarchal system. Often in Surrealist film, freeing this urge leads to a complete rejection of the system. In this essay I will use Vera Chytilová’s film Daisies (1966) and Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession (1981) to explore the ways in which surrealist filmmakers reject established political structure and avoid conventional interpretation in their portrayals of female sexuality and pleasure. I will focus on how these films align female sexuality and pleasure with destruction of any existing order of meaning. In these films rejection of the patriarchy means a rejection of the patriarchal constructs of language and symbols, creating a film that defies the constraints of conventional modes of interpretation. Like many surrealist films, both Daisies and Possession begin in a world that could be considered “real.” This is the rational and objective world that conforms to tangible social and political conventions. Possession seems to start as any other film about marital …show more content…

It is natural that this topic would be at the forefront of many interpretations of these films as it contextualizes them. However in both Possession and Daisies with further examination of their treatment of the communist system, this seems to be a simplified interpretation of the films. As the messages get muddled, a rejection of capitalism as well and possibly a rejection of all political systems emerge. Both capitalism and communism are patriarchal and oppressive to women; therefor the only way to truly reject the patriarchy is to be critical of all political

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