Women in Culture: The Verdict
We pestered our colleagues at the Institut français (y'know, tapped them on the shoulder, followed them around for a couple of days, etc. etc.), and here's what we found out:
Which French woman in history inspires you?
Nico: The problem with historiography is that people consider individuals, but I prefer collective movements without leaders. I have to chose - so I would say Olympe de Gouges who wrote the Women Rights and was anti-slavery. I also like Claire Lacombe who was a member of ‘La Société des républicaines révolutionnaires’, one of the first groups to claim for women's rights. Then Louise Michel and also all the women united in ‘L'Union des femmes pour la defense de Paris et le soin aux blesses', created by the russian Elisabeth Dmitrieff.
Lucie: I like George Sand, and also Simone Veil (I would like her to come back from the dead and talk to her about the tax on primary necessity products!)
Marine: Marie Curie, Simone Veil, Christiane Taubira
Lionel: Jeanne d'Arc
Which female actress changed your perception in cinema?
Nico: None of the French actress have changed my vision. But I like Isabelle Huppert and Juliette Binoche (when they play in good movies). But a director who allowed my vision to change is: Claire Denis. Unlike the very talkative norm in French cinema, Denis knows how to express feelings and how to tell a story throughout the image. Agnès Varda also shot interesting movies.
Lucie: Cinema…not really my area, but the person I always loved is Nicole Kidman in Le Moulin Rouge and also Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener and The Lobster.
Marine: Jeanne Moreau, Arletty, Juliette Binoche, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Lionel: Sophie Marceau (during the 90s)
How do you interpret the female voice in literature?
Nico: I don’t have a problem, neither do I identify myself to a feminine character nor share her doubts - but I find it interesting to be guided by a feminine voice. The point of view and themes are often different from the norm, so it is useful. In books, women play less secondary roles unlike those where there is a male narrator. It contributes to filling the gender gap, but it is also interesting when men write a story with a female voice like Raymond Carver did.
Lucie: I’m not annoyed by that type of focalisation. I've read several books (Sarraute -Enfance-, Nothomb...) and in the literature for kids it’s even easier because they write more towards a feminine audience.
Marine: For example in "Metaphysique des tubes" by Amelie Nothomb (a writer that I love by the way), she recounts her memories from the beginning of her life. It allows us to access an introspection, to share the way she can see things, life, and at the same time she is the heroine.
Lionel: It doesn’t really change my perception of the text.
What is your favourite French female singer/band?
Nico: Oh la la... Female French singers that I like? I don’t think I can find any. Oh yes, I like Casey. She’s angry, slightly punk-attitudey, it’s cool.
Lucie: Emilie Simonnnnnnnn I love her! I also listen to Christine and the Queens at the moment. There are so many good French singers!
Marine: Barbara, Edith Piaf
Lionel: Catherine Ringer (Rita Mitsouko)