What does this research mean for the field?

Nineteenth-century hysteria functions in contemporary French cinema as a malleable cultural idiom for working through modern gender anxieties and reflecting shifts in mainstream feminism. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how contemporary French cinema uses nineteenth-century hysteria narratives at the Salpêtrière to reflect ideological shifts and tensions within modern feminist discourse.

August 27, 2026French Cultural Studies

Hysteria nostalgia in contemporary French cinema

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To examine how contemporary French cinema uses nineteenth-century hysteria narratives at the Salpêtrière to reflect ideological shifts and tensions within modern feminist discourse.
Conducted a comparative film analysis of Alice Winocour's Augustine (2012) and Mélanie Laurent's Le Bal des folles (2021).
Applied theoretical frameworks of cinematic spectacle, constrained agency, and postfeminist sensibility to evaluate depictions of doctor-patient dynamics and institutional power.
Winocour's Augustine mobilizes postfeminist themes of sexual empowerment, interpreting the doctor-patient hierarchy as a space for individualized feminine agency.
Laurent's Le Bal des folles emphasizes systemic and institutional violence, framing collective solidarity rather than individual resistance as the necessary response to patriarchy.
Nineteenth-century medicalized hysteria operates across both works as a flexible cultural medium for addressing contemporary anxieties regarding gender and power.

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Implication

Qualitative film analysis reveals evolving feminist paradigms across historical depictions of hysteria, suggesting 19th-century medical settings serve as idioms for modern gender anxieties.

Cite This Study

Kate Erskine (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8fe9da10c91c1e92621dbb https://doi.org/10.1177/09571558261472710

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Implication

Qualitative film analysis reveals evolving feminist paradigms across historical depictions of hysteria, suggesting 19th-century medical settings serve as idioms for modern gender anxieties.

Hysteria nostalgia in contemporary French cinema

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Hysteria nostalgia in contemporary French cinema

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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