by Maria Wagner Pearse
New Romanian translation by Alexander Ovsov: Femeile în film
It can be said with
no exaggeration that without women there would be no cinema. Sadly, this is so
not because the natural concerns of genuine womanhood have been addressed in
film, but because from the very beginnings of cinema a woman has been made the
centerpiece of attraction, an object of desire. This systematic cultivation of
women as objects of desire has been akin to the gradual process of drug
addiction: at first, the effects were rather mild and pleasantly stimulating -
and thus considered not only harmless by both men and women, but even
liberating - however, as time went on and doses increased, a feverish state of
dependency set in. What has started out as a quest for liberation from
convention ended up being a different form of enslavement.
Today women can be
seen to have divided themselves into roughly two groups: those, who continue to
perceive this enslavement as "liberation"; and those, who vaguely
sense that the real search for the true liberation of women has not even begun.
To help us gain insight into the predicament
of womanhood, we will focus at the outset on the two films by the world's
greatest woman-director, Agnes Varda. The choice of Varda is a natural one not
only because she is a woman (it is actually quite rare that a woman-director is
able to make use of her womanly intuition in the filmmaking process), but more
importantly, because she belongs to that select group of filmmakers, who engage
in spiritual seeking through the medium of film.
Surprising as it
might seem at first, the question of beauty is absolutely critical to unlocking
the mystery of a woman's failure so far to attain true liberation - so that
Varda's film Cléo from 5 to 7 (1961) presents us with the perfect opportunity
to focus on this issue and to see just what connection exists between beauty
and freedom. The film chronicles two hours in the life of a woman as she waits
for the results of her cancer test.
Cléo, the main
character, is beautiful - so beautiful that, as she walks down the street, men
stop and stare. She herself is perfectly aware of this and does not miss a
chance to look at her own reflection. She is a famous pop singer; she has money
and a boyfriend, who "adores" her; she lives in Paris, has a maid and
rides around in cabs. Her life is perfect. There is only one problem now: death
is knocking on her door. Panic-stricken, she intuitively grasps at that, which
she feels should provide her with a support: beauty. But this support is not
there for her. Again and again she reaches for it in vain; it slips right
through her fingers. She goes to a hat store and tries on every hat, reassuring
herself that she looks beautiful in everything. And even, when she receives
"confirmation" from a fortune-teller of her own forboding premonition
concerning the outcome of her test, she consoles herself by looking into the
mirror and thinking:
I'm alive. This,
however, only works for a little while. A few minutes later, she is having a
fit of hysterics in a cafe (also while looking at herself in a mirror). So what
is wrong here? Why can't Cléo find real support in beauty? Is she, perhaps,
mistaking in her assumption that beauty can provide such support? Is true
beauty as fleeting as a butterfly? Or does it possess an unsuspected power?
Such power as prompted Dostoevsky to write:
These words are
well-known (particularly in Russia), but they are usually viewed as the
statement of an idealist, a dreamer. Hardly anyone suspects that behind these
words stands the Power of the Living Law: the Law of Beauty. Knowing this, we
can see the following: it is not beauty that has failed to save the world, but
it is we, who have failed to bring true beauty into this world. And this is why
now we, along with Cléo, have no access to the Power of Beauty. What we have
instead are substitutes for beauty. We are assailed by them continuously from
all sides.
Cinema, in
particular, has made a devastating contribution here. One definition of 99% of
cinema would be to say that it specializes in creating beauty-substitutes.
Through personality cults of stars, through promotion of escapism into fantasy,
it creates images, which encourage superficiality and vanity - the two
qualities that are already sufficiently developed as it is within all of us.
And since women, due to their superior intuitive faculty, are more susceptible
to suggestions through imagery than men, the effect on the female population
has been nothing short of catastrophic. Most women are no longer able to
separate vanity from beauty; to be an object of desire has become synonymous
with being beautiful. During her televised funeral, Princess Diana (a
role-model for millions of girls and women around the world) was eulogized ( by
an anchor-woman) as "an object of every man's desire".
Cléo too is unable
to separate herself from what has become her identity. To everyone and to
herself she is that object named "desire". Even when she wants to be
alone, far away from everyone; when she abruptly leaves her apartment, ordering
her maid to stay behind and slamming the door; when she finally gets to the
secluded section of the park and finally finds herself all alone - she cannot
turn it off, cannot be herself! She treats a stairway in the park as a stage:
moving her body in a seductive way and dragging her scarf behind her, she
begins to sing a song to herself, while slowly descending the stairway. Her
identification NOT with true beauty, but with a beauty-substitute makes it
impossible for her to find consolation and support just when she needs it most.
She is beginning to taste the bitter harvest of her own sowing.
We too are in the
same position as Cléo. We may not be as beautiful or as famous as she is, but
the poison of vanity and ambition has also seeped into our being. And today's
cinema reflects our inner being. The intoxication with one's own image and the
relentless promotion of that image - this is the agenda for womanhood, which
today's cinema (along with television and other media) lays out enticingly
before every woman. And nearly every woman is hard at work implementing this
agenda into her life. The scope of this activity, naturally, varies with one's
particular circumstances. A woman does not need to be a movie star in order to
become an object of desire among friends, acquaintances and co-workers. A woman
might even honestly feel that, in this way, she is creating beauty in the world
- where as, in reality, she is helping to produce beauty-substitutes in every
area of her life: in her choice of attire, her movements, her language, her
thoughts and her dreams. These substitutes have no connection with the Law of Beauty
in Creation and thus they have no support from the Source of Life, Love and
Light. So that today, womanhood on earth finds itself cut off from the Light -
without even realizing it. Vanity has contaminated the beauty of everything and
of everyone to such an extent that no one today is totally free from it.
"Vanity is so firmly rooted in man's heart that a
soldier, a cook or a porter will boast of their abilities, and yearn for
admiration. Even philosophers want people to admire them; even when they write
against the folly of human vanity they want to be admired for the style of
their prose. And those who read philosophy want to be respected for the depth
of their understanding. Perhaps in writing this I too am fishing for the
admiration of my readers." (Blaise
Pascal)
And yet, it is
just womanhood, which is called upon in this Creation to bring true beauty to
earth. This, however, we cannot do until we free ourselves from our vanity.
This is the connection between beauty and freedom. True beauty is impossible
without freedom - freedom from vanity! To attain to this freedom will not be
easy for any of us (those, who feel that it is, have not even tried it yet). It
would even be utterly impossible, were it not for the unprecedented help given
to womanhood (as well as to manhood) at this time in the book of New Knowledge
"In the Light of Truth: the Grail Message" by Abd-ru-shin, which
discloses the unique origin and the unique role of womanhood in Creation.
"...woman's principal task also here on earth, in the
World of Matter, is to ennoble her environment. Coming as she does from above,
holding herself above with her delicate intuitive perception, and thus leading
upwards in turn, she forms the anchorage of man with the Light, the support
which he needs for his work in Creation. No marriage is required to accomplish
this, not even an acquaintanceship or personal meeting! The mere existence of
woman on earth already brings about fulfilment!
Man stands in Creation facing outward ready for battle while
woman, in shielding his back, maintains the connection with the Light, thus
constituting the core, the supply of power and the strengthening. Wherever
decay is permitted to creep into this core, however, the "front" is
also lost. Bear this in mind at all times! Nor is it then of any avail for
woman to try and place herself at the front beside the man, where she does not
belong. Her delicate intuitive perception only hardens through such a struggle,
and thus the highest ability and power once bestowed upon her as her own
becomes exhausted, and everything must fall into ruin!
It is known to everybody, however, that even in the most
remote regions of the earth men immediately pull themselves together and try to
behave in a more respectful manner as soon as even one woman comes near them,
with whom they need not necessarily exchange a single word!
Such is the effect of the mere presence and appearance of a
woman! Even in its curtailed expression this quite clearly reveals the mystery
of woman, the power and the sustaining force that emanate from her in
accordance with the Laws in Creation, which are not directly related to
procreation on earth. Procreation is for the most part animistic in character!
You girls and you women, you must first of all remember that
you are the bearers in this Creation of the highest tasks, with which God has
endowed you! Neither marriage nor motherhood are your highest goal, sacred as
they are! You stand alone and firmly for yourselves as soon as you stand
aright!
How ridiculous and disgusting will the present fashion craze
appear, to which you have always readily and even unconditionally submitted!
Every nonsensical creation thrown on to the market for the sake of money-making
by the fashion designers you seized like an animal to which titbits are thrown!
You will live to recognise the disgrace contained in this,
even in the reception you gave to the sometimes quite questionable aberrations
from the concepts of true beauty, not to mention purity at all! Purity has
always been soiled in these matters with an impudence that could not be further
increased. Years afterwards you will still blush with shame at the recognition
of how deep you really sank in this respect!
What is still worse is the conscious and deliberate exposure
of the body (which should be sacred to everyone), as fashion so often demands.
Only the basest form of vanity could cause woman to sink to such a depth. And
this vanity, which has long since been proverbially associated with woman, is
but the abominable caricature of the effect womanhood should really have in
accordance with the Divine Laws!
Man, however, is just as guilty as woman! It is only
necessary for him to show contempt for such things, and woman would soon stand
aside, solitary and ashamed, even if her first reaction was unjust anger! But
instead man welcomed the fall of woman because she therewith corresponded more
nearly to the weaknesses and desires which he already carried within himself,
increased to a state of morbidity by the Luciferian idea!
Woman can never fulfil her vocation on earth while she has
any vanity, which always involves shamelessness, but only through that grace
with which she aloneis endowed as the most beautiful spiritual gift. Every
look, every movement, every word of a woman must bear the stamp of her nobility
of soul. Therein lie her task, as well as her power and her greatness!"
(Abd-ru-shin, "IN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH: THE GRAIL MESSAGE", chapter
"Woman and Her Vocation". Read the entire chapter.)
Another brilliant
film by Agnes Varda, which examines the issue of women's freedom, is
Vagabond(1987). It follows the story of a young woman, who makes a conscious
decision to drop out of society and lead the life of a drifter. Shot in a
poetic/documentary-like style, the film conveys in an objective yet intimate
fashion the dilemma of someone, who can not and does not want to fit into the
existing conventions of society. This decision, however, is depicted neither as
a "grand statement" nor as a confrontation between youthful idealism
and the corrupt world. Instead, we see a young woman, who is just as confused
and as adrift spiritually as those with 9-to-5 jobs, trying to help her. Much
to the credit of the filmmaker, no attempt is made in the film to idealize the
main character or to cover up the fact that she has already picked up some of
the worst traits of that very society, from which she is trying to escape:
coarseness, selfishness, laziness, foulness of language and habits, etc.
Equally interesting are the reactions and comments of the people with whom she
comes into contact on the road. Some have nothing but contempt for her; others
feel sorry for her and try to help; and some almost envy her. One woman says
with a sigh: "She is free. She goes where she likes."
The most
remarkable feature of Vagabond is that it raises the question of woman's
freedom in a natural and unobtrusive way. In essence, this question pulsates
continuously underneath the narrative of the entire film - though, it is never
posed outright in a clumsy or pointed way. But as we watch this young woman
wander from place to place, enduring hunger and deprivation, we are seized by a
feeling of anguish: what is she looking for? Is she looking for anything? Is
this really freedom?
Several times in
the course of the film, she is offered a chance to settle down. One offer is
even in complete accord with her "dream": to have her own piece of
land to grow potatoes. But in the end, all of these opportunities come to
naught. The viewer can almost empathize with the frustration of that kind
landowner, who gave her the land for free only to watch her just sit there all
day, doing absolutely nothing, while he had to work the land. After all, what
is the matter with her? Why can't she shake off this inertia and take advantage
of a new chance in life? The film gives no explanations. But in the course of
all her wanderings, we can observe along with her the various forms and
realizations of other women's "dreams": the dream of motherhood, the
dream of going "back to nature, back to the land", the dream of
becoming a successful career-woman in a man's world, the dream of a woman with
wealth, with a cozy job, etc. All these
options pass before her (and our) gaze. Could it be that none of them fully
satisfy the magnitude of her inner longing? The inner longing of what it means
to be a REAL WOMAN?
This and only this
can be the reason why she rejects all these options and ends up as she began:
with nothing other than a vague sense that the search for the true meaning of
womanhood must start somewhere, where all these options leave off: BEYOND
motherhood, BEYOND marriage, BEYOND career and success, BEYOND all present
womanly goals. This unknown young woman, with no earthly accomplishments to her
name, has enough womanly intuition left to perceive that even if she were to
have her own potatoe field, become successful, get married and have children,
she would still be carrying this void deep within her, she would still be
unfulfilled.
Indeed, it cannot
be otherwise. This is so, because all of a woman's present activities lack the
perspective of a WOMAN'S PRIMARY ACTIVITY, which has remained undiscovered up
until now. And only the specific knowledge about this PRIMARY ACTIVITY can shed
enough light on a woman's true role and purpose and give the necessary meaning
to her other, secondary activities - such as motherhood, marriage and whatever
else she might wish to do. The grandiose nature and breathtaking scope of this
PRIMARY ACTIVITY OF WOMANHOOD is disclosed in a book, which brings New
Knowledge concerning ALL issues confronting humanity today.
"The animal is set aglow and attains its greatest
height in motherhood, becoming merged in it and yielding itself completely to
it, because the animal itself originates in the Animistic Sphere. It attains
greatness therein and becomes bright and luminous. Man, however, possesses
something still stronger which should and must stand abovethe animistic if he
wishes to be a complete human being ... the spirit!
Being of the spirit he cannot and must not remain in the
animistic. He must refrain from making the highest of his goals something which
belongs unconditionally to the Animistic Realm, and which must forever remain
there in accordance with the Primordial Laws of Creation...
Yes, motherhood is certainly sacred, and its crown
mother-love, but nevertheless this is not the highest goal of human womanhood,
not their mission in Creation!" (Abd-ru-shin, "IN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH:
THE GRAIL MESSAGE", chapter "Woman and Her Vocation". Read the
entire chapter.)
Without this
knowledge about the woman's principle function in Creation at large, all
attempts at attaining lasting happiness and genuine liberation for women are
doomed from the start. In Vagabond, the sensing of this doom is given its
expression in the narrative structure of the film: we learn that all the trees
of Europe carry a disease (a rot inside), which spreads slowly but surely and
therefore "all the plane-trees are doomed". With human beings, on the
other hand, the reversal of the disease is possible - but only through
individual initiative in discovering what it means to be a woman in Creation
(or what it means to be a man), which the Grail Message of Abd-ru-shin also
discloses:
"It is womanhood, the woman, whom the Creator once
chose to be the Guardian of the Flame of Holy Longing for the Light in all His
Creations, bestowing the most delicate intuitive ability upon her for this
purpose! She came into existence in order to absorb the radiations of the Light
without hindrance, and to pass them on in the purest way to the man as well as
to her particular surroundings.
For this reason she exercises an influence no matter where
she may be! Through her nature she has been blessed for this! And she has used
this Gift of Grace for the opposite!
The influence given to her by God she exercises to attain
egoistic and often condemnable ends, instead of uplifting her surroundings,
keeping the longing for the Light alive within the souls during their
wanderings through the dense planes that have to serve for their development
and maturing towards the Spiritual Height!
Thus they were meant to be a steadying and supporting
influence to the wanderers, to offer upliftment and strength through their
being, and to keep open the connection to the Light, the Prime Source of all
Life!
They could have already turned this earth into a Paradise in
the World of Gross Matter, swinging joyously in the purest Will of the
Almighty!
The Guardian of the Flame of Holy Longing for the Light,
however, has failed as no creature has ever failed before, because she was
equipped with gifts the possession of which should never have allowed her to
fall! And she has dragged down an entire section of the World with her into the
swamp of Darkness!
The way is far and great the exertion which still confronts
that woman who longs to co-operate in the future. But again only if she really
wishes to do so, will the Grace of the increased strength fall to her share!
But she must not think it so easy! The high distinction of now again being
permitted to become the Guardian of the Longing for the Light, to keep it alive
in the material world through the purity of her womanly dignity, must be won by
severe exertion through perpetual alertness and unswerving faith."
(Abd-ru-shin, "IN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH: THE GRAIL MESSAGE", chapter
"The Guardian of the Flame.")
Men have suffered
greatly under the failure of womanhood to achieve true liberation and to
realize true beauty in this world. Some of them, of course, are too busy
"enjoying" the fallen state of womanhood to notice the suffering of
their spirits. But all must sense that, at the very least, something is not
quite right in our relationships with each other.
One man, who did,
is the great Spanish-born filmmaker (who also lived and worked in France) Luis
Buñuel. His film That Obscure Object of Desire is a remarkable record of the
absurdity that male/female relationships have become. In this film something
strange happens: the actress, playing the female lead, is suddenly replaced in
the middle of the film by a different actress, who continues to play the same
part - and the male protagonist does not even notice the switch! One cannot
help wondering how many of the viewers actually do not notice this switch
either, since Buñuel keeps the narrative right on going as if nothing
whatsoever has happen. Throughout the course of the film the two actresses are
used interchangeably - but the male protagonist continues to pursue the woman
in the film as if she were the same woman, not noticing any difference. This is
Buñuel's brilliant way of demonstrating our present-day distortion: all a man
sees in a woman is "that obscure object of desire".
By way of
contrast, in the films of Sergei Paradjanov we see a rare attitude towards
women: a genuine intuiting that a unique treasure is buried within each woman.
In his films, men look up to women for inspiration for their deeds. Nobility
emanates from his main characters; this is reflected in their attire, their
movements and their speech. Untiring striving for images of genuine beauty is
the predominant and most extraordinary quality of all of Paradjanov's films. In
this context, it becomes possible to catch a glimpse of true womanhood - so
that in his films a natural connection emerges between Beauty and Purity.
(Purity should not be confused with puritanism, for it represents something as
yet unknown among humanity.) In his Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, for
instance, we see the juxtaposition of two kinds of women: Ivan's first and only
love (Marichka) is pure and natural - and therefore beautiful; while Ivan's
wife is "beautiful" only by worldly standards. After Marichka's
sudden death, Ivan is shattered and, in a moment of weakness, he succumbs to
that object named "desire" and marries her. But personal misery sets
in immediately and he no longer even feels attracted to his wife.
Another
remarkably perceptive film highlighting the contrast between two types of
womanhood isThe Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne by Robert Bresson. It
illustrates the unique power every woman holds to either uplift or destroy,
inspiring a man to direct his desires upwards or enticing him to direct his
desires downwards. It also shows how an extraordinary transformation can occur,
when a woman makes a decision to start on a new way of life, based on her inner
longing to regain purity. The ideal womanhood will invariably embody these
words of Anton Chekhov:
Probably, no other
major director on the world stage has been so preoccupied with the mystery of
womanhood as Ingmar Bergman. From as early a film as Persona to as late a film
as Autumn Sonatafemale characters occupy center stage in all of his films.
Frustrated and confused, often in the middle of a life-crisis, these women are
definitely seeking something - their identity, the meaning of it all
Although just a
few examples from some of the world's greatest filmmakers have been cited here,
the ongoing search for a woman's true identity can be seen in the films of many
filmmakers from all over the world. Ultimately, this search has to take us to a
higher plane: to a search for Knowledge of how womanhood fits into a greater
context of not just the world, but of Creation at large.
source :users.hal-pc.org
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