Di Summa, Laura: Courage Conquers Death – and Even Love

_Aesthetic Investigations_ 8 (1). 2026In the 1990s, Laurie Shrage critiqued dominant semiotic and psychoanalytic approaches to film, advocating instead for a contextual analysis attentive to audience reception. Drawing on Christopher Strong (Arzner, 1933), Shrage highlighted its capacity to “disturb patriarchal sensibilities,” particularly in its portrayal of women and marriage. This paper revisits Shrage’s thesis to explore how the film addresses issues that remain relevant today, including fem