Abstract:
This master thesis analyses the representation of Paris in film as cinema has turned Paris into a city of symbolic value, being attached to several meanings and images. Hence, the three films An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, 1951), Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967) and Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) have been chosen in order to illustrate the different representations of Paris as it is displayed as a romantic, artistic and fantastic place. The visual analysis as well as the directors' authorial signatures illustrates the different approaches in the three films. In order to point out the effects of the different representations of Paris, Foucault's concept of heterotopia, Barthes' notion of myth-making and Urry's tourist gaze are employed. To sum up, the three films display the ambivalence in the representation of Paris as its image becomes mystified as well as deconstructed.
