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The 1980s: Postmodern Cinema and The cinéma du look

Patricia L. Pecoy MLL 235. The 1980s: Postmodern Cinema and The cinéma du look. François Mitterrand. Elected President of the Republic in 1981 Reelected for a second 7-year term in 1988

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The 1980s: Postmodern Cinema and The cinéma du look

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  1. Patricia L. Pecoy MLL 235 The 1980s: Postmodern Cinema and The cinéma du look

  2. François Mitterrand Elected President of the Republic in 1981 Reelected for a second 7-year term in 1988 The 14 years of the Mitterrand presidency mark the passage from a traditional society to a postindustrial society

  3. A Socialist Regime

  4. Socialism: A Novelty • There had not been a government of the left since the Second World War (the Popular Front of Léon Blum) • This occurred despite the progressive liberalization of society during the 1960s and 1970s • The political model is a model of leftist capitalism, something that is far removed from the former Marxist or socialist models

  5. The 1980s were marked by: • The role of new technologies • The Environment • Immigration • The construction of Europe • The Rise of the National Front • Anti-racist movements (SOS Racisme) • Ecological movements ( les Verts – The Green Party) • Major construction projects in Paris

  6. New technologies • The Minitel – 1982 • Precursor to the Internet • Gave access to services • Telephone directory • Train reservations • Stock market • Introduced by the Post Office

  7. La Cité des sciences et de l’industrie: la Villette • Inaugurated on March 13, 1986

  8. The Environment • The ecological movement gave birth to a new political party : les Verts (the Green Party)

  9. Immigration • Immediately following World War II, France needed manpower to rebuild the country; immigration began for economic reasons • During the 1980s, the most important reason for immigration was to reunite families that had been separated

  10. Immigration • The majority of immigrants came from Africa, and especially from the Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria) • Even today, immigration from Africa accounts for the majority of immigrants into France

  11. Immigration

  12. SOS Racisme • Anti-racist movement that began in the suburbs of Lyon during the anti-racist demonstrations • The movement culminated in the “march of the Beurs” which began in Marseille and ended in Paris • More than 100,000 French people participated in the march

  13. The March of the Beurs - 1983 See video (in French only)

  14. SOS Racisme • SOS racisme was formed to work against the racist forces in French society • In the beginning, one of the main organisers was a Catholic priest named Christian Delorme

  15. The Construction of Europe • In 1981, ten countries formed a European economic alliance; by 1986, there were 12 1981 1986

  16. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux • The Louvre museum and the pyramid of I.M. Pei

  17. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux • A former train station is transformed into a museum: the Orsay Museum

  18. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux • The geode of the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie at la Villette

  19. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux • A new commercial area was developed at La Défense

  20. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux A new monument (the Arch of La Défense) was built to mark the bicentennial of the French Revolution (1989)

  21. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux • The National Library

  22. The Transformation of Paris: Mitterrand’s grands travaux • The Opera of the Bastille

  23. Three filmmakers dominate the 1980s • Jean-Jacques Beineix • Diva • La lune dans le caniveau (The Moon in the Gutter)

  24. Diva • 1981: Diva • This film marks the beginning of the “cinéma du look”

  25. Jean-Jacques Beineix • In his film 37,2 in the morning, Beineix launches the career of the new sex symbol of the 1980s, Béatrice Dalle

  26. Léos Carax • The most accepted of the three by the critics • His film Les Amants du Pont Neuf (Lovers on the Pont Neuf) is comparable to the films of Carax in its neorealist tendencies

  27. Luc Besson • Of the three filmmakers of the period, Luc Besson enjoys the greatest commercial success • Subway (1984) • Nikita (1990)

  28. Luc Besson: Le Grand Bleu • This is the cult film of the decade (1989) • It is the principal work of the cinéma du look • Is a box office success; receipts are greater than those of Jurassic Parc by Steven Spielberg

  29. The cinéma du look • Characters are often drifters • They are not so much in search of an identity • The cinéma du look questions the very nature of identity (nationality, gender, social class, religion, philosophy) • Differences are cultivated • The characters seem to glide across the surface because their identities are fluid and ever-changing

  30. The cinéma du look • The auteurs of the cinéma du look prefer imitation to parody • Imitation allows them to cite other genres without criticizing them • The cinéma du look prefers to combine the old and the new, the cultural with the popular, without establishing a hierarchy of values • Everything exists on an equal playing field; but the visual element dominates everything

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