Beur and banlieue television comedies: new perspectives on immigration

This article analyzes Fortunes and Aïcha, two TV series respectively directed by Stéphane Meunier and Yamina Benguigui. It examines the implications of bringing immigration to the masses through the comedy genre and argues that minorities are going through a process of increased visibility, acceptance, and integration on the mass media landscape. However, this study remains critical since it also considers the conundrum of entertaining audiences with comedies based on immigration while offering a realistic, modern, yet non-stereotypical image of the immigrant.

Shaping spaces: representing people of Algerian heritage

This chapter builds on existing studies of how Algerian heritage has been represented across cinema by considering a range of case studies taken from different media, including visual arts, a TV film franchise by the director Yamina Benguigui and autobiographical trilogy by the author Leïla Sebbar. It pays particular attention to how gender and ethnicity interact in this area by focusing on works that have probed the role of women among Algerian diasporas and people of Algerian heritage more generally. As such it additionally aims to counteract the implicit focus on men and masculinity that has characterised many cinematic representations of people of Algerian heritage.

Prise de parole et quête de liberté : les espaces de l’eau dans Aïcha de Yamina Benguigui.

Aïcha est une série française de quatre téléfilms de Yamina Benguigui réalisée entre 2008 et 2011. Aïcha est une jeune française d’origine algérienne habitant dans une cité de la banlieue parisienne. Les différents épisodes nous retracent son parcours personnel et sa lutte sociale au quotidien, tout comme ses rêves et ses aspirations, dans une cité où diverses communautés cohabitent sous le regard des autres. Elle cherche son indépendance par le biais d’un positionnement identitaire qui s’oppose aux principes du mariage traditionnel, sans renier pour autant entièrement aux traditions familiales. En effet, cette Shéhérazade des temps modernes du périphérique parisien essaie de faire valoir ses propres normes face à la rigidité des préceptes de la communauté à laquelle elle est appartient. C’est dans des espaces liés aux rituels de l’eau que ces désirs et ces ambitions se rendent visibles. Ainsi, tout au long des quatre épisodes, le hammam devient un lieu de liberté pour Aïcha et toutes ces femmes de tous âges, religions et origines qui tâchent, grâce à une prise de parole au féminin, de résoudre les problèmes des ces êtres oubliés par l’État : le racisme vis-à-vis des jeunes diplômés issus des différentes générations d’immigrés, la sécurité dans les cités ou les mariages mixtes. C’est également au salon de coiffure entre deux shampoings que d’autres conflits interpersonnels et interculturels vont trouver des solutions. Les espaces, liés aux rituels corporels de lavage et de mise en beauté entre femmes où l’eau est un élément central, deviennent de la sorte des lieux privilégiés de prise de parole et de quête de liberté.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/XXVColloqueAFUE.2016.2998

The Voices of Maghrebi Women in Documentary Films

The chapter examines a wide variety of documentaries featuring Muslim women from the Maghreb in France. It critically analyzes the different mediations and techniques, such as the use of extra-diegetic music, voiceover, and archive material, that are employed in the documentaries and serve to ‘frame’ the women’s voices in various ways and with different consequences. It identifies three distinct levels of intervention: the first involves a heavy-handed approach, where the voices of the women are significantly ‘framed’ or even drowned out (most notably in the post-production process). The second reflects a more minimalist approach with regard to framing, while the third appears to be minimalist or transparent but in fact involves a significant degree of intervention. In examining the different forms of mediation and degrees of intervention at work in these documentaries, as well as the consequences of this with regard to the voices of the Maghrebi migrant women in them, this analysis draws on Bill Nichols’ critical writings on the different modes of documentary, notably expository, observational, and interactive. The films examined in this chapter include documentaries directed by Yamina Benguigui, Malek Bensmaïl, and Yasmina Kherfi.

Transmitting the Voices of Maghrebi Women through Feature Films

This chapter analyzes how the experiences of Maghrebi migrant women in France are conveyed through feature films and considers the extent to which these films encourage spectators to come to a better understanding of the women’s experiences and appreciate their respective points of view. It analyzes a wide range of techniques used in the films, from those that could be considered the most ‘verbal’ in the traditional sense of the word (such as interior monologue voiceover and verbal exchanges) to those that are entirely non-verbal (including body language and non-verbal sounds). While the spoken words of first-generation women have the potential to provide significant insight into the women’s experiences, this is not always the case, nor do a woman’s words necessarily invite spectators to identify with her point of view. Words also have the potential to be misunderstood or not understood at all – for example, when there is a language barrier – and this can inhibit communication. Non-verbal tools can provide an effective channel through which the women’s voices can be communicated, regardless of differences in age, language, or culture between the characters and the implied spectators. Works examined include films by Yamina Benguigui, Mehdi Charef, and Bourlem Guerdjou.