Georgy Girl - Opening Scene Analysis

The first shot of Georgy in the opening scene is of her openly and confidently walking down the street and, at one point, pushing two men aside to get past which represents her stubbornness, strength. It also represents how she would stand up for herself against the male characters in the film who keep trying to tell her who to be. She is wearing dark clothes and a very simple, no-fuss hairstyle which opposes the other women in the scene. She keeps walking and passes many shop windows and posters displaying 'sale' signs but is not distracted or pulled in by them at all which shows her non-conformity to the female stereotype of the time.

This is followed by a visual metaphor where Georgy is crossing the road. This could symbolise and foreshadow the transition she goes through later on in the film where she goes from a single woman to a married woman with a child. Her journey from one side of the street to the other is interrupted by cars as she crosses which could represent the troubles she will encounter and the disruption of the traditional way of living. This is the first hint of the film's themes of disproving and destroying the smooth, care-free stereotype of the 'swinging 60s'.
A little while after this, in the opening scene, Georgy crosses the road again after changing her mind about her look which represents her comfort zone and how she is expected to look a certain way but doesn't like it. This is supported by how characters in the film would ask her to change her large jumper or wear a dress, to which she refuses. This is an idea of how not all freedom had been achieved at this point in time and people, mainly women, were pushed into a stereotype and 'designed'.

As Georgy looks at the hairstyles in the shop, there is a fence railing which separates the street from the shop which could represent how Georgy is stopped from having the stereotypical, traditional 60s look and lifestyle she wants to have. However, beyond the railing is a glass window and glass door which shows just how close Georgy was living to these women with these other lives. Georgy and the woman in the shop look at each other through the window which emphasises the difference between Georgy and the average woman of the time.