Performing Rebellion: A Case Study on the Evolution of the Cinematic Portrayal of Sisi’s Rebelliousness

Författare

Stephanie Mock

Summary, in English

Over the past century, films and series about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, have reflected her lasting role in European cultural memory. These cinematic portrayals continually reimagined her character. This thesis focuses on one aspect: her rebelliousness, exploring how it is constructed in film and how it has evolved over the past seventy years in response to shifting societal norms.
While prior research has examined Sisi as a historical and cultural figure, little attention has been paid to how her rebellion is depicted or how evolving social values shape it. This thesis fills that gap by analysing three major screen adaptations: Ernst Marischka’s trilogy (1955- 1957), Xaver Schwarzenberger’s mini-series (2009) and the first season of the Netflix series The Empress (2022). Each production was examined using a two-phase qualitative method combining thematic and semiotic analysis, guided by Judith Butler’s concepts of performativity and gender. The individual results were later comparatively discussed.
The findings reveal that Sisi’s rebelliousness is continually reimagined to align with the gendered expectations of each era, reaching from romanticised restraint in post-war Austria to politicised defiance in a post-#MeToo context. Film thus emerges not only as a medium of historical reflection but also as a mirror of evolving societal norms. This thesis contributes a replicable framework for analysing female rebellion in cinema and offers new insight into the evolving intersection of gender, cultural memory, and European cinematic representation.

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