Kearney, Peadar
(2022)
Blurred Boundaries and Fluid Selves : Identity in Contemporary Francophone Cinema.
PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Abstract
The probing of identity is an established concern of French and Francophone film. Different waves of cinema have brought us through an exploration of the self from a range of extensively discussed perspectives: for example, feminist, queer, existential and migrant theory. Building on theoretical developments such as these, I analyse the treatment of identity in contemporary French-language cinema. My analysis is not bound together by one particular aspect of identity, but rather by instances of blurring and fluidity in relation to the notion of identity. The type of hybrid self that emerges from analysis informed by blurring and fluidity is a clear reflection of the shifting nature of global society where boundaries no longer hold fast and we must rethink our relationship with the self, the other, time and space.
It is against this framework that I examine the work of three radical francophone filmmakers: Xavier Dolan, François Ozon and Céline Sciamma. All three consistently treat questions of nationality, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity from multiple angles and with crossover between the categories. The ‘blurred boundaries and fluid selves’ of the title evokes the way that the protagonists of the films experience multiple embodiments and an ambivalent relationship with the space that they inhabit. These ‘fluid selves’ engage the spectator in a series of reflections relating to how we perceive our place in the world and, indeed, our interconnectedness. The ‘blurred boundaries’ of the characters question the ways in which normative cultural values continue to weigh heavily on our sense of self and must be interrogated. This project will trace out an aesthetics of identity in contemporary Francophone cinema.
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