Swinging Femininity - 1960's Transnational Fashion

Lecture notes from September 25, 2007

- swinging era of 1960's
- cinema - a virtual department store
- commodity consumption
- fashion played a role in defyining national identity and continues to do so
- cultural studies
- new and powerful group of FREEDOM (for example motorcyckles)
- politicizing of youth, critical thinking of teenagers. "Teenagers of the 1950's&60's - they didn't want to change the world - they just wanted to travel more, to buy stuff, to be different..."
- swinging London

The culture of consumption was evident how people saw the world (today the see the world through 'FashionScape', but they haven't lost their critical thinking of it). The world was seen as a dynamic place, like a playground with the cosmopolitan idols like Twiggy, Mary Quant, rock music, pop art, comics, cartoons. See also the movie "Knack" - it's hilarious. People remembered and knew what the hype is, the cinematic flirtation and one must be critical towards hype. Some more movies creating the fashionscape were "Hard Day's Night", related to the Beatels, the innovation of style, the French New Wave; "Darling" with Julie Christie. Julie Christie played Diana, a woman who didn't want children, family and other traditional values, but just everything. Character Diana in "Darling" was the role model of this new type of woman - the one who wants to be admired by others.

Notes: desirable body in cheap dress; daytime clothing; expensive simplicity, transnational femininity (also related to princess Diana, who became the symbol of femininity)

Another film that carried the message of clothing of the time was "Il Desorto Rosso" - The Read Desert. This was the film about high society, a film about elite, main character was called Julianna. The question about what do we see? Always we see an image; the landscape of what we see makes us wonder what should I look at? - this is the most disturbing question of the film.

Another Italian movie came up - "A woman with a pistol" (La ragazz con la pistola)

Then we discussed internationality in films in general. There certainly are transnational relationships exposed, created and represented. Journey - literate journey, train journey... we are talking about femininity as well as national identity. For instance, the question are you Italian? - no, I'm Sicilian! etc.