Psychopathologies et marginalités : la mythologie du mal-être entourant le BDSM dans le cinéma occidental du début du 21e siècle

Le domaine de la psychologie procède actuellement à l’abandon partiel de la conception du BDSM en tant que psychopathologie. Pourtant, depuis le début des années 2000, on observe une augmentation considérable de la présence au cinéma de personnages neurodivergents et malheureux qui pratiquent le BDSM. Des coproductions transeuropéennes comme Nymp()manic (Lars von Trier, 2013) aux longs métrages indépendants australiens comme My Mistress (Stephen Lance, 2014), passant par les films américains grands publics comme Fifty Shades of Grey (Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2015) le BDSM au cinéma apparaît comme n’étant pratiqué que par des personnes à l’existence trouble et à la santé mentale fragile. L’objectif de cette thèse sera de définir les nombreux biais qui motivent cette mythologie du mal-être. Afin d’examiner de plus près le fossé entre la représentation du BDSM au cinéma et la recherche récente en sciences sociales qui se penche la population sadomasochiste, nous avons développé une étude de cas sur Nymph()maniac de Lars von Trier. Nous avons également récolté les réactions au film de personnes pour lesquelles la dominance ou la soumission ritualisée fait partie de leur expérience de la sexualité. Nous proposons donc un dialogue interprétatif entre la psychologie, la critique littéraire et les études culturelles féministes pour analyser le film de von Trier. The formerly widespread view of BDSM as a psychological disorder is currently being abandoned by large portions of the scientific community; it has been almost completely removed from the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and a growing number of studies point toward the psychological and social normalcy of BDSM practitioners. Yet, since the early 2000’s, from trans-european productions like Nymph()maniac (Lars von Trier, 2013) to independent Australian features like My Mistress (Stephen Lance, 2014), or mainstream american films like Fifty Shades of Grey (Sam Taylor-Johnson, 2015), the onscreen portrayal of BDSM practitioners increasingly consists of characters with troubled lives and fragile mental healths. The aim of this thesis will be to investigate the many biases that motivate this mythology of unease surrounding BDSM in film. In order to take a closer look at the gap between current research in psychology and cultural representation of BDSM we developed a case study of Nymph()maniac, which features, among a wide array of sexual proclivities, a temporary D/s relationship. With the intention of gaining access to the perspective of women-identified people from the BDSM community on the way they are represented in movies, we generated a focus group and gathered their reactions. We therefore propose an interpretative dialogue between the BDSM community, literary criticism, sociology, psychology and feminist cultural studies.

Keyphrases: Sadomasochisme, BDSM, Lars von Trier, Féminisme, Marginalité, Sadomasochism, BDSM, Nymphomaniac, Sade, Lars von Trier, Pathologisation, Cultural Studies, Feminism, Marginality