Nostalgia, Melancholy, Trauma: Backlash Postfeminism in Contemporary French Screen Romance

This article draws on Diane Negra’s (2009) assessment of neo-global postfeminist popular culture and cinema as displaying an obsession with time-control that is largely inimical to feminist progress, arguing similar currents are visible in 2010s French screen romances. While manifestations this relevance for the contemporary context range from celebrations ritualized, time-sensitive milestones (marriage, pregnancy) narratives female professional retreatism face ‘time-poverty’ or expansion sexualized identities across ages, focuses depth themes actual symbolic historical reversion intimate sphere through a close analysis films Camille redouble (Noémie Lvovsky, 2012) Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément (Clovis Cornillac, 2015). After surveying other cognate fictions, discussion demonstrates both these reflect wider backdrop time-related trauma informing onscreen romance accordingly melancholic, well openly nostalgic, theme tone. The interrogates backlash aspects such but also different resonances associated regressive ‘postfeminist’ elements opposed American culture. It thus postfeminism bears specific relationship distinctive past history comprised by local movements intersects Gallic customs ideologies – notably nationalistic ones particular ways.