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Funny Face Humanism in Post-War French Photography and Philosophy

University College Dublin, douglas.smith{at}ucd.ie

The cultural reconstruction of post-war France was dominated by an ideology of humanism that marked both philosophical discussion and photographic practice. While the humanist consensus concealed philosophical divergences between conservative and progressive visions of society, photography found itself split between its dual possibilities of recording the real and expressing a subjective vision. If Malraux enlisted photography as the means to assimilate other cultures to his imaginary museum, Sartre praised the capacity of the photograph to convey the independence of others. Stanley Donen’s Paris-set musical Funny Face (1956) articulates these concerns in the dilemma faced by its librarian-turned-fashion-model protagonist, who is torn between the competing claims of photography and philosophy. Paradoxically, these post-war debates suggest that the instrumental use of photography in the service of ostensible humanism denies the difference of others, while the medium’s anti-human or mechanical attachment to the real guarantees an openness to and respect for alterity.

Key Words: Barthes • Donen • existentialism • Hepburn • humanism • Malraux • photography • Sartre

French Cultural Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1, 41-53 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0957155805049565


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