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Format: Mémoire

  • Expression of Femininity through the Rusalka (Mermaid) Figure in Russian Cinema of the Twenty First Century: Patriarchal Norms and Feminist Responses

    « “I don’t believe in the betrothed one!” says Polina, one of the characters in Sviatoslav Podgaevskii’s horror film The Mermaid: Lake of the Dead (2018). The phrase may be shocking and troubling to the majority of Russian women, who grew up reading the tales about Ivanushka Tsarevich (Ivan the Prince). Fairy tales, according to some feminists, educate women to be passive, submissive and wait for their princes to rescue them from misery. However, some folkloric female personages disrupt patriarchal norms. One such character is the Slavic rusalka (mermaid). A charming culprit, she is notorious for her ability to seduce as well as to kill. Within sexualized, misogynistic frameworks, the alluring and unrestrained rusalka becomes a demon.

    Nevertheless, in the twenty-first century, the rusalka figure garners an alternative reading. From the perspective of Russian women directors, she is a secure, creative, independent woman and a subject of her definition, rather than an object of male conditioning. The current thesis analyzes the multiplex rusalka character through an interdisciplinary lens, and then examines the purpose of the rusalka figure in three contemporary Russian films. The analysis shows the connection between the rusalka and the mermaid, which supports the theory of the rusalka as a hypersexualized object for male satisfaction. Secondly, folkloric studies reveal the rusalka’s uniqueness, which adds to the purposes of the character. The study of the three movies shows that the horror movie, filmed by a male director, invariably presents the rusalka as a vamp figure, or as a socially constructed other, while the films by the female directors attempt to show alternative femininities through the rusalka figure. » (Résumé)

  • Queering the Weeki Wachee Mermaid and Its Renewed Aesthetic Value

    « Scholars have asserted that the visual representation of womanhood responds to a cultural context, which often adheres to patriarchy and the satisfaction of the male gaze. The mediated depiction of the mermaid through time is polysemous and therefore deserves a thorough examination substantiated by robust theories. As a gendered feminine figure that complies with the patriarchal pressure of subjugation to gratify male desire, the mermaid can, however, elude the socially constructed dichotomy of genders, contributing to her agency and queerness.

    By investigating the Florida roadside attraction of Weeki Wachee Springs’ mermaid shows and other mediated visual depictions of the sea creature, I contend that the sexualization of the mermaid and, simultaneously, the empowerment of an alluring genitalia-less feminine body participate in reinforcing the ambiguity of the mythological figure. Weeki Wachee Springs underwater theater started its operation in the post-World War II socio-economic and cultural context and has offered a unique and rich perspective on the mermaid’s narrative and the evolution of its role. Feminist theories highlight the subjugation of the female body to satisfy the male gaze when analyzing socially constructed feminine-coded body postures and choreographies of the Weeki Wachee’s shows, which support the claim of gender identity as performative. Through its hybridized body and the presence of a fishtail, the mermaid is sexless, which blurs gender dichotomy classification and suggests the possibility of gender non-normativity. In addition to examining the resurgence and mediated reappropriation of the mermaid’s representation and its aesthetic value through camp style and the popularization of kitsch and nostalgia, I affirm that the mermaid has gained significant agency in participating in the contemporary empowerment of young girls through the practice of “mermaiding,” and has served as a powerful advocate for environmental conservation.

    This project has the ambition to complicate the existing literature on the mermaid’s body and to underline the evolution of its cultural significance from the 1950s until today. The implicit and explicit connotation of the mermaid is not monosemous; therefore, it is essential to fathom and discern the polymorphous signifiers the sea creature suggests, which give women alternative options to traditional gender roles. » (Résumé)

  • Études sur l’hybridation femme-animal et la monstruosité féminine

    Plusieurs travaux se penchent plus largement sur les variations de l’hybride femme-animal et le concept de monstruosité lié aux personnages féminins, ce qui inclut à la fois la figure de la Sirène, mais aussi rejoint d’autres figures féminines comme celle de la Sorcière.

  • Études sur la figure de la sirène dans la littérature italienne

    Quelques thèses et mémoires analysent les représentations de la figure de la sirène dans la littérature italienne, de Dante à des oeuvres contemporaines.

  • Travaux de recherche-création utilisant la figure de la sirène

    La figure de la sirène est privilégiée dans plusieurs travaux de recherche-création et ce, dans plusieurs domaines artistiques (littérature, marionnette, performance, etc.). Ces travaux soulèvent des enjeux par rapport au corps, à l’expression de genre féminine et leur lien avec les tropes du conte de fée ou des représentations populaires.

  • Études sur les contes de fées et leurs réécritures

    L’importance du conte d’Anderson, La petite sirène, est le sujet de nombreux travaux sur le conte lui-même, les contes de fées en général et leurs réécritures contemporaines et/ou subversives.

  • Once Upon a Fishtail: Mermaids, Fairy Tales, and Popular Culture

    « Since the mermaid continues to permeate cultural experiences of the folk, an exploration of this sustained role in American fiction and film yields insight not only into how myth, folklore, and fairy tales continue to function in popular culture, but also into modern attitudes regarding femininity as mediated through representations of the mermaid. Contemporary society’s 21 Century interpretation of the icon for young girls is widely available. Aquamarine, Alice Hoffman’s 2002 work for Intermediate child readers, the story of a mermaid who lands in a swimming pool, has recently emerged as a popular text, as well as the subsequent cinematic adaptation, director Elizabeth Allen’s 2606 film, Aquamarine. These texts, which differ significantly in storyline and characters, draw upon well-known, inter-connected representations of mermaids. Thus, a discussion of Aquamarine as a popular mermaid text is also a discussion of 19″ Century Romantic folklore and fairy tale fiction (the Melusine and Undine tales and Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”), as well as contemporary 20″ Century films (Splash, Disney’s The Little Mermaid). The thesis investigates Aquamarine ’s mythic structure and intertextual allusions, proposes a psychoanalytic-feminist reading of novel and film and examines the mermaid’s role as female Other, whose immigrant experience offers insight into contemporary culture and girls’ use of mass media to learn culture. » (Résumé)

  • Analyse et actualisation du langage plastique d’illustrations jeunesse

    « Ce mémoire traite de l’actualisation du langage plastique d’illustrations jeunesse créées au préalable par des enfants, pour des enfants. La première partie présente le cadre théorique de la recherche. Le concept d’illustration jeunesse y est défini et expliqué, de même que la notion de livre illustré qui se caractérise ici par son aspect féerique, le tout inspiré et appuyé par les illustrations du conte illustré Un million de contes sur Leïna la sirène, de la bande dessinée Le jardin enchanté, du roman L’enfant des eaux ainsi que d’une affichette sans nom. Les outils analytiques présentés sont tirés de l’approche sémiologique de Joly (2005) et de l’étude de l’illustration dans la littérature jeunesse de Sarrasin (1991). La deuxième partie du mémoire est constituée de quatre analyses d’illustrations jeunesse tirées de différentes créations (citées ci-haut) conçues dans les années ’90 par Manon Verret, jeune créatrice alors âgée de 9 ans. Le projet créatif qui en découle est une actualisation et une nouvelle interprétation de l’importance des composantes plastiques de ces illustrations. » (Résumé du mémoire)

  • Études sur la sirène dans la littérature des femmes victoriennes

    La figure de la sirène est récurrente dans la littérature des femmes victoriennes. Plusieurs études se concentrent sur ses usages.

  • Études sur les productions de Disney

    De nombreuses recherches s’intéressent aux représentations de la Sirène et d’autres princesses dans les productions cinématographiques de Disney.