The latest Scorsese with DiCaprio, Saturday May 20, the new Todd Haynes today with Natalie Portman: “so chic” red carpets offered to us by the Cannes Film Festival again this year. Jean Viard reminds us that it was Edgar Morin, soon to be 102, who invented the word ‘star’. All societies have an imagination and draw it, explains the sociologist.
76th Cannes Film Festival: many of us follow this world-renowned cinematic event, with more or less distance, even a certain admiration, that of simple earthlings vis-à-vis all these stars. Deciphering our relationship to the glamorous world of cinema, with the eyes of sociologist Jean Viard.
franceinfo: Does inflation, questions of purchasing power, change anything in our perception of this ‘barnum’?
John Viard: I do not wouldn’t say that, but afterwards, you have to remember that the word ‘star’ was invented by the great sociologist Edgar Morin, he wrote a book in the 1960s, which was called The stars. And this gentleman, who is almost 102 years old, continues to write. Today, he writes more about the war in Ukraine. But therefore, that means that there was a moment when, indeed, there was this triumph, I would say, of the star, of the woman who is a bit of an object, moreover, there were also women who were often suffering – think of Marilyn Monroe, think of Brigitte Bardot’s suicide attempt – because they were a little reduced to ‘being shapes’, and moreover, they were often smart girls, but they were reduced a little to That.
So, there was absolutely considerable pressure, but it was all the same a time when the Blessed Virgin left the churches a bit, and she was on the screens, it’s a bit the same thing, the Blessed Virgin was perhaps the star of antiquity, so we are in this process. And then the world changed dramatically. On the one hand, because the cinema has become globalized, so we don’t know all the actresses or all the actors in the same way. So that matters a lot. And then, there is indeed the explosion of the series, which means that there are still new personalities, new actresses, actors, often excellent, that we find in these series.
So, it’s a bit like everything in our societies, it’s a society in archipelagos, in sub-groups, and therefore, there are a few stars who ‘crush’ the market, and many more players or quality actresses who are less known, because they are in audience niches, or market niches. But Cannes is still a big event, it’s luxury. And then it’s France in the world, because it’s a lot of foreigners who are on the jury, so it shows that it’s a place where the France that made people dream, the great France of the 19th century, France of the 60s, is still present. And that makes us all dream.
But what also appeals to Cannes is this parade, this ‘gala and luxury’ aspect. Do we like to be jealous of celebrities who we imagine have a standard of living that is not at all ours?
I don’t know if it works like that, I always tend to think that everyone lives, like on a staircase and, deep down, they dream of walking above. For example, before, I think we dreamed of being a princess, in the villages. Look at the almanacs from the beginning of the 20th century, there was everything about the life of social elites, it was also a way of looking at fashions, etc. I think that basically, we first want to live better ourselves, to progress a little, if you are at 2,000 euros, you dream of 2,500, if you are at 1,000 euros, you dream of 1,500, but afterwards you will continue to fight to progress.
I think we live more like that. It’s a bit like the great football players, basically, they broke away from the classic scheme, they achieved something exceptional – football, they earn a lot more than people in the cinema – and therefore, they are a few myths. But look, all societies have that, look at the Greeks, they had statues, they had their gods, after the churches were painted, etc… So all societies have an imaginary, draw it, and we are living beings that we see in the cinema or on our small screens, but the process is somewhat always the same.
There are elites, there are people who make people dream. Cannes is rather a peaceful place, where indeed, there are all the people who come to see these big stars, it is not a place of aggression. I don’t believe there is jealousy. I wouldn’t use the word, I would say, there’s dreams, there’s imagination and that, I find, is a rather positive value.