The Historical Imaginary (Hardcover)

Amy J. Ransom

ISBN 10: 1487560966 / ISBN 13: 9781487560966

Published by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2026

About this Item

Hardcover. Since the year 2000, Quebecs film industry has burgeoned with a parabolic increase in the number of films released and the production of a wide array of film genres. Building on the notion of Quebec national cinema outlined by Bill Marshall, this book analyses French-language fiction features that construct images of the past.Scholar of Quebec cultural studies, Amy J. Ransom, explains how the studied films participate in the nations historical imaginary, revisiting and revisioning the past for present-day audiences and constructing new sites of memory for twenty-first-century Quebecois viewers. Each chapter examines a film genre explicitly engaged in representing the past: the historical film per se, the historical fantasy, the literary adaptation, the biopic and memoir, and the period film. The Historical Imaginary offers analyses of significant films and filmmakers while also providing a broader overview of these genres development in Quebec. From examining rigorous historical documents like Le 15 fevrier, 1839 (2001) to quirky fantasies like Je me souviens (2009), and from the heritage films Nouvelle France (2004) and Maria Chapdaleine (2021) to the biopics Louis Cyr, lhomme le plus fort du monde (2013) and La Bolduc (2018), Ransoms analyses travel across time, space, and genres.In this insightful cultural investigation, three generations of filmmakers are brought together to highlight their influence upon the construction of a Quebecois national identity. The Historical Imaginary examines Quebecs French-language feature films through the lens of national cinema, focusing on genres that depict images of the past: the historical film, the literary adaptation, the biopic, and the period film. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781487560966

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Historical Imaginary (Hardcover)
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Toronto
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1487560966
• ISBN 13: 9781487560966
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Since the year 2000, Quebec’s film industry has burgeoned with a parabolic increase in the number of films released and the production of a wide array of film genres. Building on the notion of ‘Quebec national cinema’ outlined by Bill Marshall, this book analyses French-language fiction features that construct images of the past.

Scholar of Quebec cultural studies, Amy J. Ransom,  explains how the studied films participate in the nation’s ‘historical imaginary’, revisiting and revisioning the past for present-day audiences and constructing new ‘sites of memory’ for twenty-first-century Québécois viewers. Each chapter examines a film genre explicitly engaged in representing the past: the historical film per se, the historical fantasy, the literary adaptation, the biopic and memoir, and the period film. The Historical Imaginary offers analyses of significant films and filmmakers while also providing a broader overview of these genres’ development in Quebec. From examining rigorous historical documents like Le 15 février, 1839 (2001) to quirky fantasies like Je me souviens (2009), and from the heritage films Nouvelle France (2004) and Maria Chapdaleine (2021) to the biopics Louis Cyr, l’homme le plus fort du monde (2013) and La Bolduc (2018), Ransom’s analyses travel across time, space, and genres.

In this insightful cultural investigation, three generations of filmmakers are brought together to highlight their influence upon the construction of a Québécois national identity.

About the Author

Amy J. Ransom is an associate professor of French at Central Michigan University.