"Role Reversal" (1979)

On November 28, 1979, the made-for-TV movie “Role Reversal” was broadcast on West German public television. The screenplay was written by Irish author Brian Phelan, and the film was directed by Austrian actor Peter Weck. “Role Reversal” is the story of a middle-class marriage in which traditional gender roles are reversed: after losing his job, Christoph becomes a stay-at-home husband, while his wife Gisela continues her career. One scene is featured below: Christoph and Gisela (from right: Günther Maria Halmer and Claudia Rieschel) had originally planned to celebrate Christoph’s new job offer with their friends Ingrid and Rolf (from left: Evelyn Opela and Peer Augustinski), but Christoph decided to turn it down. The movie aimed to break with the media’s stereotypical portrayal of gender roles.

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Courtesy of the German Information Center