The Battle Of The Sexes In French Cinema, 1930 1956
by Noël Burch /
2013 / English / PDF
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In
InThe Battle of the Sexes in French Cinema, 1930–1956
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.
,
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.
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.