Ida (2013)

What the Film is About and Plot:

The film is set in Poland during the 1960s. The main character is a sixteen-year-old orphan girl named Anna who was raised by a catholic church during Germany’s occupation of Poland in World War II. Anna is getting ready to give her vows to the Catholic Church and become a nun. However, She is halted from taking her vows by her prioress due to some shocking news that Anna has an aunt named Wanda. Anna is sent on a trip to see Wanda and truly decide whether or not she want to become a nun. When Anna finally meets her aunt Wanda, she discovers that her real name is Ida and she is actually Jewish. So Ida and Wanda go on a trip to discover what happened to their family during the war.

Dominant Ideology vs Cultural Contradictions

The film shows the act of a dominant ideology fighting against cultural contradictions. This occurs when different ideological perspectives, representing different interests with unequal power, engage in a kind of struggle within media texts.This aspect can be witnessed throughout the entire film because Ida is fighting an internal battle while trying to discover her family’s history. She has to make up her mind on whether she decides to go back to the church and become a servant of God, or go out and dedicate her life to Judaism.

Hegemony

The term hegemony is defined as domination or rule by one state or nation over another. This can be achieved through the use of power or having greater influence over opposing ideas.The main example of hegemony used in this movie is the how the religion of Catholicism has influenced Ida’s life. Ever since she was little, all that Ida ever did was follow the Catholic Church because it was all she was ever taught. Never was she exposed to any other religion or spiritual belief until meeting her aunt Wanda. For example, through out the film Ida is dress very conservative in her clothing that shows she is a nun. She is never seen wearing any casual shirts or skirts because Catholicism raised her to believe that is how she has to appear.

Postfeminism

Scholar Rosalind Gill has stated, “Notions of choice, of ‘being oneself’ and ‘pleasing oneself’, are central to the postfeminist sensibility…They resonate powerfully with the emphasis upon empowerment and taking control”. Wanda best represents this in the film due to her characteristics and lifestyle. First, Wanda lives all by herself in an apartment that she pays for on her own. Second, She makes her income by working as a judge in the justice system. Third, Wanda pleases herself through the acts of smoking, drinking, and sleeping with men.

Masculinity

When we picture the everyday normal woman we don’t picture them as going out and behaving like Aunt Wanda. When we picture someone having drinks, smoking, and having one night stands, we picture men. Media has shown men doing these things so many times that when we think of someone behaving in that way we automatically picture men. However, this movie has Aunt Wanda going out and taking on the characteristics of a man, or at least what society portrays a man to be. It’s not wrong for the movie to have Aunt Wanda taking on the characteristics of a man; some women do go out and behave like she does in the movie. Most movies only show men behaving as Aunt Wanda does in Ida which is why it is almost shocking when we see a woman behave like that in a movie. Ida is accurate in showing Aunt Wanda behaving in those ways though, because not all women are angels, some do go out and have drinks, smoke, and sleep with men.

Emphasizing Non-physical Qualities

In a study conducted by Chatham University, sixty one percent of participants said that women were focused on being sexualized and fifty percent said physical appearance was emphasized over other qualities after answering surveys about movies they watched. (p.7). Ida does the opposite and emphasizes Ida’s and Aunt Wanda’s qualities instead of their physical appearance. The movie focuses on their struggles with life. Aunt Wanda struggles with depression but keeps it hidden until she finally commits suicide. Ida struggles with finding herself and who she really is and what her true religion is. The movie shows these two female characters that have real characteristics instead of being sexual objects like a lot of females in other movies.