Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Projecting on the Iron Curtain
Daisies is produced in a communist country during the period of liberalization known as the Prague Spring. With an anarchic narrative structure and little plot, jump cuts and visual montages rather than continuity editing, and experiments in color, it is very different from Hollywood films made at the same time. Could the narrative or stylistic elements of the film be making a political statement? Could the film have something to say about its political context?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In the film, Daisies, the director took a much different approach when creating the film. Considering the movie was made during the Prague Spring, there was a lot of opportunity to experiment and the film took full advantage of this. Using this platform, the director was able to create a film that made a political statement regarding the current situation in Eastern Europe and in the process, the film was able to protest the harsh realities that the producers were experiencing outside of the film. Some differences that were added in were the usage of tinted colored scenes, obnoxious dialogue, and wacky characters. Implementing these helped the film protest the norm of the film business and through that, they were able to add a subtle protest to the current political stature. This was very clever considering that at this period in time, any form of public retaliation would be seen as a threat but by implementing the protest in a movie, it was overlooked and not censored. The film succeeded in its mission to promote its own political statement, one of freedom and peace. This can be seen throughout the film with the characters turning “bad”. Throughout the film they would rebel against norms and think nothing of it. While the movie ended with their demise, the main point was showing that everyone had a voice. These two girls were able to cause so much disruption and in the process, they were able to show the audience that anyone can make a difference.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe production of Daises is part of a film movement that highlights unique ways to tell a story, but it works to provide a political statement. The innovative use of jump cuts and experimentation of colors spoke to the new found freedom that artists had during this period of liberalization. The Prague Spring not only gave these artists more opportunities to create film, but also allowed them more artistic freedom. The whole point of Daises is that it's a film unlike anything of its time, and that it doesn't follow the typical Hollywood montage approach. Daises limited plot was done on purpose not to confuse the viewer, but as a opportunity to provide insight on the new found freedom that directors following the Prague Spring had after the defeat of communist ideologies. The ability to create a film without a clear plot showed this opportunity to create unique film, but so did the experimentation in colors and jump cuts. Throughout Daises the film used different colors to make scenes or objects pop out to the viewer. In the same way, Daises used a series of jump cuts to keep the viewer on edge throughout the film. These innovative styles would have been previously treated harshly in the communist countries where these artists, like the director of Daises, lived.
ReplyDeleteMany forms of media were limited in communist states like the Soviet Union. Almost all forms of art, including movies, were filtered and changed by the government as propaganda. The Soviet Montage movement is a classic example of how films were used to change public opinion. Artists not only had to get their work approved by these governments releasing it, but were limited in the type of work they could create. Anything that was in objection to the government could be punishable by prison or even death. The Prague Spring gave these artists unlimited freedom to create, and they went out of their way to show this opportunity. The use of colors, jump cuts, and the limited plot was a commentary by these directors to show the audience the new found freedom that they gained by not being in a communist country anymore.
“Daisies”, a film produced during the Czech New Wave, is able to experiment with their style of film and as a byproduct incorporate political views. The late 1960’s is when this movie was created during and this time period included a lot of change. The Prague Spring was happening at this time period which is the granting of additional rights to the people. Some of these rights given were less restrictive media, speech, and travel. Due to the more flexible view of media, Czech directors took advantage of it. The plot of “Daises” starts off with two teenagers. These girls decide that everything is too good so they will be bad. Their adventures throughout the movie include very destructive series of events mainly including pranks. During the Prague Spring communism was also rising in the country. Communism is basically where everyone is equal and no one is above each other. The female director of the film, Chytilova, incorporated two teens who were going against society. They decided that everyone was spoiled, because the country was filled with everyone in the same class, so they wanted to be different. In doing so they end up going down a dark path and this is exactly what the director was attempting to do. She, Chytilova, was getting at the idea that everyone must be living in this idealistic society or else bad things will happen to you such as the consequences that the teens received which was death. Overall the film incorporates political context by using examples of a fish out of water.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the film Daisies tells a message about its political context because of how radically different it is from more traditional Hollywood movies. It was created during the Prague Spring, a period of relatively peaceful Czechoslovakian resistance to Soviet control. This eight month long revolution was sparked in January 1968 when a reformist was elected as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and ended in August when Soviet forces invaded the country and put it down. In the film, meanwhile, the two women are seen “going bad” and doing various odd things in a way that makes little sense, culminating with a food fight at a dinner that is not theirs. After being shown drowning and denied help because of their badness, though, they decide to become “good” and replace the broken pieces of glasses and plates and ruined food in relative silence. When they finish and announce that they are good, they are killed by a falling chandelier. I think the course of events of the Prague Spring can be seen in Daisies in two different ways. The first way that I interpret it is as a reflection of the Prague Spring itself. The women going bad is comparable to the Soviet rule in Czechoslovakia, and their decision to become good is similar to the Prague Spring. The women being left to drown in the middle could refer to the way Soviet rule has become unfavorable, and their death at the end could refer to the invasion. However, the second interpretation, and the one I am most confident in, is wider than the Prague Spring; it is about change itself. With this interpretation, the film could be saying that change, even for the better, is dangerous, as it could result in more danger: the chandelier fall.
ReplyDelete