Women in Solidarity Film Review

8/17/2019 Women in Solidarity Film Review

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Karla Škorjanc

Gender and Democracy in Poland

Women in the Solidarity movement: A Review

The film Women in the Solidarity movement exlore! the toic of the "!ilent fifty#ercent$:

the women articiant! and leader! of the Solidarity movement that are oorly reco%ni&ed or

not mentioned at all in the official hi!tory narrative in Poland'

The director! of the film( )arta D&ido and Piotr Sliwow!ki %ro*nded their film in the +ook

written +y an American a*thor Shana Penn( who wa! the fir!t er!on that ever wrote on thi!

!*+ject' ,n the film mo!t of the Penn-! revelation! are mentioned .i'e' from her /ational Secret

article at lea!t0 to%ether with a more chronolo%ical re!entation of the women-!- articiation

in democrati&ation !tr*%%le! and !ome new detail!( !*ch i! the 1*e!t for 2wa 3!!ow!ka'

The film can +e divided into three art!: the fir!t art ortray! women-!- incl*!ion the !trike!

and rote!t! in Poland thro*%ho*t 45!( 65! and 75!' Thi! art i! imortant +eca*!e it

!howca!e! how women were contin*ally re!ent in the oo!ition activitie! +*t al!o +eca*!e

the women from K3R and *nder%ro*nd activi!t! of Solidarity mo!tly had !ome exerience

with the rote!t! in the 75! and !aw their activitie! a! the contin*ation of the !tr*%%le' The

mo!t imortant art of the fir!t art of the film i! the !tory of three women that were act*ally

one of the main rea!on! that Solidarity a! a movement even came to into exi!tence' The!e

three women 8 Anna 9alentinovic&( Ania Pienkow!ka and 2wa 3!!ow!ka were the ca*!e of

the +e%%in% of the !trike .9alentinovic&0 and the main initiator! of the ,nter#factory !trike that

wa! the +e%innin% of Solidarity' They are however .with may+e 9alentinovic& !ervin% a! an

excetion to !ome extent0 almo!t never mentioned in the hi!torical acco*nt!' Thi! i! th*! the

fir!t imortant 1*e!tion that film o!e!: why i! Poli!h hi!tory deicted a! a men#only !how

even when it i! o+vio*!ly not !o

The !econd art of the film revolve! aro*nd the )artial law that wa! imo!ed in Poland in

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*nder%ro*nd movement +y nece!!ity' ,n the *nder%ro*nd women were leadin% incredi+ly

dan%ero*! live! and often had to %ive * of their family life and of their rofe!!ional

endeavo*r! comletely' They( however( roved to +e incredi+ly well#or%ani&ed and rod*ced

imortant item! of information and media !*ch are the Solidarity >and+ook( Ty%odnik

)a&ow!e and Radio Solidarity' A very intere!tin% a!ect come! * when the women talk

a+o*t how i! o!!i+le that they were not cat*red: ?adwi%a @hielow!ka de!cri+ed how they

were incredi+ly %ood in con!iracy' Another facet i! +ro*%ht to li%ht in Penn-! article( who

al!o write! a lot a+o*t the "con!irational excetionality$ of the women( +*t mention! a! well

that the %overnment didn-t act*ally erceive them a! !*ch a threat a! they did the men( which

ro+a+ly made it a +it ea!ier for them to contin*e to f*nction .even tho*%h in thi!

circ*m!tance! that +it ea!ier wa! really not a lot0'

The work that women did in the *nder%ro*nd wa! later on often *ndermined a! not +ein% a!

imortant a! the !tr*%%le! of the men that were imri!oned( or on the other hand( when the!e

media o*tlet! act*ally were rai!ed there wa! no mention that women were the a*thor! and

initiator!' Thi! work wa! however incredi+ly imortant for the re!ervation of the movement(

for %ivin% hoe to eole and for internali&ation of the !tr*%%le' ,t wa! indeed the only thin%

that a non#violent movement co*ld have done in !*ch circ*m!tance!'

The la!t art of the film concern! the Ro*nd Ta+le ne%otiation! that marked the end of @omm*ni!m in Poland' Ro*nd Ta+le i! de!cri+ed +y the film-! rota%oni!t! a! a %reat !*cce!!

for Solidarity( which came with a terri+le rice for the worker! .a h*%e lea in

*nemloyement0' ,t i! here( th*!( that the %ender i!!*e i! examined hand in hand with a !tron%

!ocial criti1*e of the event! in early


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?ankow!ka( who wrote a +ook of conver!ation! with leader! of Solidarity( when a!ked a+o*t

why !he didn-t incl*de any women leader! an!wer! with a la*%h: "*t what women were

there to talk to$' 3ne of the +e!t art! of the film i! the !cene that follow!: after a !et of

1*e!tion! and mention! of imortant female leader! !he %et! a !ort of eihany: ",t-! like we

a%reed to +e !ome kind of !ervice !taff( !*ort !taffB$

The exlanation of invi!i+ility of imortant female fi%*re! of Solidarity i! th*! that the

women them!elve! internali&ed the revailin% !ocial di!co*r!e of them +ein% the !*ortive

!taff for their h*!+and! and familie!' ,n the time of cri!i! the women did what they felt wa!

nece!!ary( they act*ally co*ld not ima%ine actin% in a different way' The comm*ni!t !ociety

that in theory !ho*ld have had %ender e1*ality wa! in fact 1*ite atriarchal d*e to

de!talini&ation( a! it i! de!cri+ed in the 21*ality thro*%h Protection article +y Cideli!' ,n !*cha climate the men did not allow or were makin% it extremely hard for women to %et to to

o!ition! and it !eem! like mo!t of the women event*ally acceted thi! !it*ation and j*!t

wanted to do a! m*ch a! they co*ld for the ca*!e they felt to +e of *tmo!t val*e( even if they

ro+a+ly wo*ld not %et any credit for it afterward!' The women did not de!cri+e them!elve!

a! femini!t!( with the excetion of ar+ara a+*da who +ecame a olitician( which i! very

indicative of the !tate that Poland wa! in' ,t i! al!o imortant to +ear in mind that the

oo!ition movement wa! clo!ely linked to @atholic @h*rch .in one !cene we can !ee the

meetin% of the ,nter#factory @ommittee with a cro!! han%in% in the +ack%ro*nd0( which meant

that +oth the men and women al!o a!!ociated with the @atholic teachin%! a+o*t %ender role!

to !ome extent'

The film it!elf did not %o very dee in analy!in% the rea!on! that to%ether amo*nted to

women-! accetance of their !econdary role( +*t it did a very imortant work of %ettin% the

i!!*e into !otli%ht' Thi! ro+lem remain! immen!ely imortant today( a! the Poli!h yo*th

learn! from hi!tory +ook! that have very little to !ay a+o*t women-! imortant role!( and theyal!o don-t !ee a lot of women in the *+lic !here' The women of Solidarity can +e kind of

"acc*!ed$ to hold a !hare of the +*rden !ince they did not want to talk a+o*t their role and

their achievement!( +*t con!iderin% the !ocial climate they were in( they only did what wa!

nece!!ary to re!erve their eacef*l exi!tence' They !aw their ta!k +ein% f*lfilled and they did

not need another +attle'

The film end! with 2wa 3!!ow!ka-! exi!tential delvin% in the Gdan!k !hiyard' ,n my

oinion !he wa! %iven too m*ch time in the film a! there were women who did m*ch more for the movement than !he did( +*t her la!t word! acc*rately deict today-! !tate of %ender


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e1*ality in Poland and the road that lie! ahead' "There will +e a time when we will han% that

hoto$ for me i! not a comletely otimi!tic me!!a%e +eca*!e it lack! a%ency and it allow!

room for mani*lation with the time frame in which the %oal of %ender e1*ality !ho*ld +e

reached' The Poli!h women !eem to !till *t them!elve! in a !econdary o!ition too often'

What 3!!ow!ka !ho*ld have concl*ded wo*ld +e !omethin% in the line of: "Tomorrow , will

call the re!on!i+le a*thoritie! and tell them to *t * the ict*re that rere!ent! thi! hi!torical

event acc*rately'$'

Documents

Women in Solidarity Film Review