Stardom in Postwar France

John Gaffney is Professor of French Government at Aston University. He is the author and editor of a dozen books on French and British politics and culture. Diana Holmes is Professor of French at the University of Leeds. She is the author of many books and articles on women writers in 19th and (mainly) 20th century France, including Colette (1991), French Women's Writing 1848-1996 (1998), Rachilde: Decadence, Gender and the Woman Writer (2001). In film studies, she has co-authored a book on the cinema of Francois Truffaut, and co-edits a major series on French Film Directors (Manchester University Press). She is currently at work on a study of female-authored romance in 20th century France, and working on gender in Hollywood and New Wave film in the 50s/60s.

“…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

• 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 Levi-Strauss Christopher Johnson Chapter 8. 'Starlette de la Litterature': Francoise 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