From a lady to a lost ‘Prole’: Girls in the city in Polish cinema of the 1960s and early 1970s

Abstract

The term ‘girl’ is by no means neutral, but culture-specific. A person called a ‘girl’ in one decade or place might not be classified as ‘girl’ in another. It is widely assumed that in the 1960s the very concept of ‘girlhood’ undertook a profound transformation. However, such claims are usually directed towards western culture. Much less has been written about girls in the countries of state socialism. To make up for this gap, this article considers representations of girls in two Polish films from the beginning of the 1960s, Niewinni czarodzieje (Innocent Sorcerers) (1960), directed by Andrzej Wajda and Do widzenia, do jutra (Good Bye, Till Tomorrow) (1960), directed by Jerzy Morgenstern; and two from the beginning of the 1970s, Seksolatki (Sex-Teenagers) (1971), directed by Zygmunt Hubner and Dziewczyny do wzięcia (Girls to Pick Up) (1971), directed by Janusz Kondratiuk – all set in two large Polish cities, Warsaw and Gdansk. It examines their appearance, their interests, their attitude to sex and their place in the city culture. Of special interest is the relationship between girlhood and class.