"Constructing Masculinities in Iris Gusner’s" Die Taube auf dem Dach (1973, 1990, 2010)

Mary-Elizabeth O’Brien

doi:10.26881/pan.2020.23.04

Abstract

One of the few female directors employed at DEFA Studios, Iris Gusner directed Die Taube auf dem Dach in 1972. It was banned and thought lost until rediscovered in 1990, only to be lost again and restored a second time for a premiere 37 years after completion. My essay reviews the remarkable production history of Die Taube and explores what made Gusner’s work unacceptable for public consumption and debate. Attentive to discourse analysis and gender studies, I argue that Die Taube was censored largely because it assaulted the core ideal of selfless socialist construction and revealed the unsuitability of the hegemonic modes of masculinity for building successful heterosexual relations. I argue that Gusner’s disparagement of outdated and progressive masculine heroic identities contributed to the film’s censorship, disappearance, and near elimination from film history.

Highlights

In contrast to most filmmakers of her generation who served as assistants for years until they were able to work independently, in 1972 at age 31 she directed her first film Die Taube auf dem Dach (The Dove on the Roof ) based on her own screenplay3
As “the protagonist was a woman, the director was a woman, and/or the film involved romance and was supposedly intended for an audience of women.” 6 According to Iris Gusner, the original negative was most likely destroyed years after production during the tenure of Hans-Dieter Mäde, who served as the general director of DEFA Studies from 1976–1989
Like dozens of DEFA films, The Dove is set in a construction site, a hallowed location venerating one of the most cherished myths in the GDR: namely that the socialist state was built on the ruins of National Socialism and that the reconstruction of the country based on humanistic principles wed to modern technology would free the worker from fascist ideology10

Summary

Introduction

In contrast to most filmmakers of her generation who served as assistants for years until they were able to work independently, in 1972 at age 31 she directed her first film Die Taube auf dem Dach (The Dove on the Roof ) based on her own screenplay3. Leaving aside the problematic term Frauenfilm and the common practice of looking at portrayals of women in films by female directors5, I suggest we turn the table around and explore Gusner’s depictions of men and masculinities in The Dove on the Roof.

Results

Conclusion