Pop Culture

Joan as a Pop Culture Icon

Joan of Arc has been a cultural icon in the United States for nearly as long as the republic has existed. While she has symbolized many different ideas and values, she has been a feature of American media solely due to her notoriety. From movies to novels to circuses, Joan of Arc has been a critical character in the American cultural canon.

A. F. Bradley, "Mark Twain," 1907

Mark Twain's Joan of Arc Novel

Arguably the most famous American cultural depiction of Joan of Arc is Mark Twain's Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by the Sieur Louis de Conte (1896). Coyle writes that reviews of this book were mixed, with critics calling it a "gorgeous failure," lacking Twain's signature wit, and the writing of Joan made her "too perfect to be entirely convincing."1

DeMille's Joan the Woman (1916)

American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille is known for classic films like Cleopatra (1934), The Ten Commandments (1956), and Sunset Boulevard (1950). Prior to these, he made Joan the Woman (1916), a silent epic film where a British officer has a dream of the life of Joan of Arc. After traveling back to the time of Joan, he wakes back up in his World War I trench and dies in a daring charge into battle using Joan's sword.

Courtesy of IMDb

The Strobridge Lithographing Company, "Ringling Brothers: Joan Of Arc On Charging Horse," 1912

Circus Spectacle

A prominent form of entertainment for Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was circuses. The Ringling Brothers had Joan of Arc as a performance in the 1912 and 1913 seasons. Coyle writes that "during the Gilded Age, circus performances told stories, and these narrative spectacles, or 'specs,' as they were called, were usually based on fairy tales, myths, bible stories, or historical events. Joan of Arc's remarkable exploits provided the Ringling Brothers with a tempting choice for a spectacle."2

Katharine Hepburn as Joan

Katharine Hepburn was a critically acclaimed actress known for classic films such as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and The African Queen (1951). Prior to these, she was cast to play Joan in a film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan. This clip, sourced from the Museum of Modern Art, is a 1934 technicolor screen test of Hepburn as Joan. She never got to play the role, with the MoMA saying that RKO Pictures could not secure the rights from Shaw.

Ingrid Bergman as Joan

14 years later, RKO Pictures would finally get an A-list to play the title character in a production of the life of Joan of Arc.

This abbreviated adaptation of Joan's life is very fitting for the actress and time. Joan of Arc famously died fighting for France's liberation from a foreign enemy. The Joan of Arc movie by DeMille was released during the First World War when France was being invaded by a foreign enemy. This 1948 production was released just a few years after the liberation of France in the Second World War. Ingrid Bergman, who famously played Ilsa Lund in the World War II drama Casablanca (1942), played the Maid of France.

This 1948 production was directed by Victor Fleming of Gone with the Wind (1939) fame.