Description
Book SynopsisThe 1950s and 1960s were a key moment in the development of postwar France. This title includes an examination of the development of mass culture in post-war France, which offers an insight into the shifts that took place. It explores stardom from the domain of cinema and other fields.
Trade Review “…an excellent volume, original and instructive, for researchers as well as for students, be it in cultural anthropology, sociology of culture or French Studies. For anthropologists adopting a comparative approach, here is an opportunity to find out how Anglo-Saxon colleagues perceive a hexagonal culture from outside.” · Anthropologie et Sociétés
“This strong collection, through its insistence on the import of stardom beyond an array of one-dimensional incarnations of a zeitgeist to consider complex embodiments of specific contemporary tensions and dynamics, succeeds in expanding successfully the consideration of star identities in French studies and provides both fascinating case studies and valuable models for future analysis.” · French Studies
“This highly enjoyable and provocative book convincingly demonstrates that celebrities are pivotal sites for the historical analysis of national identity. Those figures that attracted public attention were all able to incarnate the aspirations and anxieties that shaped France in the postwar moment. And it is through examining icons like Bardot, Hallyday, Poulidor, and de Gaulle, the authors insist, that we gain insight into the social concerns of the day. Why the post ’68 era failed, in their view, to produce a similar gamut of stars, remains an intriguing point of departure for future research.” · H-France
Table of Contents Introduction
John Gaffney and Diana Holmes
Chapter 1. Stardom in Theory and Context
John Gaffney and Diana Holmes
Chapter 2. 1950s Popular Culture: Star-Gazing and Myth-Making with Roland Barthes and Edgar Morin
Susan Weiner
Chapter 3. ‘A Girl of Today’: Brigitte Bardot
Diana Holmes
Chapter 4. Rock ’n’ Roll Stardom: Johnny Hallyday
Chris Tinker
Chapter 5. Stardom on Wheels: Raymond Poulidor
Philip Dine
Chapter 6. The Auteur as Star: Jean-Luc Godard
Alison Smith
Chapter 7. The Intellectual as Celebrity: Claude Lévi-Strauss
Christopher Johnson
Chapter 8. ‘Starlette de la Littérature’: Françoise Sagan
Heather Lloyd
Chapter 9. The Only Act in Town: Charles de Gaulle
John Gaffney
Conclusion
John Gaffney and Diana Holmes
Bibliography
Notes on Contributors
Index
