Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Some of the most well-known intellectuals of 20th-century France have warned of the dangers of television to thought, to society and to the book. However, Marguerite Duras, a prominent writer and public intellectual, made use of the television as an extension of her literary project. As both an interviewer on state funded television shows during the postwar period, and later as a major cultural celebrity being interviewed herself, Duras foregrounds both her writerly persona and her public image in order to film what amount to literary productions in themselves that would fascinate viewers while simultaneously educating them about social issues.  Anne Brancky is Assistant Professor at Vassar College.