Prismatic Intersectionalities: An Ecocritical Negotiation of Oppositional Utopias in L'Amant

Abstract

In an exploration of the concept of utopia, different elements are evaluated to analyze this unique, though not necessarily identifiable, space. With this in mind, primary constructs found within utopias are hope and desire (Levitas 191). When considering the film L'amant (1992), both leads display characteristics of hope and desire, creating a utopia from the Bachelor‘s Room, which functions as an 'Otherly place'. However, the opposing identities of the Young Girl and the Chinese Man create conflicting utopias unique to their situational idealisms, battling one another within the same 'Other place' (192-193). At the same time, ecofeminism will be used to understand how the Young Girl and her Lover interact in their 'Otherly place'. According to Douglas Vakoch (2011), ecofeminism employs a worldview that respects organic processes, such as female sexuality, pleasure, orgasm, and agency. However, the field of ecofeminism also analyses the detrimental relationship formed between women and nature, especially concerning the narratives of conquering feminine land and ownership. With this in mind, an ecofeminist framework can be used to explain the imposition of patriarchal values onto the Young Girl, as well as the way she navigates the established 'Otherly space'.