Revisiting the French Resistance in Cinema, Literature, Bande Dessinée, and Television (1942–2012)

Christophe Corbin

Revisiting the French Resistance in Cinema, Literature, Bande Dessinée, and Television (1942–2012) examines how fictional works have contributed to shaping the image of the French Resistance, and offers a key to understanding France’s national psyche. Christophe Corbin explores themes including the making of the myth of an honorable country united against a common enemy, comedies gently poking fun at it and fictional works debunking it straightforwardly, the invisibility and resurfacing of women in films and novels, as well as contemporary depictions of the Resistance on television. Case studies include sometimes forgotten or lesser-known works such as Aragon’s wartime poetry, early films such as Le Père tranquille or Casablanca-inspired Fortunat, iconic films and novels such as Le Silence de la mer or La Grande Vadrouille, but also contemporary fictional works such as Effroyables jardins and Un Héros très discret, or the popular TV series Un Village français. It will be of interest to scholars and students in cultural studies, film studies, French studies, history, and media studies.

Lexington Books

Pages: 250 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-4985-8205-6 • Hardback • May 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4985-8207-0 • Paperback • July 2021 • $41.99 • (£35.00)

978-1-4985-8206-3 • eBook • May 2019 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Historical Events

Revisiting the French Resistance in Cinema, Literature, Bande Dessinée, and Television (1942–2012)

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Revisiting the French Resistance in Cinema, Literature, Bande Dessinée, and Television (1942–2012) examines how fictional works have contributed to shaping the image of the French Resistance, and offers a key to understanding France’s national psyche. Christophe Corbin explores themes including the making of the myth of an honorable country united against a common enemy, comedies gently poking fun at it and fictional works debunking it straightforwardly, the invisibility and resurfacing of women in films and novels, as well as contemporary depictions of the Resistance on television. Case studies include sometimes forgotten or lesser-known works such as Aragon’s wartime poetry, early films such as Le Père tranquille or Casablanca-inspired Fortunat, iconic films and novels such as Le Silence de la mer or La Grande Vadrouille, but also contemporary fictional works such as Effroyables jardins and Un Héros très discret, or the popular TV series Un Village français. It will be of interest to scholars and students in cultural studies, film studies, French studies, history, and media studies.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 250 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-4985-8205-6 • Hardback • May 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4985-8207-0 • Paperback • July 2021 • $41.99 • (£35.00)

978-1-4985-8206-3 • eBook • May 2019 • $39.50 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Popular Culture, Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Historical Events

Author

Christophe Corbin is visiting assistant professor of French and Francophone studies at Haverford college and director of the Institut d’Avignon under the auspices of Bryn Mawr College.

Table of Contents

Preface: “The French Resistance Explained to My Grandchild”

Introduction: How Stories Make History

I. A Tale of the Nation: Historical Considerations and Early Filmic Depictions

II. Muses in Arms: Poetry and Novels to Save the “Real France” (1940–1944)

III. Fictions in Defiance. Historical Allegories or “Putting Ideas Across” (1942–1951)

IV. Laughing the War Out: Comic (Relief) in Films and Bandes Dessinées

V. Dissenting Voices: Debunking the Myth of Resistant France

VI: Out of the Shadow: Invisibility and Resurfacing of Women in Films and Novels

VII. Stopping the Pendulum Mid-Swing?: The Resistance on Television in the 2000s

Conclusion: Veneration, Suspicion, Admiration

Appendix A: List of Films, Telefilms, Novels, Comic Books, and Graphic Novels Depicting the French Resistance

Bibliography

About the Author

Reviews

A sweeping, well-informed study of fictional representations of the French Resistance, especially refreshing and illuminating in its inclusion of “popular” media.
— Philippe Met, University of Pennsylvania

Corbin’s well-organized and accessible study brings together a unique range of textual and visual representations of the French Resistance from literature and poetry to comics and television drama. The insightful analysis explores the place of cultural production in the memorialization of the Resistance since the Second World War. A comprehensive study, it will be of particular value to students and will also appeal to any reader with an interest in the period.
— Hanna Diamond, Cardiff University