Journal of Undergraduate Research
Volume 4, Issue 8 - April 2003
La Haine, Bye Bye and Mémoires d’immigrés: Questioning France’s Arab Youth Stereotype
Jonathan Parker
“France aux Français,” (France to the French) is
the slogan scrawled in paint across a cement wall in the final scene
of Yamina Benguigui’s 1997 documentary Mémoires d’Immigrés.
Children of North African immigrants living in contemporary France find
themselves asking what it takes to be “French.” Privy to
a cultural heritage not shared by their Euro-French counterparts, this
second generation also attends French schools, watches French television,
and, upon reaching maturity, pays French taxes. They have become a permanent
part of society, yet they continue to be marginalized and many feel
that their legitimacy as French citizens is not respected by their neighbors
of European ancestry.
Stereotypes centered around rioting and delinquent activities such as
graffitti and vandalism complicate the discrimination that Franco-Maghrebi
youth suffer from. While it is a minority of youth who are delinquent,
media coverage presents a distorted image of the state of urban violence
in France, creating a sense of paranoia in the Euro-French community
(Lichfield, 11). This paranoia finds its locus in the banlieues,
or working class suburbs on the edge of large cities, which are the
site of many of France’s most pressing social issues. Unemployment,
drug use, and incidents of violence do exist here, but the gravity of
the situation is far from the quasi-warzone of the bourgeoise imagination
(Reader, 12). Children of North African immigrants growing up in these
areas are stigmatized, often having their identification checked by
the police, because of their physical characteristics (Juhem, 67). In
addition to non-acceptance by French society, they are also at odds
with their foreign born parents whose code of values is based on another
model of social standards relating to marriage, religion and education.
The 1990’s gave light to a number of films which investigate the
difficulties that second generation youth face as they struggle to discover
their identity in a sometimes hostile environment. Three of these films
will be discussed here. Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine (1995)
is centered around the unlikely trio of Vinz, Hubert and Saïd,
(of Jewish, Black African and North African background respectively)
whose migrations through their banlieue lead to constant confrontations
with other youth, the police and themselves. The choice of such a racially
mixed group seeks to prove that it is the living conditions of the banlieue
that fosters delinquent activity, not racial origins. Bye Bye (1995)
directed by Karim Dridi, tells the story of Mouloud and Ismaël,
a pair of brothers of North African origins, who struggle with racism
while staying with their uncle’s family in Marseille after the
death of their handicapped brother in Paris. The film’s characters
were created to be complex and defy labels based on ethnic heritage
(Dridi, 39). Yamina Benguigui’s Mémoires d’immigrés
is a documentary which combines interviews, photographs and footage
of different banlieues to give a voice to a population which
was long silent (Bénolieol, 57). This film also gives greater
attention to the challenges faced by Franco-Maghrebi females than do
the previously mentioned films. By contextualizing youth of North African
descent in relation to social settings and authority figures, such as
politicians and police, these films problematize racism and stereotypes,
denying classification by ethnic group and emphasizing the right to
self identification.
Physically enclosed spaces, including Hubert’s apartment, the
subway and the basement where the protagonists flee from riot police,
dominate the narrative of La Haine. This creates a striking
contrast when the trio ventures into open spaces, as in the scene where
they join a group of friends having a rooftop cook out. The rooftop
serves as a panopticon from which the youth can survey the banlieue
that surrounds them. The concept of territory is important for marginalized
urban youth, because they have a sense of restricted social mobility
(Baillet, 30). Having control of at least the comings and goings in
their own neighborhoods is a way of elevating their own social status,
even if it is only within a limited sphere of influence. This vantage
point gives the youth the power to monitor developments in their neighborhood,
but it is, in effect, only a counter observation. The illusion of control
afforded by the rooftop position is shattered by the arrival of the
police who order everyone down. A violent outburst almost erupts on
the spot as the youth protest loudly and aggressively, insulting the
police captain and asking if he is going to force them off. The position
of the police in relation to the inhabitants of the banlieue
is central to La Haine. At a societal level, the police fill
the role of observer and enforcer in the governmental power structure.
They are the instrument of a permanent, exhaustive and omnipresent surveillance,
capable of rendering everything visible while maintaining itself invisible
(Foucault, 215). Their presence in the banlieue is a constant
reminder of the disparity of power between the youth and the society
that surrounds them, giving rise to a feeling of resentment.
In La Haine, frustration leads to violence and delinquent activity.
In Bye Bye delinquency, in the form of painting graffiti, is
also present, but the film simultaneously allows for other means of
expressing sentiments of exclusion. Second generation North African
youth are at the fulcrum point between the culture of their parents
and that of France. For these children, whose formal education is almost
exclusively in French and who are constantly bombarded with French in
the streets, in stores, and on television, this language becomes their
primary means of self-expression (Hargreaves, 105). They use French
to describe their unique social status. These youth, who often feel
powerless against the racism and discrimination with which they are
treated, are able to recontextualize the language of their assailants
and use it for their own purposes. In Bye Bye Mouloud demonstrates
this phenomenon in the creation of the song “Beur Pourri.”
The title is itself an indication of the depth of Mouloud’s sense
of frustration, and the song uses slang as a means of combating the
ideology behind the racism that he faces.
The term beur, which came into use in the early eighties, is
an inversion of the syllables of the French word arabe. North
African youth created this name for themselves to designate a new social
figure (children issued from North African origins living in France
and on the track to integration), a young style, and an open way of
situating oneself in French society (Wihtol, 44). Rearranging the syllables
of a French word was a means of defying their classification based on
their ethnic origins. Beur was a term that the youth had created
by breaking from the French, and the act of creation empowered them.
With the media coverage of the 1983 march of the same name, the term
beur became a commonly used word throughout French society.
The use of the term by the Euro-French robbed it of its symbolic value,
and thus the beur is spoiled.
The most powerful line of the song is, “You aren’t going
to eat us, we’re going to eat you” (Ce n’est pas
vous qui allez nous croquer, mais c’est nous qui allons vous croquer).
The idea is simple, yet powerful. Rather than changing to try and fit
into the perceived role of what it means to be French, youth of North
African origins will continue to be themselves and wait for French culture
to adapt to the multiculturality of its own national character. Beur
Pourri, written by Ouassini Embarek, the actor who plays
Mouloud, negates the need for labels on youth of North African ancestry
(Rouchy, 51). The ethnic origin of North African youth is not an “
essential category, ” but rather a “relational term ”
that expresses one facet of their cultural identify, but is not sufficient
to exhaust the plurality of their self definitions (Schroeder, 145).
The quest to define their identity is different for female youth, because
protecting the honor of the family is tied to sexuality in many North
African homes. The desire to maintain the virginity of the daughters
is partially religiously motivated, but there is also a heavy overtone
of community standing. For parents, and particularly mothers, who are
tied into the North African social hierarchy, the sexual activity or
non-activity of their daughters reflects on the quality of the cultural
education they have provided (Tersigni, 34). Daughters are thus often
given a more limited degree of liberty in their social schedules than
their brothers. This double standard provides the motivation for many
Franco-Maghrebi females to succeed scholastically, gaining a degree
of independence and proving their equality.
Mémoires d’Immigrés demonstrates the ability
of women of North African origins to assimilate into all levels of French
society. The politicians in the film are shown in one steady shot, behind
their desks, distanced from the immigrants and their children for whom
their policies were designed (Bénoliel, 57). Soraya Guezlane,
a second generation daughter who became a judge in adulthood, is, on
the other hand, filmed in motion. The camera moves, following her down
the stairs of the courthouse where she works. In the shots where she
speaks to the camera, she is backgrounded by shelves of law books. Setting
her in the courthouse and the office puts her on equal terms with the
former secretary of state Lionel Stoleru and the other officials who
were in charge of authoring the immigration laws that influenced her
family when she was a child. Demonstrating Guezlane’s ability
to achieve a successful and influential career speaks indirectly to
racism, because she is a productive member of society, and her community
benefits from her presence.
Mémoires d’Immigrés, La Haine, and Bye
Bye are all politically engaged films. Through their representation
of the banlieue and the youth who live or have lived there,
they create varied images of the lifestyles present in this urban space.
While concurrent themes of power struggles and the choice of self identification
run through these films, it is the presentation of particular neighborhoods
and families that promotes an understanding of North African youth as
individuals in an environment that is burdened with social problems,
but does not consign its residents to a fixed, socio-economic classification.
The films speak to one another. Where one treats the familial relations
in more detail, another analyzes the relationship between second generation
North African youth from the banlieue and the society that
surrounds them. Contextualizing youth of North African descent in terms
of their neighborhoods and the authority figures that surround them,
these films problematize stereotypes by demonstrating that it is individual
choices, not any externally ordained label, that determine one’s
ability to integrate into a society.
REFERENCES
Baillet, Dominique. “La ‘Langue des Banlieues’
entre Appauvrissement Culturel et Exclusion Sociale.” Hommes
et Migrations Sept .-Oct. 2000: 29-37.
Bénoliel, Bernard. "Exodus." Cahiers du cinéma
Feb. 1998: 56-58.
Foubcault, Michel. Surveiller et Punir. Paris: Gallimard,
1981.
Hargreaves, Alec. Immigration, "race" and ethnicity in
contemporary France. London; New York: Routeledge, 1995.
Jousse, Thiery and Lalanne, Jean-Marc. "Propos de Karim Dridi."
Cahiers du cinéma Sept. 1995: 39-41.
Juhem, Philippe. "“ Civiliser ” La Banlieue."
Revue française de science politique Feb. 2000:
53-72.
Lichfield, John. "Le fantasme de l’Intifada dans les
banlieues." Courrier International Feb. 1999: 11.
Reader, Keith. "La Haine." Sight and Sound Sept. 1995
: 12-14.
Rouchy, Marie-Elisabeth. "Beur…je refuse ce mot!"
Télérama Aug. 1995: 51-52.
Schroeder, Erin. "A Multicultural Conversation : La Haine,
Rai and Menace II Society." Camera Obscura Vol. 16,
2001: 143-147.
Tersigni, Simona. "La virginité des filles et l’
“Honneur Maghrébin” dans le contexte Français."
Hommes et Migrations July-Aug. 2001: 34-40.
Wihtol, Catherine and Leveau, Rémy. La beurgeoise. Paris:
CNRS Editions, 2001
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