Challenging Stereotype in Marriage and Societal System from a Film Analysis of Anatomy of a Fall

Research Article
Open access

Challenging Stereotype in Marriage and Societal System from a Film Analysis of Anatomy of a Fall

Qi Qi 1* , Yufei Huang 2 , Ziming Chai 3
  • 1 Shang Hai Qibao Dwight High School    
  • 2 Guanghua Cambridge International School    
  • 3 Ningbo Foreign Language School    
  • *corresponding author Qqi_aileen@qibaodwight.org
CHR Vol.70
ISSN (Print): 2753-7072
ISSN (Online): 2753-7064
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-147-1
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-148-8

Abstract

The essay explores how to deconstruct gender stereotypes by looking at gender representations in marriage and the juridical system through a film analysis of Anatomy of a Fall. The film won the Palme d'Or award at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023; it narrates the female protagonist Sandra's denial of the accusation of murdering her husband and the reclamation of her subjectivity in the trial. The aim of the article is to expose the film’s subversive representation of gender roles as intertwined with Sandra breaking the traditional binary gender stereotypes prescribed by patriarchal society. The essay uses a contextual analysis approach, by analyzing the films’ cinematic elements, such as narrative structure, cinematography, and editing. Besides, the essay also draws thearetical insight from Laura Mulvey and Beauvoir. The first finding of the essay is that the representation of the juridical system symbolizes the societal power system, which reinforces the stereotypes towards women; the second finding is that Sandra shows women’s the refusal of male gaze and gender performativity. This essay elucidates how Anatomy of a Fall effectively subverts gender stereotypes, contributing to a nuanced understanding of power dynamics and gender roles in western society. Furthermore, its significance underscores the film's approach to challenge the entrenched societal norms and promote feminist ideals.

Keywords:

gender stereotypes, subjectivity, feminism, gender performativity, gender role

Qi,Q.;Huang,Y.;Chai,Z. (2025). Challenging Stereotype in Marriage and Societal System from a Film Analysis of Anatomy of a Fall. Communications in Humanities Research,70,209-220.
Export citation

References

[1]. Tatsenko, Polina, and Nataliia Tatsenko. 2022. “A Journey through the Female Gaze: Media and Art Perspective. British and American Studies 28 (May): 233–40. https://doi.org/10.35923/bas.28.24.

[2]. “Anatomy of a Fall.” 2023. Les Films Pelléas. August 23, 2023. https://lesfilmspelleas.com/en/film/anatomy-of-a-fall-en.

[3]. Ton Msc, J. 2018. “Judith Butler’s Notion of Gender Performativity to What Extent Does Gender Performativity Exclude a Stable Gender Identity?” https://studenttheses.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12932/30880/JTTON_BScThesis_Judith_Butler_Gender_Performativity_FINAL.pdf?sequence=2.

[4]. Kumar, Arjun M., Jasmine Y. Q. Goh, Tiffany H. H. Tan, and Cynthia S. Q. Siew. 2022. “Gender Stereotypes in Hollywood Movies and Their Evolution over Time: Insights from Network Analysis.” Big Data and Cognitive Computing 6 (2): 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc6020050.

[5]. Afcinema. 2024. “Simon Beaufils Speaks about Image and the Directing of ‘Anatomy of a Fall’, de Justine Triet – Afcinema.” Afcinema. Afcinema. https://www.afcinema.com/Simon-Beaufils-speaks-about-image-and-the-directing-of-Anatomy-of-a-Fall-de-Justine-Triet.html?lang=fr.

[6]. Les Films Pelleas & Les Films des Pierre.2023. Anatomy of a Fall Press Notes. Interview with Justine Triet - Director

[7]. Taylor, Dianna. Review of Butler and Arendt on Appearance, Performativity, and Collective Political Action, by Judith Butler. Arendt Studies 1 (2017): 171–76. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48511468.

[8]. Haris, M.J., Upreti, A., Kurtaran, M. et al. Identifying gender bias in blockbuster movies through the lens of machine learning. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, 94 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01576-3

[9]. Coyne, Sarah M., Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, and Victoria Birkbeck. 2016. “Pretty as a Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement with Disney Princesses on Gender Stereotypes, Body Esteem, and Prosocial Behavior in Children.” Child Development 87 (6): 1909–25.https://www.jstor.org/stable/44250044.

[10]. Schep, Dennis. 2012. “The Limits of Performativity: A Critique of Hegemony in Gender Theory.” Hypatia 27 (4): 864–80.https://www.jstor.org/stable/23352299.

[11]. Lepkowski, Christine, and Rebecca Ropers-Huilman. 2014. “Gender, Performativity, and Leadership: Department Chairs in Research Universities a Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduates School of the University of Minnesota by in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.”https://conservancy.umn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/8b1d7385-a54f-4c90-8e15-780c0befd0c4/content.

[12]. Tamanaha, Brian Z. 2001. “The Law-Society Framework.” Oxford University Press EBooks, July, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244676.003.0001.

[13]. Moss, Leonard. 1988. “The Critique of the Female Stereotype in Greek Tragedy.” Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal 71 (4): 515–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41178448.

[14]. Mulvey, Laura. 1975. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen 16 (3): 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6.

[15]. Euripides. The Heracleidae. THE UNIVERSITY PRESS (Cambridge), 1881.

[16]. De meco, Lucina, and Alcy MacKay. 2022. “Social Media, Violence and Gender Norms: The Need for a New Digital Social Contract.” Align Platform. January 19, 2022. https://www.alignplatform.org/resources/blog/social-media-violence-and-gender-norms-need-new-digital-social-contract.

[17]. Hesiod. c. 8th–7th centuries BC. “Theogony.” Tufts.edu, 1914. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:585-616.

[18]. Ng, Sik Hung, and Fei Deng. 2017. “Language and Power.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, August. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.436.

[19]. Heckmann, Chris. 2022. “Mockumentaries Explained — Definition, Examples & History.” StudioBinder. November 13, 2022. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-mockumentary-definition/.


Cite this article

Qi,Q.;Huang,Y.;Chai,Z. (2025). Challenging Stereotype in Marriage and Societal System from a Film Analysis of Anatomy of a Fall. Communications in Humanities Research,70,209-220.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies

ISBN:978-1-80590-147-1(Print) / 978-1-80590-148-8(Online)
Editor:Heidi Gregory-Mina
Conference website: https://2024.icihcs.org/
Conference date: 29 November 2024
Series: Communications in Humanities Research
Volume number: Vol.70
ISSN:2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).

References

[1]. Tatsenko, Polina, and Nataliia Tatsenko. 2022. “A Journey through the Female Gaze: Media and Art Perspective. British and American Studies 28 (May): 233–40. https://doi.org/10.35923/bas.28.24.

[2]. “Anatomy of a Fall.” 2023. Les Films Pelléas. August 23, 2023. https://lesfilmspelleas.com/en/film/anatomy-of-a-fall-en.

[3]. Ton Msc, J. 2018. “Judith Butler’s Notion of Gender Performativity to What Extent Does Gender Performativity Exclude a Stable Gender Identity?” https://studenttheses.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12932/30880/JTTON_BScThesis_Judith_Butler_Gender_Performativity_FINAL.pdf?sequence=2.

[4]. Kumar, Arjun M., Jasmine Y. Q. Goh, Tiffany H. H. Tan, and Cynthia S. Q. Siew. 2022. “Gender Stereotypes in Hollywood Movies and Their Evolution over Time: Insights from Network Analysis.” Big Data and Cognitive Computing 6 (2): 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc6020050.

[5]. Afcinema. 2024. “Simon Beaufils Speaks about Image and the Directing of ‘Anatomy of a Fall’, de Justine Triet – Afcinema.” Afcinema. Afcinema. https://www.afcinema.com/Simon-Beaufils-speaks-about-image-and-the-directing-of-Anatomy-of-a-Fall-de-Justine-Triet.html?lang=fr.

[6]. Les Films Pelleas & Les Films des Pierre.2023. Anatomy of a Fall Press Notes. Interview with Justine Triet - Director

[7]. Taylor, Dianna. Review of Butler and Arendt on Appearance, Performativity, and Collective Political Action, by Judith Butler. Arendt Studies 1 (2017): 171–76. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48511468.

[8]. Haris, M.J., Upreti, A., Kurtaran, M. et al. Identifying gender bias in blockbuster movies through the lens of machine learning. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, 94 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01576-3

[9]. Coyne, Sarah M., Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, and Victoria Birkbeck. 2016. “Pretty as a Princess: Longitudinal Effects of Engagement with Disney Princesses on Gender Stereotypes, Body Esteem, and Prosocial Behavior in Children.” Child Development 87 (6): 1909–25.https://www.jstor.org/stable/44250044.

[10]. Schep, Dennis. 2012. “The Limits of Performativity: A Critique of Hegemony in Gender Theory.” Hypatia 27 (4): 864–80.https://www.jstor.org/stable/23352299.

[11]. Lepkowski, Christine, and Rebecca Ropers-Huilman. 2014. “Gender, Performativity, and Leadership: Department Chairs in Research Universities a Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduates School of the University of Minnesota by in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.”https://conservancy.umn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/8b1d7385-a54f-4c90-8e15-780c0befd0c4/content.

[12]. Tamanaha, Brian Z. 2001. “The Law-Society Framework.” Oxford University Press EBooks, July, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244676.003.0001.

[13]. Moss, Leonard. 1988. “The Critique of the Female Stereotype in Greek Tragedy.” Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal 71 (4): 515–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41178448.

[14]. Mulvey, Laura. 1975. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen 16 (3): 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6.

[15]. Euripides. The Heracleidae. THE UNIVERSITY PRESS (Cambridge), 1881.

[16]. De meco, Lucina, and Alcy MacKay. 2022. “Social Media, Violence and Gender Norms: The Need for a New Digital Social Contract.” Align Platform. January 19, 2022. https://www.alignplatform.org/resources/blog/social-media-violence-and-gender-norms-need-new-digital-social-contract.

[17]. Hesiod. c. 8th–7th centuries BC. “Theogony.” Tufts.edu, 1914. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:585-616.

[18]. Ng, Sik Hung, and Fei Deng. 2017. “Language and Power.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, August. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.436.

[19]. Heckmann, Chris. 2022. “Mockumentaries Explained — Definition, Examples & History.” StudioBinder. November 13, 2022. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-mockumentary-definition/.