Reimagining North African Immigration : Identities in Flux in French Literature, Television, and Film

Christiane Taubira's spirited invocation of colonial poetry at the French National Assembly in 2013 denounced the French politics of assimilation in Guyana . It was seen as an attempt to promote respect for difference, defend the equality of gay and heterosexual rights, and give a voice to silent social and cultural minorities. Taubira's unmatched passion for poetry and social justice, applied to the current Political arena, made her an instant star in the media and on the Internet. This book relates to the mimetic and transformative powers of literature and film. It examines literary works and films that help deflate stereotypes regarding France's post-immigration population, promote a new respect for cultural and ethnic minorities. The writers and filmmakers examined in the book have found new ways to conceptualize the French heritage of immigration from North Africa and to portray the current state of multiculturalism in France. The book opens with Steve Puig's helpful recapitulation of the development of beur, banlieue, and urban literatures, closely related and partly overlapping taxonomies describing the cultural production of second-generation, postcolonial immigrants to France. Discussing the works of three writers, the book discusses the birth of a new Maghrebi-French women's literature. Next comes an examination of how the fictional portrayal of women in Guene's novels differs from the representation of female characters in traditional beur literature. The book also explores the development of Abdellatif Kechiche's cinema, Djaidani's film and fiction, French perception of Maghrebi-French youth, postmemorial immigration, fiction, and postmemory and identity in harki. Introduction -- 1. 'qui Fait La France?' New Configurations Of Frenchness In Contemporary Urban Fiction -- 2. Breaking The Chains Of Ethnic Identity: Faïza Guène, Saphia Azzeddine, And Nadia Bouzid, Or The Birth Of A New Maghrebi-french Women's Literature -- 3. From Daughter To Mother, From Sister To Brother: Building Identities In Faïza Guène's Novels -- 4. The Immigrant In Abdellatif Kechiche's Cinematic Work: Transcending The Question Of Origins -- 5. Seeking Paths To Existence In Rachid Djaïdani's Rengaine -- 6. Beur And Banlieue Television Comedies: New Perspectives On Immigration -- 7. They Had A Dream: Out-marching Exclusion And Hatred -- 8. Narrativizing Foreclosed History In 'postmemorial' Fiction Of The Algerian War In France: October 17, 1961, A Case In Point -- 9. Unearthing The Father's Secret: Postmemory And Identity In Harki And Pied Noir Narratives -- 10. Representations Of The Harkis In Contemporary French-language Films -- 11. 'l'oued Revient Toujours Dans Son Lit': Franco-maghrebi Identity In Hassan Legzouli's Film Ten'ja -- 12. Rewriting The Memory Of Immigration: Samuel Zaoui's Saint Denis Bout Du Monde -- 13. Harragas In Mediterranean Illiterature And Cinema -- Index. Edited By Véronique Machelidon, Patrick Saveau. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Electronic Reproduction. Baltimore, Md Available Via World Wide Web. In English. Front matter Contents Notes on contributors Acknowledgments Introduction ‘Qui fait la France?’ New configurations of Frenchness in contemporary urban fiction Breaking the chains of ethnic identity: Faïza Guène, Saphia Azzeddine, and Nadia Bouzid, or the birth of a new Maghrebi-French women’s literature From daughter to mother, from sister to brother: building identities in Faïza Guène’s novels The immigrant in Abdellatif Kechiche’s cinematic work: transcending the question of origins Seeking paths to existence in Rachid Djaïdani’s Rengaine Beur and banlieue television comedies: new perspectives on immigration They had a dream: out-marching exclusion and hatred Narrativizing foreclosed history in ‘postmemorial’ fiction of the Algerian War in France: October 17, 1961, a case in point Unearthing the father’s secret: postmemory and identity in harki and pied noir narratives Representations of the harkis in contemporary French-language films ‘L’oued revient toujours dans son lit’: Franco-Maghrebi identity in Hassan Legzouli’s film Ten’ja Rewriting the memory of immigration: Samuel Zaoui’s Saint Denis bout du monde Harragas in Mediterranean illiterature and cinema Index This volume takes the pulse of French post-coloniality by studying representations of trans-Mediterranean immigration to France in recent literature, television and film. The writers and filmmakers examined have found new ways to conceptualize the French heritage of immigration from North Africa and to portray the state of multiculturalism within -- and in spite of -- a continuing Republican framework. Their work deflates stereotypes, promotes respect for cultural and ethnic minorities and gives a new dignity to subjects supposedly located on the margins of the Republic. Establishing a productive dialogue with Marianne Hirsch's ground-breaking concept of postmemory, this volume provides a much-needed vocabulary for rethinking the intergenerational legacy of trans-Mediterranean immigrants An interdisciplinary collection of essays examining the depiction of immigration from North Africa in contemporary French culture. -- .