Abstract

The concept of the ethnochoranic narrative structure derives from Julia Kristeva's concept of the semiotic chora, in which the multifaceted aspects of identity converge to form a subjectivity made up of the self and the other, as represented through the maternal body. 'Ethno-,' refers to the ethnographic motivation behind Agnès Varda's films, from her neorealistic debut, La Pointe Courte (1954), to her consistent techniques of social observation throughout her documentary and narrative work. This study is an examination of how Agnès Varda uses a polyvocal, 'choranic' structure to produce ethnographic narratives of individuals and social causes. The thesis works from a single image taken from Cléo de 5 Ü 7 (1961) of a circular crack in a window in which a series of lines radiates from a single, centralized point. A crowd of men and women are reflected in the window. The superimposed web of cracks over the complex play of gazes is emblematic of Varda's modernist style and ironic treatment of gender issues. This project demonstrates the way in which Varda aestheticizes a pluralistic female experience, an approach which promotes the collective individuality of each woman. Filming in the Feminine Plural argues that the ethnochoranic narrative, as a cinematic activation of the fragmented, intricately woven female identity, responds to the feminist call for progressive aesthetic and sociocultural representations of female experience.