Cinema and the Republic

This book analyses contemporary French films by focussing closely on cinematic representations of immigrants and residents of suburban housing estates known as banlieues. It begins by examining how these groups are conceived of within France's Republican political model before analysing films that focus on four key issues. Firstly, it will assess representations of undocumented migrants known as sans-papiers before then analysing depictions of deportations made possible by the controversial double peine law. Next, it will examine films about relations between young people and the police in suburban France before exploring films that challenge cliches about these areas. The conclusion assesses what these films show about contemporary French political cinema.IntroductionChapter One: Cinema and the RepublicChapter Two: The Sans-papiers on Screen – Contextualising Immigrant Experiences in FilmChapter Three: Double peine: The Challenges of Mobilising Support for Foreign Criminals via CinemaChapter Four: Challenging or Perpetuating Clichés? Young People and the Police in France’s BanlieuesChapter Five: Challenging Stereotypes about France’s Banlieues by Shifting the Focus?ConclusionNotesFilmography and BibliographyIndex