Déclinaisons de la masculinité dans les comédies françaises : le cas Jean Dujardin

Abstract

This article studies the persona of Jean Dukardin in terms of a crisis of masculinity. We suggest that the persona of an actor is made up of a combination of ‘ordinary’ (gender-, class- and sexuality-related) masculinity and ‘crisis’ masculinity. Apart from Dujardin’s mediatised image, we examine five successful comedies : Brice de Nice (James Huth, 2005) ; OSS 117, Le Caire nid d’espions (Michel Hazanivicius, 2006) ; OSS 117, Rio ne répond plus (Michel Hazanavicius, 2009) ; The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius, 2011) ; Les Infidèles (Emmanuelle Bercot, Fred Cavayé, Alexandre Courtes, Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius, Eric Lartigau and Gilles Lellouche, 2012). By building a strongly ambivalent masculinity, Dujardin incarnates the tensions between the socio-political assertion of equality between the sexes and the emergence of a reactionary modern masculinity in contemporary French society.

Keywords

• movies
• gender studies
• masculinity
• comedy
• masculinism
• star film