In this Book
- The Battle of the Sexes in French Cinema, 1930–1956
- Book
- 2013
- Published by: Duke University Press
summary
In The Battle of the Sexes in French Cinema, 1930–1956, Noël Burch and Geneviève Sellier adopt a sociocultural approach to films made in France before, during, and after World War II, paying particular attention to the Occupation years (1940–44). The authors contend that the films produced from the 1930s until 1956—when the state began to subsidize the movie industry, facilitating the emergence of an "auteur cinema"—are important, both as historical texts and as sources of entertainment.
Citing more than 300 films and providing many in-depth interpretations, Burch and Sellier argue that films made in France between 1930 and 1956 created a national imaginary that equated masculinity with French identity. They track the changing representations of masculinity, explaining how the strong patriarch who saved fallen or troubled women from themselves in prewar films gave way to the impotent, unworthy, or incapable father figure of the Occupation. After the Liberation, the patriarch reemerged as protector and provider alongside assertive women who figured as threats not only to themselves but to society as a whole.
Table of Contents
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- Title, Copyright
- pp. i-iv
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- Part I. The Prewar Period, 1930–1939
- 1. Panorama of a Cine-Family Romance
- pp. 15-53
- Film Analyses
- pp. 54-88
- Part II. The German Occupation, 1940–1944: Fathers Take a Backseat
- 2. Castrated Fathers
- pp. 91-102
- 3. Women in the Service of the Patriarchy
- pp. 103-113
- 4. Misogyny Lingers On
- pp. 114-124
- 5. Absent Men, Fleeing Men
- pp. 125-132
- 6. Women Take Control of Their Destiny
- pp. 133-139
- 8. A Woman Faced with Her Desire
- pp. 150-163
- 9. Gentle Male Figures and New Fathers
- pp. 164-179
- Film Analyses
- pp. 180-234
- Part III. The Postwar Period, 1945–1956: Settling of Scores
- 11. Restoring the Patriarchal Order
- pp. 269-304
- Film Analyses
- pp. 305-340
- Conclusion
- pp. 341-346
- References
- pp. 347-356
Additional Information
ISBN
9780822377252
Related ISBN(s)
9780822355472, 9780822355618
MARC Record
OCLC
1139366524
Pages
379
Launched on MUSE
2020-02-19
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2013