THE WORKING GIRLS

USA 1974 | Director, Buch: Stephanie Rothman | Camera: Daniel Lacambre | Editor: John O’Connor | Music: Michael Andres | Cast: Sarah Kennedy, Laurie Rose, Mark Thomas, Lynne Guthrie, Ken Del Conte, Solomon Sturges, Gene Elman | Production: Dimension Pictures | Colour | 35mm | 81 min | amer. OV | UNCSA Moving Image Archives

Stephanie Rothman directed a number of "working girl" films in the sexploitation genre, accepting the genre's specifications for action, sex, and as many naked women's bodies as possible while she used every opportunity to incorporate the feminist convictions that were important to her – such as in THE STUDENT NURSES. In 1974, in accepting a film commission about a group of women and their sexual adventures, she called the ideology by its name: THE WORKING GIRLS (USA 1974). Law student Jill works as a stripper despite her misgivings; Denise finances her painting (preferred motif: naked male bodies) through advertising posters; unemployed Honey takes out an advert: "I will do anything for money. Have an MA in math." No one cares about the women's professional abilities and qualifications; as sex workers, on the other hand, they can start anywhere. By describing nakedness as work, THE WORKING GIRLS simultaneously describes the strings attached to the film's production. (Birgit Kohler, Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V., 2002)

© Stephanie Rothman
×
Acronyms
amer. American English
b/w Black and white
OV Original version
SUB Subtitles
+SUB electronic live subtitling (below the image)
INT Intertitles
Countries
AT Austria
FRG Federal Republic of Germany (historic)
BLR Belarus
DE Germany
CAN Canada
GDR German Democratic Republic (historic)
EGY Egypt
FR France
GB Great Britain
URY Uruguay
BRA Brasil
SWE Sweden
UKR Ukraine
PL Poland
IDN Indonesia
PRT Portugal
HRV Croatia
ECU Ecuador
HUN Hungary
AUS Australia
IT Italy
MEX Mexico
IND India
PLEASURE ROLL: WIMPY AND ZOO

GB 1963 | Director: Joan Littlewood | Camera: Walter Lassally | b/w | DCP of 16mm | 3 min | silent | British Film Institute / The Estate of Joan Littlewood

First, a culinary delight: burgers are polished off, soup spooned out – it's not salty enough. Then coffee, tea, and a generous helping of cake. Scene change: women workers – bees. People feed elephants in the zoo; a bored baby monkey chews on its play rope.

© The Estate of Joan Littlewood
×
Acronyms
amer. American English
b/w Black and white
OV Original version
SUB Subtitles
+SUB electronic live subtitling (below the image)
INT Intertitles
Countries
AT Austria
FRG Federal Republic of Germany (historic)
BLR Belarus
DE Germany
CAN Canada
GDR German Democratic Republic (historic)
EGY Egypt
FR France
GB Great Britain
URY Uruguay
BRA Brasil
SWE Sweden
UKR Ukraine
PL Poland
IDN Indonesia
PRT Portugal
HRV Croatia
ECU Ecuador
HUN Hungary
AUS Australia
IT Italy
MEX Mexico
IND India

Followed by an online conversation with director Stephanie Rothman

Host: Verena Mund

Verena Mund

Verena Mund is coordinator in the Graduate Research Training Program "Configurations of Film" at Goethe University Frankfurt. From 1995 she worked in the programming of Feminale, Internationales FrauenFilmFestival Köln, from 2001 to 2003 as co-director. She then worked in the Fim/Video Department at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (2004-2008) and at the University of Minnesota (2010-2014). In 2020, she published "Blumen und Tabak. Tischgesellschaften in Amour fou und Western" in Isabella Reicher's Eine eigene Geschichte. Frauen Film Österreich seit 1999 (Sonderzahl Verlag). In fall 2021 her book Brücke, Switchboard, Theke – Working Girls vor Ort (transcript) will be published.

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