Screening the Paris Suburbs: From the Silent Era to the 1990s

French filmmakers found inspiration and content in the Paris suburbs,from bourgeois villas to post-war housing estates,for their films. Key aspects of this long film history are addressed,including class conflict,leisure,boredom,and anti-authoritarianism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 05 February 2018
Publisher: Manchester University Press

Before the emergence of a French self-styled hood film around 1995, French filmmakers ventured beyond the confines of the capital to find inspiration and content for their narratives. In the Parisian suburbs, they discovered an endless supply of diverse forms, landscapes, and social types that served as the foundation for their fictional works. From the bourgeois villas and picturesque riverside cafés to post-war housing estates and postmodern new towns, the suburbs offered a rich tapestry of settings that captured the essence of French society.

For the first time in English, contributors to this volume delve into the rich history of French cinema, marked by influential figures such as Jean Renoir, Jacques Tati, and Jean-Luc Godard. Spanning over a century, the suburb served as a canvas for diverse aesthetic and ideological programs. Whether idyllic or menacing, expansive or claustrophobic, the suburb played a pivotal role in shaping French cultural modernity, encompassing themes such as class conflict, leisure, boredom, and anti-authoritarianism.

The fifteen chapters in this volume explore these themes in depth, providing a comprehensive examination of French suburban cinema. Each chapter offers a unique perspective on the suburb's role in shaping French culture and society, shedding light on its aesthetic and ideological significance. From the early silent films that depicted the suburbs as a symbol of modernity and progress to the contemporary films that explore the complexities of urban life, the suburb remains a fertile ground for artistic expression and social commentary.

In conclusion, French filmmakers' exploration of the suburbs before the emergence of hood films marked a significant chapter in the history of French cinema. By looking beyond the capital, they discovered a rich source of inspiration and content that helped shape the aesthetic and ideological landscape of French cultural modernity. The fifteen chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive examination of this long film history, highlighting the suburb's enduring significance in French cinema and its ability to serve as a powerful tool for artistic expression and social commentary.

Weight: 524g
Dimension: 164 x 244 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526106858