La céroplastie dans le cinéma antivénérien de la première moitié du xxe siècle
Wax modeling is one of the artifacts commonly used in the staging of anti-syphilis cinema. Initially a tool for knowledge, this reproduction of the human body becomes, in these contexts, a terrifying embodiment of the venereal danger. The goal is not just to raise awareness, but to deeply affect the...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Presses universitaires du Midi
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Histoire, Médecine et Santé |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/hms/9778 |
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| Summary: | Wax modeling is one of the artifacts commonly used in the staging of anti-syphilis cinema. Initially a tool for knowledge, this reproduction of the human body becomes, in these contexts, a terrifying embodiment of the venereal danger. The goal is not just to raise awareness, but to deeply affect the imagination. Focusing on a corpus of French and German anti-venereal films produced between 1926 and 1939, the analysis first situates wax modeling and educational films within the history of medical teaching in the early 20th century, a period marked by its massification. It then explores the complex strategy of presenting wax models in these preventive productions, which involves intermedial situations (lectures, exhibitions, conferences). Finally, the analysis questions the specific cinematographic potential of wax modeling. The dual didactic and dramatic use of wax models in educational and medical films liberates them from the lesson or narrative they typically belonged to, allowing them to acquire, the hypothesis suggests, their own status as cinematic objects that invite a fascinated contemplation. This staging, far from aesthetic complacency, enhances its prophylactic mission on a societal scale, where the wax model becomes, both for the character and the audience projecting their emotions onto it, an intimate and multiplied mirror. |
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| ISSN: | 2263-8911 2557-2113 |