The prison beauty pageant: documenting female prisoners in Miss Gulag and La Corona
2015; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 9; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/17503280.2015.1106092
ISSN1750-3299
Autores Tópico(s)Sex work and related issues
ResumoThis paper examines two documentary films, Miss Gulag (Maria Yatskova, dir. 2007 Yatskova, Maria, dir. 2007. Miss Gulag. DVD. USA / Russia: Neihausen-Yatskova & Vodar Films. http://newbooksinrussianstudies.com/2011/06/03/maria-yatskova-miss-gulag-nienhause-yatskova-vodar-films-2007/ [Google Scholar]) and La Corona (Amanda Micheli, and Isabel Vega, dirs. 2008 Micheli, Amanda and Isabel Vega, dirs. 2008. La Corona. DVD. USA. http://www.runawayfilms.com/wp/portfolio_page/la-corona/ [Google Scholar]), which chronicle the annual beauty pageants held at women's prisons in Novosibirsk, Russia and Bogota, Colombia. In comparing the two films, I argue that both illustrate the important role traditional gender norms inform women's prison experiences, even in such distinct and different countries as Colombia and Russia. Both films also challenge the viewer to assess the validity of a beauty pageant in these unlikely locations and to situate the female body within the broader constructs of social and national identity. In assessing how the films differ in their stylistic approaches, I argue that while Miss Gulag offers viewers an important glimpse into the lives of female prisoners, it ultimately perpetuates the regressive concepts of gender promoted by the prison system itself. I will look specifically at the problematic ‘truth’ promoted through the prisoners’ testimonials and the implicit blame of the State for the women's ‘fall'. In contrast, with its disciplined concentration on the pageant itself and neutral approach to its subjects, Micheli and Vega provide a captivating glimpse of life inside the Bogota penitentiary.
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