Irresistibly French: Female Stardom and Frenchness
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IRRESISTIBLY FRENCH: FEMALE STARDOM AND FRENCHNESS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Nicoleta Bazgan, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor JUDITH MAYNE, Advisor Professor EUGENE HOLLAND _________________________________ Professor KARLIS RACEVSKIS Advisor Graduate Program in French and Italian Copyright by Nicoleta Bazgan 2008 ABSTRACT French actresses have exerted an endless fascination on film audiences worldwide. Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, and, more recently, Amelie’s star Audrey Tautou epitomize the lasting appeal of the glamorous French star system, inviting a critical exploration of their prominent star images and of the bridges of desire that connect them to national and global audiences. French female stars cross the boundaries of popular and auteur cinema, and their mythical star text is refracted across both material and discursive practices, pointing to their status as French cinema icons, national treasures, and objects of consumption. On the one hand, French female stardom is represented as an elusive essence, a self-made myth inspired by a reputable tradition of cinematic and artistic excellence, its allure residing in the infamous je ne sais quoi that refuses easy consumption. On the other hand, stars as icons of femininity are the objects of an intense scrutiny that invites consumption through various practices, as the glamorous French actresses are exclusively faithful to the national industries of tourism, perfume, cosmetics, and fashion. My research also reveals that the various cultural products related to French female stars initiate a dynamic and visionary mode of transnational cultural exchanges. Contrary to a French cultural tradition turned inward to protect its national authenticity, the cultural products related to French female stars are open to export their Frenchness in ii a global market. Consequently, despite the construction of French cinema split between a commercial and an art sector with less popular appeal, female stars contribute to its perpetuation as art, industry, and commerce, providing a vital link in the negotiations between feminine identities, cinema, nation, and (inter)national consumption. iii To my mother, Eli iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research project was enabled by the professional advice, intellectual guidance, and moral support of several scholars, colleagues, and friends. First, I am deeply indebted to my dissertation advisor, Professor Judith Mayne. In every possible way, Professor Mayne was the perfect advisor for this dissertation and an inspiring model for both scholarship and teaching. Her breath and depth of knowledge, passion for teaching cinema, intellectual generosity, and critical enthusiasm shaped and inspired my entire education and research. Through several film courses, numerous discussions concerning many facets of this project, and generous comments, Professor Mayne encouraged me to develop my passion for French cinema and to grow intellectually during my graduate years. I am grateful to the other members of my committee, Professor Karlis Racevskis and Professor Eugene Holland for their generous comments and incisive observations at various stages in the development of this dissertation. I am thankful to Professor Danielle Marx-Scouras for her unwavering support of this project from its incipient stages and for her inspiring passion for popular culture. During the later stages of the dissertation, Professor Wynne Wong and Professor Dana Renga have provided me with constant and very generous academic guidance and moral support. This project would have not been possible without two grants for conducting research abroad: the Coca-Cola Critical Difference for Women Research Grant on v Gender & Gender Studies and The Ohio State Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship. The materials consulted in the Bibliothèque du Film and Inathèque were significant resources for my research. I would like to extend my thanks to numerous friends for their advice and support: Wendy and Florin, who put their time and energy in reading parts of my dissertation, as well as Adela, Andrei, Ioana, Iulian, Mirela, and Simona, who constantly supported me through numerous conversations and kind gestures. I am particularly grateful to Laura Hetel. I was fortunate enough to have in her an intellectual companion and a dear friend who made my graduate journey infinitely richer. Laura and I were undergraduate and graduate students, teaching assistants and resident directors for study abroad programs, good friends and enthusiastic travelers. In addition, she was a careful reader of this dissertation, offering me insightful comments and much-needed reassurance at critical moments during the writing process. A very special and heartfelt thank you goes to Konstantin for ink tanks, positive spirit, and invaluable friendship. The last, and surely the most, I want to thank my family for their support. vi VITA 2001 – 2008 . Combined undergraduate / graduate program The Ohio State University B.A., Summa cum laude Majors: Political Science World Business & Economy M.A., French 2001 – 2008 . Teaching Assistant The Ohio State University FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: French Studies French Film Studies, Twentieth Century French Literature and Culture Popular Culture and Advertising vii TABLE OF CONTENTS P a g e Abstract. ii Dedication. iv Acknowledgments . v Vita . vii List of Figures . x Introduction.. 1 1. The Star as Icon of Cinema . 16 1.1. French Female Stars and the Divide Between Art and Popular Cinema. 19 1.2. Paradoxical Female Stars: The French Star and Anti-Star System. 25 1.3. The French Female Star, the Pygmalion Myth and Artistic Collaboration . 33 1.4. French Privacy Laws and Artistic Labor . 45 1.5 A Cinematic History of Pygmalion Myth . 51 2. Icons of the Nation: Female Stars and Frenchness . 62 2.1. The Feminine Star, Cinema and the Nation. 67 2.2. Resistance and Decolonization: Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve . 75 3. Paris is a Movie Star: Parisian Women and Iconic Urban Femininity . 89 3.1. The Myth of Parisian Women. 95 viii 3.2. Parisian Women: Representations and Difference. .99 3.3. On-Screen Representations: Icons, Flâneuses and Voyageuses. 104 3.4. Gamines and Maps of Paris . 113 3.5. Parisian Female Stars in Extra-Cinematographic Discourses. 124 4. Icons of Feminine Consumption: On How to Become a French Female Star. 134 4.1. On How To Become a French Woman . .138 4.2. Fashionable Mariannes: Stars and Cultural Product Industries. .143 5. Audrey Hepburn: A Gamine With a French Twist . .158 Conclusion . .187 Bibliography. .192 ix LIST OF FIGURES 1.1. Laetitia Casta. Studio Harcourt, 2006 . 18 1.2. Final shot in 8 Femmes (2001) . 57 2.1. Germaine Lefebvre. Marianne, 1951. 62 2.2. Busts of Marianne. .64 2.3. Poster for Charles de Gaulle’s electoral campaign, 1965. 73 2.4. Figure 2.4. Poster for Babette s’en va-t-en guerre. (1959). 78 3.1. Laetitia Casta by Jean Paul Goude for Galeries Lafayette, 2001. 89 3.2. Willy Ronnis. Place Vendôme, 1947 . .. .92 3.3. Galeries Lafayette advertisement by Jean Paul Goude, 2001. 97 3.4. Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau in Viva Maria. (1960) . 98 3.5. Poster for Une Parisienne. (1957) . 105 3.6. Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001). 123 3.7. Paul Moreau-Vauthier, Paris Welcoming Her Guests, 1900 . 125 4.1. Laetitia Casta by Jean-Paul Goude for Galeries Lafayette, 2001. 134 4.2. Diane Vreeland. Boots by Roger Vivier.. .145 4.3. Le Rouge. Film by Bettina Rheims for Chanel Rouge Allure, 2007. .154 5.1. Audrey Hepburn. Gap Advertisement. 2006. 158 5.2. Posters for Charade (1963) and How to Steal a Million (1966) . .181 x INTRODUCTION French female stars have intrigued and allured audiences worldwide. Free-spirited gamines, sophisticated Parisian women, and magnetic femmes fatales populate the screen of French cinema, radiating the celebrated and mythic quality of French femininity and of its star system. Jeanne Moreau’s defiant laughter disguised as a newsboy with plaid cap and penciled-on moustache racing on the wooden railroad bridge in Jules et Jim. Brigitte Bardot’s adulated beauty and irrepressible sexuality revealed with Et Dieu . créa la femme. Catherine Deneuve’s charismatic passion and majestic coolness. Juliette Binoche’s mysterious and subtle blue aura, sophisticated and expressive, bold and contained. Isabelle Adjani’s immaculate fierceness and captivating fragility. Emmanuelle Béart’s liberating sensuality and passionate dignity. Audrey Tautou’s impish gamine look and magic innocent charm. These different facets of the glamorous French star system epitomize the fascination that French actresses have always exerted on film audiences worldwide. The proliferation of discourses that surround French stars and the types they embody acknowledges this magnetism. Best-sellers such as Entre Nous: a Woman’s Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl, photographic albums like Parisienne(s), a BBC documentary investigating French feminine charm, French Beauty (2005), François Ozon’s homage to French actresses in 8 Femmes (2002) as well as countless other 1 magazines and movies, all point to the je ne sais quoi of beauty, freedom, glamour, and style that is at the heart of the French feminine and constitutes its appeal. A central impetus of this study is the systematic examination of female stardom to explore the ways in which the French