ESSAY Culture, Gender, Media MY DETAILS Name: DELAFONTAINE Fabio Student number: 218760 Study programme: ERASMUS Lettere Moderne The year I took the course : 2024/2025 MY WORD COUNT Word count (excluding the reference list): 1569 Total word count (including the reference list): 1723 I confirm that I have fully followed the word count guidelines. ☒ MY REFERENC ING I confi rm that I have fully followed the referencing guidance which is outlined in the course guide and essay guidance documents ☒ I confi rm that I have used AT LEAST the minimum number of references (3), which is outlined in the course guide and essay guidance documents ☒ Number of references used: 3 MY USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS AI tool(s) that I used: DEEPL What I used it for: translate a few words. Essay : @ BFMemes3 . ( 2023, December 26 ). 07 Décembre : La chute de Depardieu [ I mage]. X. https://x.com/BFMemes3/status/1739687763622928685 This ironic meme illustrates controversial comments made by Gérard Depardieu, the French actor currently facing accusations of sexual assault. The sexually - charged statements, which refer to a little girl on horseback, were made during the filming of a doc umentary in North Korea, which was never broadcast. However, extracts were made public by the TV programme Complément d'Enquête, sparking a heated debate. These included the expression ‘J'ai une poutre dans le caleçon’ (‘I've got a beam in my pants’), a cl ear reference to an erection, as well as sexual insults. At the bottom of the meme appears an image of Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic, with the phrase: ‘Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well’. This line refers to an appearance by the Head of State on the programme C à Vous on 21 December 2023, d uring which he defended the maintenance of Depardieu's Légion d'honneur, despite the complaints and disputed comments. Macron pointed out that the actor had ‘made France, our great authors and our great characters known throughout the world’ and that he ‘m akes France proud’. The meme thus underlines a certain complacency towards a toxic model of masculinity, embodied by domination, sexual vulgarity and a lack of emotion, of which Depardieu is the caricatural example. The implicit validation of the presidential figure helps to give social legitimacy to this behaviour. This raises a major question: how does this meme reveal the normalisation of toxic masculinity in contemporary French culture, through humour and political validation? Depardieu: Mirror of a Toxic and Outdated Masculinity Gérard Depardieu embodies a vulgar masculinity rooted in the past. Despite the presence of a camera and microphone, the 76 - year - old actor does not hesitate to sexualize and insult young female riders as “fat sluts” and assert his sexual dominance by referr ing to his erection with phrases like “log in my underwear.” This form of domination is characterized by male vulgarity and sexualization a domination Laura Mulvey theorizes through the concept of the Male Gaze: “The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly.” Mulvey, L. (1985). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In G. Mast & M. Cohen (Eds.), Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, p. 808. Oxford University Press. Depardieu projects his own fantasy through aggressive and unrestrained sexuality, transforming the harmless action of a girl riding a horse into a sexualized performance. This verbal domination reveals a masculinity that is outdated, clashing with today’s social norms and the post - #MeToo era, under lining a significant cultural disconnect. For Depardieu, vulgarity is not a slip but a deliberate performance of masculinity. Using insults like “fat sluts” or evoking his erection becomes a way to assert his virility in front of the camera an intentional transgressive gesture. This use of crude, sexualized language belongs to a cultural tradition where the “real man” speaks without a filter, as if violent speech were a form of authenticity. Judith Butler, in her theory of gender performativity, reminds us that gender is constructed through repeate d acts, of which language is an integral part: “Gender is in no way a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts proceed; rather, it is an identity tenuously constituted in time – an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts.” Butler, J. (1988). Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory. Theatre Journal, p. 519 In this context, words are not trivial they assert a position of domination and replay a culturally coded male role. The meme, by ironically echoing such remarks, unwittingly contributes to their normalization: it turns sexist insults into traits of a “col orful” personality, typical of a French culture that still tolerates such forms of masculinity. Complicity That Validates Sexism Emmanuel Macron is shown with a discreet, almost admiring smile, suggesting a form of complicity a gaze that acts as a signal of social approval. He does not respond to Depardieu’s shocking, sexist remarks, effectively normalizing verbal violence and makin g it seem acceptable. As President of the Republic, Macron represents a figure of authority. His validation — even if exaggerated for comedic effect symbolizes societal approval from the top. “The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly.” Mulvey, L. (1985), p. 808 But here, it is no longer the woman who is “styled” to please but rather the problematic man who is culturally revalorized. Irony as a Veil for Normalization “I see you are a man of culture as well” is a well known ironic phrase online, originating from the Japanese animated series Arakawa Under the Bridge. It’s usually used in response to culturally niche or cult references to show approval. Here, it is used ironically to provoke laughter despite Depardieu’s shocking comments. This dissonance creates comedic effect through incongruity, generating a form of complicit humor. What the meme’s creator ultimately critiques is the normalization of De pardieu’s remarks through Emmanuel Macron’s silent presence, which ends up making the actor’s abjection seem tolerable. This, in turn, protects and reinforces a form of sexist masculinity under the guise of humor. The meme denounces a mechanism that contributes to the media’s trivialization of sexism. As Mulvey shows, spectator identification with the male protagonist fosters a complicit, active gaze that supports the protagonist’s narrative power: “As the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look onto that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the active power of the erotic look.” Mulvey, L. (1985), p. 810 Depardieu thus becomes this “male protagonist” the public continues to follow despite his transgressions. The meme plays with his image as a “sacred monster” to reveal a toxic and complicit masculinity. A Masculinity Above the Rules Gérard Depardieu has been causing outrage for a long time. His excesses, provocations, and sexist remarks are nothing new. And yet, nothing changes. He continues to be seen as a legend, a “sacred monster.” What would be unforgivable from a stranger is over looked in someone like him. He remains valorized, respected — almost untouchable. People talk about his “personality” or “style,” as if vulgarity were part of his charm. In fact, the more he crosses the line, the more we reinforce his image as a free, blunt, disruptive, but important man. It’s a way to preserve a dominant masculine figure without ever truly questioning it. Crenshaw explains this well: “The refusal to allow a multiply - disadvantaged class to represent others [...] limits remedial relief to minor adjustments within an established hierarchy.” Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, p. 145 In short, we make minor adjustments, offer half - hearted criticism but the hierarchy stays intact. And Depardieu remains at the top. What the meme also highlights is that this kind of masculinity the one that shocks but makes people laugh is still valorized. The humorous tone, the iconic phrase “I see you are a man of culture as well,” all serve to transform a problematic scene into an “iconic” moment. We laugh, we share it, we turn it into a joke. But what’s the real effect? It makes these remarks easier to digest. The meme becomes a way to say: yes, it’s shocking but let’s laugh about it anyway. The critique gets diluted; the celebrati on almost takes over. Crenshaw speaks of intersectional discrimination, but here we can apply the idea in reverse. It becomes a kind of double protection: when you're a man, white, and famous, everything you say goes down easier. She writes: “Black women can experience discrimination in ways... Yet often they experience double - discrimination.” Crenshaw, 1989, p. 149 Here, it’s the opposite: double privilege. Gender and celebrity status overlap and protect even when the behavior is clearly problematic. The meme reflects precisely that: a culture where even toxic masculinity is still applauded. Behind its apparent levity, the meme exposes much deeper cultural dynamics. It’s not just a funny or provocative image it reflects a particularly French way of treating certain forms of masculinity, even when they are openly sexist. Humor plays an ambiguou s role here. It seems to critique, but actually disarms. It allows shocking comments to exist in the public space without real condemnation. The pairing of Depardieu a controversial yet celebrated figure and Emmanuel Macron a symbol of supreme authority suggests implicit validation. This isn’t a mere cultural accident but a revelation. Through this meme, we see how prestige, humor, and power in tertwine to produce a kind of symbolic impunity. This goes beyond the case of Depardieu: it speaks to an entire system of representation, where certain men remain “untouchable” no matter what they say or do. The meme merely condenses that phenomenon into a viral image. In this sense, it’s not just about gender it’s about culture, collective memory, and the forms of power we still accept today, often without even realizing it. References : Butler, J. (1988). Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory. Theatre Journal http://www.jstor.org/stable/3207893 . Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum Mulvey, L. (1985). Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. In G. Mast & M. Cohen (Eds.), Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings . Oxford University Press. Fabio DELAFONTAINE French Eramsus student from Université de Lille – Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Lille at Sapienza Università di Roma