Feminism and Girlhood Through Chaos and Deconstruction in Daisies

Daisies (Sedmikrásky, Věra Chytilová, 1966) is a Czech New Wave film that captures audiences with its wildly experimental and surrealistic aesthetics. In the article, I aim to explore how a feminist narrative is formed through the film’s complex web of visual cues that the director interweaves and layers through the use of playful and inventive shots, montage, playing with colour, repeating objects that carry symbolism, and the avoidance of a clear and consequential plot. I interpret all the above as ways in which Věra Chytilová purposefully distances the viewer, offers fresh associative possibilities, and urges a dialogue with her films. I conclude by comparing Chytilová’s portrayal of playful, free, and subversive girlishness to the contemporary (pop)cultural phenomenon of girlhood and, through it, attempt to prove how this avant-garde film from the sixties resonates with a modern (girly) audience.

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Feminism and Girlhood Through Chaos and Deconstruction in Daisies