‘Before I fought ideology, not money’: Věra Chytilová and the 1990s transformation of Czech cinema culture

Abstract

ABSTRACT The 1990s are perceived as a low creative point in Věra Chytilová s career and a far cry from her celebrated 1960s and 1970s films. While these were the focus of scholarly interest as rich landscape from which claims about gender-dynamics, cinema and authorial position under state-socialism can be gaged, her post-1989 body of work and her position within the transforming film culture attracted considerably less critical attention. Shifting focus from state-socialism, feminism and solely textual readings of her films, this essay examines ‘1990s Chytilová’ as a filmmaker in transition and a political activist. First, it explores her opposition to privatization of Barrandov Film Studios and identifies some of the discourses of privatization that gave the economic processes its socio-cultural meaning. Second, it looks at her films Dědictví and Pasti, pasti, pastičky in their production context arguing that they are best understood as a reflection of her adaptability to new conditions and an extension of her engagement in politics. In doing so, the essay thus reorients perception of Chytilová s 1990s films and her development as a director. Moreover, it contributes to the understanding of privatization by shedding new light on the cinematic dimensions of the post-communist shift to capitalist democracy.