Prof. Dr. Lisa Gotto in the film forum
Frank Brenner
22. August 2024
“Girls in Uniform” in the Filmforum – Foyer 08/24
Wednesday, August 21st: This year’s “Film Stories” in the Film Forum are entitled “Blackboards on Silverscreens – School and Cinema”. Until December, you can marvel at old and new films on the big screen that deal with various aspects of school. As is usual in the “Film Stories” series, the film projection is accompanied by a professional introduction or a discussion with guests. On the occasion of the 35mm screening of Leontine Sagan’s 1931 film debut, “Girls in Uniform”, the film scholar Prof. Dr. Lisa Gotto from the University of Vienna was able to give the introduction. She had titled her lecture “Discipline, Drill and Permeability” in order to use this alliteration to highlight the various groundbreaking elements of the film, which has long been considered one of the great German film classics from the Weimar Republic era. Lisa Gotto pointed out that the film, which is set in a girls’ boarding school, was extremely successful not only in Germany but also throughout Europe, the USA and Japan, and was also largely enthusiastically received by contemporary critics. In their reviews, they often emphasised very blatantly that “Girls in Uniform” is a film without men. In fact, the supposedly stronger sex is only present in the form of statues, the ensemble of actresses is all female, and the direction and screenplay were also in female hands. The lesbian intentions were not always recognised at the time of production, but in the 1970s they formed the basis of numerous new essays on the film in feminist film studies, which not only led to its revival, but also gave “Girls in Uniform” cult status.
Prof. Dr. Lisa Gotto at her introduction, photo: Frank Brenner
In the spirit of Prussian military virtue
Under the keyword “discipline”, Prof. Dr. Lisa Gotto made it clear that “the architecture of the school is strictly vertically and horizontally composed”. In a way, it therefore reflects a prison atmosphere, which is also noticeable in the frequent use of grid structures and the corresponding shadows. This also creates a visual enclosure, which is underlined by the fact that the filmmakers have polarized themselves on the interior, and that there are hardly any exterior shots in the film. But the fact that “bodies are enclosed in these rooms” also underlines the aspect of discipline. The individual can no longer be recognized here, because all bodies look the same due to the same clothing (uniform), and are thus trimmed to uniformity. This brought Prof. Dr. Gotto to the next point in her essay, drill. Behind it stands a Prussian military virtue, to which not only the students but also the teachers have to submit. Everyday life, including the diet at the boarding school, was clearly regulated, and the girls had to march like soldiers. However, these rigid rules were questioned by some of the protagonists in the film, which is why they became permeable, which led Prof. Dr. Lisa Gotto to the third part of her analysis, which is certainly the most exciting component of the film and has contributed significantly to the fact that “Girls in Uniform” still holds a high place in film history today.
Lisa Gotto speaks about “Girls in Uniform”, Photo: Frank Brenner
Extreme form of border crossing
Again and again, there are “moments, shots and instants” in the film in which discipline and drill no longer work, continued Gotto. Using a few film stills, the film scholar made it clear that the rebellious student and the teacher often encounter each other in threshold situations. The openness of a stairwell or an encounter in front of a window underlined this form of permeability, which ultimately led to the authority principle of “dominance and submission” no longer being able to be met. When the student and teacher become increasingly physically closer, this is more reminiscent of a couple in love, which is reflected in the aesthetics of the shots. “This is an extreme form of crossing boundaries, which represents an unusual moment for the cinema of 1931, but also for the cinema of today,” continued Prof. Dr. Lisa Gotto. Women’s bodies, no longer staged in relation to men’s bodies, but in relation to other women’s bodies, turn our viewing habits on their head even today. In addition, the student Manuela (played by Hertha Thiele) is shown in some scenes with extreme close-ups of her face, which effectively breaks up the anonymity of the masses, as it had been introduced earlier in the film, and now puts the individual at the centre. “The close-ups of faces hang in empty space almost like a dream,” said Lisa Gotto, explaining this directorial trick. For the scientist, the permeability also continues in the sound of this early sound film, when individual voices sometimes test the spectrum and thus destabilise the sound. The next contribution to the “Film Stories” series is “If…” by Lindsay Anderson, which will be shown on October 2nd in the Film Forum, with an introduction by film journalist Werner Busch.
Frank Brenner
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