NATIONAL IDENTITY AND FRENCH CULTURAL MYTH IN FILM
Patricia Frederick
Department of Modern Languages
Northern Arizona University
One of the most controversial issues in France’s presidential elections this year involved the concept of national identity. For differing purposes, the two leading candidates―Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal―repeatedly invoked the country’s need to reaffirm and rewrite its cultural identity in the global sphere.
Literature has always been an excellent pedagogical means of challenging students to consider their own cultural identities, yet the integration of stronger film and web components into language classes has gained enormously in popularity in recent years. Up-to-date media describe what is unique about the French experience of modernity and redefine France’s place in the global community. Yet adequate treatment of such issues as France’s current identity crisis is severely lacking in university texts available to educators and devoted to the study of culture. This study examines French national identity, cultural myths, the ‘French exception,’ the 2007 presidential elections, the 2005 EU referendum, nationalism and racism, as well as ways in which today’s global image of France has been transformed. It further explores new dimensions in teaching such topics in college courses on contemporary culture with special attention to the use of film and other forms of popular media as an effective means of engaging students in debates on timely issues.