Study on the relationship between cinema and censorship in France under the occupation of the Nazi

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K00494
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02040:European literature-related
• Research Institution: Aichi University
• Principal Investigator: Nagata Michihiro 愛知大学, 国際コミュニケーション学部, 教授 (50513743)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 翻案 / フランス映画 / ナチ占領下 / 文芸映画 / 検閲

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We analyzed French films made during the Occupation, which were of a very high standard in terms of film history, focusing on the fact that this prosperity was brought about during wartime, when restrictions on expression were particularly strong, with an emphasis on literary films, which were considered a powerful means of escaping censorship restrictions. As a result, we were able to confirm that in some cases, the response to the restrictions on expression was more than simply "evading censorship," and that while skillfully distancing themselves from the conservative ideology of the censors at the narrative level, they also introduced a perspective that relativized this ideology at the level of expression. Although further verification is needed, we believe that our hypothesis that the social suppression of expression led to an improvement in the quality of cinematic expression has been validated.

Free Research Field

フランス文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究において、表現の自由が厳しく制限されたナチ占領下のフランスにおいて、高度な質を持った映画作品が多く生まれたことの説明として、文学作品を原作とする映画作品の分析を通じて、社会的な表現の抑圧が映画表現の質の向上につながったとする仮説の有効性が認められた。今後の展開としては、戦後のフランス映画についても、その停滞の理由が、国家権力からの規制や民衆における反近代主義的イデオロギーが後退し、外からの圧力がなくなったことが映画の質の低下を招いたためといえるのか、といった問題設定が可能であり、戦争と映画をめぐるより包括的な研究が期待できよう。