From sequence to mode, powerful women are storming the screens

Dressed in a military-inspired dress, Chancellor Elena Wernham (Kate Winslet) walks the corridors of her dilapidated palace, whose kitsch decor oscillates between Versailles and the Kremlin. Imperial, inflexible, obsessive, paranoid, he rules with an iron fist a small fictitious republic in Central Europe whose wealth rests on cobalt mines coveted by his American “ally”. Surrounded by a disreputable court that is, however, only bent on bringing him down, and while his reputation wavers, the chancellor will try his best to keep himself in power. Purges, conspiracies, war of annexation. everything is there.

Mode is a gem of political satire and dark humor, part Shakespearean drama, part farce that pokes fun at the powerful. An eerily relevant satire at the time of the war in Ukraine and the rise of populism and nationalism in Europe. we think of Alice Weidel, leader of the AfD in Germany, Siv Jensen in Norway or even Pia Kjersgaard in Denmark.

The latest gem in the HBO galaxy, the miniseries showcases a lineage as long as the arm; succession; directed by Jessica Hobbs (The crown) and Stephen Frears (The Queen) And Kate Winslet as the covert Putin in a shirt, impressive in her ferocity and madness, well surrounded by a three-star supporting cast, including Matthias Schönaerts (military lover and psychopath), Guillaume Gallien (spoiled husband). ) or even Hugh Grant (a political opponent). Will Tracy, who had already written several episodes of the film successionthis time put on the show runner’s hat.

“I wanted to tell a story of strength that is no longer at the heart of family, as in succession , but in a European country, a populist and fictitious regime. I am fascinated by the stories of tyrants, my library is full of books on that topic,” the American screenwriter confides, joining the video. A female dictator, this is new for a TV series. However, early in writing his project, Will Tracy centered his story around a male character “with a bit of a reflex,” he admits. “And then Georgia Maloney came to power in Italy as president of the board. And that gave me ideas.” Another claimed inspiration is none other than Marine Le Pen.

Powerful women, fictional stars

Strong women in the series. Since the early 2010s, we no longer count superpowered female characters at the heart of political fiction. Borgen (2010-2013) to: The crown (2016-2023), through Game Of Thrones (2011-2019), Homeland (2011-2020), Scandal (2012-2018), The Black Baron (2016-2020), The Handmaid’s Tale (from 2017) or: Mrs. America (2020) – so much critical and public success.

And great movie actresses are now well-established in TV dramas, showcasing the talents of Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore. Sandra Laugier, professor of philosophy at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, has made the series a subject of study. author of Our lives in a row (Éd. Climats, 2019), he directed the collective reference work Series, Political Awakening Laboratories (CNRS Editions, 2023). For him, far from being merely an object of entertainment, TV dramas are “an engine of social innovation and democratization and a vector of viewer empowerment.”

He notices the increase in the power of female characters. “Back in the 1950s and 1960s, TV series featured more female characters than movies. In the 1990s, the fiction produced by networks like ABC or NBC became increasingly qualitative. Then, in the 2000s, came the golden age of the genre under HBO’s reign, which produced a number of important works in which women, but also other minorities, were more visible.

For the expert, it is a turning point in the representation of women House of cards (2013-2018). The story, which follows the rise and fall of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), an illegitimate Democratic elected official, is the first series released for Netflix. “House of cardsintroduces a new female character played by Robin Wright, Claire Underwood. She is the main character’s wife, she is given an important, albeit secondary, role from the beginning.” In 2017, reality collides with fiction. it’s the MeToo movement, and actor Kevin Spacey is involved in a sexual harassment case (he will be released in 2023, editor’s note.The writers evacuate her character, leaving the field open for Claire Underwood, who ends up ousting her husband before becoming President of the United States in the final season. “If the subtext is clearly feminist, feminism nevertheless becomes a tool to dominate others,” emphasizes Sandra Laugier.

By showing that a female politician can be strategic, cynical, even immoral, just like men, the series works to overcome gender stereotypes. So, in ModeKate Winslet’s character comes across as cruel and manipulative under the guise of benevolence she presents to the people. Screenwriter Will Tracy says: “Costumes designer Consolata Boyle, Kate and I were very keen to make sure that Yelena’s true personality was completely hidden beneath the controlled uniform and her perfectly braided blonde hair, styled by Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine and muse of the Orange Revolution (sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of power in 2023, Editor’s Note. )”

A detail that amuses Marlene Coulon-Goulis, professor emeritus of information and communication sciences at Toulouse-Jean-Jaures University, and author: Women in politics. Put an end to supporting roles(Ed. Belin, 2016). He deciphers. “Blondeness is a stereotypical indicator of femininity. In the 20th century, especially in Northern Europe, a number of far-right parties promoted blonde women to embody their movement; a way not to give up virilism, while giving an appearance of femininity that combines qualities of gentleness, care. etc., which are traditionally associated with the feminine.”

Will Tracy agrees. “Elena is humanly disgusting, but she is civilized by her foreign colleagues, especially diplomats, because she is a woman. He knows it, and he plays with it.” Because to be a political woman in a world created by and for men means confronting conflicting directives; to borrow from masculine codes (to show human crudeness) without forgetting one’s own “femininity” (at the risk of being reproached for being too “superior”). And then there was anger, as it usually is in political life (Edith Cresson, Cécile Duflot, Ursula van der Leyen, Christine Lagarde, Theresa May, Michelle Allo-Marie, Elizabeth Bourne, Rachida Dutt, Anne Hidalgo, Sanna Marin, etc..)

“Strategic Essentialism”

Marlene Coulon-Guly studies the representation of female politicians in the social and media sphere. If today we are witnessing a normalization in their numbers, the researcher nevertheless regrets that they are still characterized by “reference to family life and sexualization”. female politicians are rarely represented in an autonomous way. They are either after a man, and then they are a “daughter” (we think of Marine Le Pen), or a “mother” (like Elizabeth II or Angela Merkel, nicknamed Mutti, German for “mother”). or through the eyes of visible men – this is the famous male gaze. Then the stereotypes parade in: the “iron lady” (Margaret Thatcher), the “passionaria” (Sandrine Rousseau), even the “madonna” (as was the case with Ségolène Royal during her presidential run).

Oreli Olivizi, a lecturer at the University of Lyon-1 and a specialist in mass media and gender issues, explains: “In France, when women politicians became more visible, especially thanks to the equality law of 2000, we said they would ‘take over’. politics”. A certain number of women began to use this discourse, though they did not believe it at all; this is the case of Roselyn Bachelotte for example. Then we talk about the phenomenon of ‘strategic essentialism’. Translation: to introduce (partially) clichés for self-affirmation.

Marlene Coulon-Gouley reminds of the character of Marine Le Pen. “In her proposed embodiment, there is a form of tension between supposed femininity (her medium-length hair, the divorced mother role she often evokes) and masculine codes. (her smoking voice, joking)… Here is the whole ambiguity of these women at the head of conservative or hard right movements. Edgar Morin thus spoke of the female-male girl to designate these women playing both sides. So, in Mode Elena Wernham “borrows” the child of her master of ceremonies to portray the image of the “little mother of the people”. Cynicism or genius? One thing is certain, the woman here is really a tyrant, just like the others.

Mode ,Created by Will Tracy, the series starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Hugh Grant… aired March 3 on HBO Max.