Représentation d’une masculinité alternative dans la série tv Ainsi soient-ils : reflet des tensions entre conservatisme et progressisme au sein de l’Eglise catholique ?

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the representation of masculinity in the series Ainsi soient-ils (ARTE, 2012-2015). The latter constitutes a particularly interesting example of varied and evolving masculinities within the French Catholic Church since it concentrates its choral hero in a Parisian seminar – an almost exclusively male environment. Through a textual analysis enlightened by interviews with a creator and combined with a reception study, we will also show that many concepts of masculinity studies find an echo in this series and that a plural, complex and evolutive masculinity is possible. Nevertheless, the latter does not seem (yet) to fall within the recognized categories.