From France With Love: Gender and Identity in French Romantic Comedy

(Paperback)

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Love stories have always been at the heart of French cinema, but romantic comedies have, until recently, been absent from it. In 2001, the global success of Amelie catalysed a major development in the Western world's second-largest film industry: the appropriation of the 'Hollywood' romantic comedy genre (or Rom-Com a l'Americaine). In From France with Love, Mary Harrod explores this contemporary phenomenon, examining both local hits and films with international status. Using socio-cultural data, box-office figures and analysis of critical reception, she reveals the ways in which these films mirror shifting attitudes towards gender roles within French society, as well as the increasingly important interrelation between French national cinema and transnational filmmaking paradigms.

Reviews

This is a timely and fascinating study of a global phenomenon increasingly present in French film production. * French Studies *
[Author Mary Harrod] argues her case well: this is clearly an area of distinct social significance for film studies, unfairly neglected and even scorned by scholars and critics alike. * Cinema Retro *

Author Bio

Mary Harrod is Assistant Professor in French Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. Prior to this, she was a Teaching Assistant at King's College London, where she received her PhD. Before embarking upon an academic career in 2007, she worked in film production and development for five years.