La Drôle de guerre des sexes du cinéma français, 1930-1956

by Noël Burch, Geneviève Sellier, Michelle Perrot (Preface writer)

In The Battle of the Sexes in French Cinema, 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 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.

Genres: Film, Feminism

399 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Noël Burch is Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the University Charles de Gaulle in Lille. His book Theory of Film Practice is widely regarded as one of the key works of Western film criticism.

Reviews

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

“In any case, what we detected in the movies of the time cannot be described as a reflection of some social reality; the cinema seems rather to play a role in the construction of a collective imaginary, but in a manner that confirms the close interconnection between the private and public spheres”