Parodies satiriques et documentaires expressionnistes : la représentation critique de la célébrité dans l'œuvre cinématographique de William Klein
Satirical parodies and expressionist documentaries: The Critical Representation of the Celebrity in the Films of William Klein.    The films of William Klein are still little known. His filmography includes thirty titles which appear at first sight heterogeneous, while their sociological, political, economic, and cultural inconsistencies seem questionable. As such, and because the themes of his films, their targets, their production modes and their genres are constantly moving, Klein’s critical position seem ambiguous, inconsistent if not contradictory. Yet, we believe that the political commitment of William Klein is at the core of all of his films and dissipates all discrepancies.  Between 1965 and 1970, while liberalism as the official ideology of the capitalist system is fighting against communism to expand its power around the world, Klein is looking at celebrities as vectors of the political, the economical and the religious powers. While the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the anti-colonial armed struggles are shaking the world, he associates with the counter-culture and youth culture movements and questions the role models advertised in the mass media, and the ideologies they represent.  Portraying the modes of representation that shapes the American Dream and the American Way of Life, William Klein criticises the makes-believes found in the entertainment industry and the political field that aim at shaping our identities, our commercial behaviours and our political opinions. We propose to analyse two fiction films and two documentaries in the course of our argumentation in order to demonstrate how he condemns racism, social inequalities and abuses of power associated with Western imperialism. Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo? (1966) and Mister Freedom (1968) are what we have called after Daniel Sangsue, satirical parodies. Accordingly, Polly Maggoo parodies fairy tales to satirize the fashion industry, while Mister Freedom parodies the superheroes of the comic books to satirize American foreign policies. Based on Jonathan Rosenbaum thesis, we consider Muhammad Ali, The Greatest (1964-1974) and Eldridge Cleaver Black Panther (1970) as expressionist documentaries. The reflexive strategies found in these films are symptomatic of an inter-subjectivity between the filmmaker and his subjects.
William Klein Parodie Film France Parody Celebrity Politics Expressionism Reflexivity Documentary United States