Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-5-2022
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Anne Quinney
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Since its inception, the Cannes International Film Festival was envisioned as a means of using film as a method of diplomacy. In fact, the first two decades of the two-week long festival on the banks of the French Riviera sought to unify politically divided nations in the years following World War II and into the Cold War. My research seeks to identify the political agenda of the festival in the early years and how the Cannes International Film Festival promoted transnationalism and unity between divided nations. I argue that the festival was able to accomplish its unifying agenda through the invitation for all nations to participate and the apportionment of grand-prize winning films among many attending nations in the early years. Additionally, through a series of film analyses I conclude that many of the movies awarded the grand prize at the festival emphasized anti-war and pacifist-minded sentiments. The Cannes International Film Festival awarded the grand prizes to many films that showed the horrors of war, thus, providing spectators a message that the festival does not tolerate violence and divisiveness rather it seeks unity and peace.
Recommended Citation
Wood, Julia Grace, "Politics and War in the Cannes International Film Festival: An Analysis of the Festival’s Unifying Agenda" (2022). Honors Theses. 2750.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2750
Accessibility Status
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Included in
Contemporary Art Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons