TY - JOUR
T1 - Sex, history, and upward mobility
T2 - Ernst lubitsch's madame dubarry/passion, 1919
AU - McCormick, Richard W.
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - Ernst Lubitsch's (1892-1947) historical costume film Madame Dubarry (Germany, 1919; American release title: Passion) was an overwhelming success, leading ultimately to his departure for Hollywood in 1922. Many leftist critics saw it as a trivialization of the French Revolution. Kracauer wrote that the film "reduces the Revolution to a derivative of private passions" (49). But the film's psycho-sexual dynamics do have a politics: they are very much connected to the politics of class, gender, ethnicity, and race. And, like many of Lubitsch's comedies, this film is about an outsider's drive for upward mobility.
AB - Ernst Lubitsch's (1892-1947) historical costume film Madame Dubarry (Germany, 1919; American release title: Passion) was an overwhelming success, leading ultimately to his departure for Hollywood in 1922. Many leftist critics saw it as a trivialization of the French Revolution. Kracauer wrote that the film "reduces the Revolution to a derivative of private passions" (49). But the film's psycho-sexual dynamics do have a politics: they are very much connected to the politics of class, gender, ethnicity, and race. And, like many of Lubitsch's comedies, this film is about an outsider's drive for upward mobility.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78649750329
SN - 0149-7952
VL - 33
SP - 603
EP - 617
JO - German Studies Review
JF - German Studies Review
IS - 3
ER -