Saint Joan of Arc

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Saint Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc is a name that brings out many emotions. When her name is spoken it inspires hope, it strengthens courage; fosters anger, and it draws hatred. Joan of Arc was a name that was meant to be forgotten and wiped from existence, yet like her heart which did not burn in the fire, her memory has withstood the tests of time and she is respected today as one of the most amazing human beings who ever lived. Obviously, then, Joan has been translated to film, time and time again, and yet so many times misrepresented. With so much documentation on Joan’s life available, one might ask why her story has not been done justice on the silver screen? The answer is time. When a film is made, it tends to tell not only a story about robots or superheroes or historical heroes, but it tells a tale about the time period, or rather, about how the director/media wanted to use Joan (or misuse her). Joan has become a symbol over time in many ways. Sometimes she is presented as an inspirational figure for women during times of war: however, with the acceptance of female soldiers, the need for Joan as a role model diminished. As time passed, film makers were not concerned with the magnificent feats that Joan reached, but more so with her mental state.

A film on Joan was released in 1957, Saint Joan, directed by Otto Preminger. He decided to cast an unknown actress for the role of Joan: “A public search for Joan of Arc is, first and foremost, a marketing ploy. The discourse that surrounds these quests for the perfect girl to embody Joan, however, raises questions about the cultural meaning Joan of Arc in relation to notions of femininity and performance” (Blaetz 157). Otto Preminger wanted to cast a “pure” and “uncorrupted” girl for the role of Joan, and in fact he did not allow the seventeen-year-old Jean Seberg who was hired after a public search of over 14,000 aspirants to converse with the better known actors who worked with her in the movie in fear of her being “corrupted.” Otto did not want his Jean to learn how to act or to relax with her fellow actors in between scenes and see their husks peeled away while they behaved like normal sinful people. His Joan had to be real.

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