Blue is the Warmest Color — A Discussion

 

I made this PowerPoint to accompany a screening of Blue is the Warmest Color — a coming of age, coming out story between two young women. It is a love story that captures what happens when we fall in, and ultimately out, of love.

Since winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the film has taken the global spotlight. The primary buzz about the film, besides the love story between Adele and Emma, are its sex scenes. Are the scenes too graphic? Not authentic enough for lesbian audiences? Is this dialogue around the sexual content even necessary?

This presentation delves into feminist/queer film theory. I primarily focus on the male gaze, the notion that heterosexual men control the bulk of roles in film making and therefore the power (a term first coined by Laura Mulvey in 1975), and what this means for Blue is the Warmest Color.

The purpose of this PowerPoint is not to review the film, give it a thumbs up or thumbs down, but to start a discussion about it. In film making, there are many people who contribute to the film’s narrative. Obviously the director and actors create the image on screen. But as audience members, we have a responsibility to analyze what is in front of us and respond when it is not accurately representing who we are.

Do not take this presentation at face value — its overall purpose is to start a conversation that I can only help guide, but not control.

View the presentation onĀ SlideShare.

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