The Multiple Facets of Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973)

Enter the Dragon, released in 1973, was the first ever film co-produced by a Hollywood studio and a Hong Kong production company. It was intended to launch the career of actor and martial arts champion Bruce Lee in the United States and, in this way, its promotion included elements that, on the one hand, reminded one of the previous films that had made him famous, but, at the same time, could also be associated to contemporary popular movies–in particular, those of the James Bond franchise. In this article, the marketing of Enter the Dragon is analyzed particularly through the study of various posters and trailers, which were different according to the countries or areas in which it was released. Borrowing from other works, Enter the Dragon was at the crossroads of various genres, but contributed to initiate other codes in adventure or action movies, which have been used ever since

La fiction et le réel dans Le Journal de Julius Rodman (1839-40) d’Edgar Allan Poe

Dans son ouvrage Pourquoi la fiction ?, Jean-Marie Schaeffer pose la question suivante au moment d’analyser le récit de fiction en tant que tel : « Est-ce que la fiction littéraire “imite” la vie ? La réponse naïve à cette question est de répondre par l’affirmative. On peut lui objecter qu’au sens technique du terme d’ “imitation” un texte ne peut imiter que d’autres textes. » La réponse qui suit la question initiale apparente ainsi le récit de fiction à un palimpseste, comme si la superposit..

L’Amérique de Thomas Jefferson : entre rêve et illusion ?

Thomas Jefferson fondait de nombreux espoirs dans l’extension, à plus ou moins long terme, du territoire des Etats-Unis et ses divers projets s’apparentaient à un rêve aussi bien qu’à une construction chimérique. Il s’agit, dans cet article, de tenter de définir une image précise des idées qui constituaient le fondement du destin glorieux promis, selon Jefferson, à la nation américaine, mais aussi d’étudier leurs véritables aboutissements, puisque le rêve d’un épanouissement se mêlait à la réalisation de prophéties contradictoires. La confrontation de ces rêves à la réalité est aussi intéressante que leur élaboration et, même si les résultats concrets furent mitigés, les rêves de Jefferson occupent toujours une place prépondérante dans l’histoire des idées et symbolisent le besoin de toujours croire aux mythes, érigés en corollaire rétrospectif des rêves.Thomas Jefferson had great faith in the extension, in the short or the long term, of the territory of the United States and his various plans could be defined as a dream or as a chimerical scheme. This article endeavours to provide an accurate picture of the ideas that underpinned the glorious destiny that was promised, according to Jefferson, to the American nation, but also to examine their actual results, since the dream of a flourishing country was mingled with the fulfilment of contradictory prophecies. Bringing those dreams face to face with reality is just as exciting as studying how they work out and, even if the actual results prove to be mitigated, Jefferson’s dreams are still prominent in the history of ideas and account for the ever-present need to believe in myths, which, in retrospect, have become the corollaries of dreams

L’expédition Lewis et Clark et la relativité de la notion d’erreur

L’expédition Lewis et Clark fut ordonnée par le président Jefferson en 1803. Elle était censée apporter une meilleure connaissance des régions méconnues du Nord-Ouest du continent, mais le périple que ses membres durent accomplir pour atteindre l’Océan Pacifique et revenir donna naissance à une conception du territoire américain différente de celles qui avaient prévalu jusqu’alors. Ses apports furent initialement occultés, voire considérés comme une erreur, mais l’expédition n’en connut pas moins un devenir fécond. En effet, il est possible de déceler son influence dans les domaines scientifique et artistique et, au cours du XXe siècle, l’expédition Lewis et Clark fut reconnue comme un mythe fondateur des Etats-Unis. Cette dimension qui lui a été conférée peut relever d’un embellissement de l’Histoire — donc, d’une erreur volontaire — mais n’en reflète pas moins plusieurs caractéristiques essentielles de la pensée américaine.The Lewis and Clark Expedition was commissioned by President Jefferson in 1803. It was supposed to expand the knowledge of the largely unknown Northwest Territories, but the hardships its members had to endure to reach the Pacific Ocean and come back gave rise to a conception of the American territory that was different from those that had prevailed so far. The contribution of the Corps of Discovery initially fell into oblivion, even being considered as an error, but the Expedition nonetheless inspired an ever-growing interest. Indeed, one can trace its influence in the arts and science and, over the course of the 20th Century, the Lewis and Clark Expedition came to be recognised as a founding myth of the United States. This dimension conferred to it may originate from an embellishment of History – in other words, a deliberate error –, but nonetheless reflects some major features of American thought

La Représentation des jeux de pouvoir par la BBC : l’exemple de la série Yes, (Prime) Minister

Diffusée sur la BBC entre 1980 et 1988, la série télévisée Yes, (Prime) Minister décrivit, sur le ton de la comédie, les conflits dans les hautes sphères de l’Etat. Dans cet article, la représentation du monde politique et de la haute administration, dont les intérêts sont montrés comme divergents, seront analysées à la lumière du contexte de l’époque et du rôle joué par les médias, en particulier, la BBC. Si Yes, (Prime) Minister reste le produit de son temps et des débats qui agitaient le Royaume-Uni dans les années 1980 et les années précédentes, les qualités d’écriture de la série lui confèrent aussi un caractère universel, qui renforce l’hypothèse de l’indépendance de la Corporation.Broadcast on the BBC between 1980 and 1988, the television series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister depicted, in a comic tone, the conflicts within the higher circles of the State. In this article, the representation of the political world and of the high officials, whose respective interests are shown as conflicting, will be analysed in the light of the context of the time and the role played by the media — especially the BBC. Yes, (Prime) Minister remained the product of its own time and reflected the main issues that concerned the United Kingdom in the 1980s, as well as the previous years, but the quality of the writing also confers the series a universal dimension, which gives substance to the hypothesis of an independent Corporation

L’expédition Lewis et Clark et la relativité de la notion d’erreur

L’expédition Lewis et Clark fut ordonnée par le président Jefferson en 1803. Elle était censée apporter une meilleure connaissance des régions méconnues du Nord-Ouest du continent, mais le périple que ses membres durent accomplir pour atteindre l’Océan Pacifique et revenir donna naissance à une conception du territoire américain différente de celles qui avaient prévalu jusqu’alors. Ses apports furent initialement occultés, voire considérés comme une erreur, mais l’expédition n’en connut pas moins un devenir fécond. En effet, il est possible de déceler son influence dans les domaines scientifique et artistique et, au cours du XXe siècle, l’expédition Lewis et Clark fut reconnue comme un mythe fondateur des Etats-Unis. Cette dimension qui lui a été conférée peut relever d’un embellissement de l’Histoire — donc, d’une erreur volontaire — mais n’en reflète pas moins plusieurs caractéristiques essentielles de la pensée américaine.The Lewis and Clark Expedition was commissioned by President Jefferson in 1803. It was supposed to expand the knowledge of the largely unknown Northwest Territories, but the hardships its members had to endure to reach the Pacific Ocean and come back gave rise to a conception of the American territory that was different from those that had prevailed so far. The contribution of the Corps of Discovery initially fell into oblivion, even being considered as an error, but the Expedition nonetheless inspired an ever-growing interest. Indeed, one can trace its influence in the arts and science and, over the course of the 20th Century, the Lewis and Clark Expedition came to be recognised as a founding myth of the United States. This dimension conferred to it may originate from an embellishment of History – in other words, a deliberate error –, but nonetheless reflects some major features of American thought

Le « roman national » de l’expédition Lewis et Clark

Dans cet article, les formes les plus récentes et les plus novatrices de l’exaltation de l’expédition Lewis et Clark (1804-1806), un voyage d’exploration qui devait devenir, au fil des décennies, un mythe fondateur des Etats-Unis, seront étudiées. Si des domaines aussi divers que les lignes écrites au bas de statues commémoratives, la peinture, la bande dessinée ou les « docu-fictions » sont abordés, le point commun entre ces représentations reste le besoin de relater cet événement sur le mode de la fiction et, suivant la lecture de l’Histoire adoptée, de l’utiliser à des fins précises. A partir de simples faits, un « roman vrai » s’élabore ainsi et l’expédition Lewis et Clark, composée de soldats, de coureurs des bois, d’un esclave et de quelques Amérindiennes, illustre à merveille les multiples façons de relater et d’interpréter un événement au service d’une geste nationale.This article deals with the most recent and innovative forms of the praise of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806), a journey of exploration that was to become, over the decades, a founding myth of the United States. Various domains and examples – such as the lines written at the foot of commemorative statues, paintings, comic strips or “docufictions” – are used to give weight to the arguments, but the common point to those representations remains the need to relate this event in a fictional mode and, according to the reading of History adopted, to use it to precise aims. A “true-to-life novel” is thus crafted from mere facts and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, composed of military men, backwoodsmen, a slave and a few Native squaws, remains a perfect illustration of the various ways in which one can relate and read an event that fits into a national gest

Colloque « La Nouvelle-Orléans : la cité décalée / New Orleans : the Misfit City »

Placé sous l’égide de l’équipe de l’aire culturelle nord-américaine du LERMA (Laboratoire d’Étude et de Recherche sur le Monde Anglophone), ce colloque international et interdisciplinaire a été organisé par Gérard Hugues (Professeur de civilisation américaine, Aix-Marseille Université), Sylvie Mathé (Professeur de littérature américaine, Aix-Marseille Université), Mary Boyington (doctorante LERMA) et Anne Lesme (post-doctorante LERMA), en collaboration avec l’Université Loyola de La Nouvelle-..

The representation of the American territory and the controversy between Jefferson and Buffon

The Franco-American confrontation of scientific reports on nature reveals that the Lewis and Clark Expedition was not so essentially a conquering move as previously asserted because it was conceived mostly within the context of a scientific survey with the aim to prove or disprove Buffon’s contention that the American climate was that of paradise (hot and humid), and that the absence of hardship fostered mediocrity if not degeneration. In his admiration for Buffon, Thomas Jefferson strove to bring his observations to the attention of the French naturalist, beginning with his own publication on Virginia botanical surroundings, and with his observations on large American animals that included the Mammoth, whom he thought still alive because of his respect for creationism. The fact that large animals were roaming the continent disproved that degeneration was the fate of its inhabitants, degeneration implying a diminutive size. As well, “Indians” were not any lesser than other human beings (since creationism excluded evolution one way or the other, and he saw no evidence of degeneracy in any kinds of beings from America). He did foresee that they might benefit from their adoption of British forms of governance and religion so that perhaps, in due time, they could establish their own “nations”.The Franco-American confrontation of scientific reports on nature reveals that the Lewis and Clark Expedition was not so essentially a conquering move as previously asserted because it was conceived mostly within the context of a scientific survey with the aim to prove or disprove Buffon’s contention that the American climate was that of paradise (hot and humid), and that the absence of hardship fostered mediocrity if not degeneration. In his admiration for Buffon, Thomas Jefferson strove to bring his observations to the attention of the French naturalist, beginning with his own publication on Virginia botanical surroundings, and with his observations on large American animals that included the Mammoth, whom he thought still alive because of his respect for creationism. The fact that large animals were roaming the continent disproved that degeneration was the fate of its inhabitants, degeneration implying a diminutive size. As well, “Indians” were not any lesser than other human beings (since creationism excluded evolution one way or the other, and he saw no evidence of degeneracy in any kinds of beings from America). He did foresee that they might benefit from their adoption of British forms of governance and religion so that perhaps, in due time, they could establish their own “nations”

Assujettis, insoumis et contrôle de la pensée : la « guerre future » et ses conséquences dans Le Piège diabolique (1962), bande dessinée d’Edgar P. Jacobs

In the central episode of The Time Trap (1962), Belgian cartoonist Edgar P. Jacobs depicted what the world would be in the year 5060, as one of his heroes, Professor Philip Mortimer, is travelling through time in a machine one of his rivals, craving for revenge, has invented and, then, deliberately tampered with. After a nuclear war devastated the planet in the late 21st century, it is now ruled over by a totalitarian government and this episode shows the consequences of a “war to come”, which means regression for mankind as a whole. The influence of dystopian fiction works, like those by H. G. Wells, underpins the depiction of this nightmarish universe, along with the confiscation of technical progress by a handful of men and the spectre of a nuclear conflict looming ahead. However, Jacobs also takes advantage of this episode to convey a message of hope and a call for humanism, as shows the eventual victory of the “subjected” peoples, in which Mortimer plays a crucial part