Beyond Pathology: Representations of Lesbian Psychology in 21st-Century French Film

Historically, LGBTQ+ identities have been associated with pathology and abnormality in Western culture, and depictions in cinema have often reinforced this. Despite a rise in diverse LGBTQ+ characters on French screens, there is limited scholarly exploration of the shifting representation of their psychology. With mental illness increasing in prevalence worldwide, affecting queer communities at a disproportionately higher rate, it is more important than ever to broach this topic.

Indeed, studies suggest that on-screen representation can influence the wellbeing of queer individuals (Bond and Miller, 2017). This project highlights not only persistent themes of pathology in contemporary French lesbian film, but examples of mental health and wellbeing, revising current understanding of psychology in French lesbian cinema.

The most recent book-length study to focus solely on lesbian cinema is Clara Bradbury-Rance's Lesbian Cinema After Queer Theory (2019) which, although not exclusively French-centred, explores pathological depictions of lesbian desire in Nathalie... (2003) and its anglophone remake, Chloe (2009). To date, there is only one book focusing exclusively on French-language lesbian cinema: Lucille Cairns's Sapphism on Screen: Lesbian Desire in French and Francophone Cinema (2006).

A chapter on 'Mad Girls' looks at narcissism, the 'mother-daughter' relationship model, and sadomasochism, identifying pathology as one of 'the two most salient lesbian paradigms' alongside criminality. Criminality itself also has links to pathology, with Christine Coffman finding that same-sex desire appears as a symptom 'of dangerous, often murderous, psychosis in women' (2006).

Similarly, Anneke Smelik's chapter on 'Art Cinema and Murderous Lesbians' in New Queer Cinema (ed. Aaron, 2004) analyses five depictions of the stereotype, interweaving discussions of narcissism and trauma.

These studies all centre on the pathological. There are, however, notable examples of lesbian psychological flourishing in French cinema, particularly in contemporary film. The lack of scholarly attention to this evolving aspect, therefore, invites us to move beyond pathology and ask: how is positive psychology visualised in French sapphic cinema in the 21st century? And how, if at all, do contemporary French films disrupt previous depictions of pathological queer women?

This project will draw inspiration from Martin Seligman's theory of 'positive psychology', which 'is about positive subjective experience: well-being and satisfaction (past); flow, joy, the sensual pleasures, and happiness (present); and constructive cognitions about the future' (Seligman, 2002). Whilst I will inevitably touch on traditional psychoanalytical approaches to film criticism, this project will recruit such modern theoretical frameworks to look at popular works like La Vie d'Adèle (2013), Sentinelle (2021), Les Cinq Diables (2022), Benedetta (2021), and Voleuses (2023) in a new light.

There is a need firstly to outline the state of pathological images of queer women in modern French cinema, building on Cairns's study which is now almost two decades old. Thereafter, I aim to explore several themes. Sentinelle and Voleuses are French action films seemingly offering portrayals of sapphic strength and resilience.

Elsewhere, in Les Cinq Diables, for example, it is possible to read queer relationships themselves as sources of positive psychology. Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019) goes further in subverting the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ suicide on screen. I aim to provide a comprehensive investigation that reorients academic focus from potentially harmful renderings of sapphic psychology to positive ones.