Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Maghrebi Migrant Women in France and French Cinema
- 1 The Voices of Maghrebi Women in Documentary Films: Framing Construction and Transparency
- 2 First-Generation Women in Short Films: Crossing Barriers and Communicating Experiences through Objects
- 3 The Voices of Maghrebi Migrant Women in French Téléfilms: Portraying Agency
- 4 Transmitting the Voices of Maghrebi Women through Feature Films: From Verbal to Non-Verbal Forms of Communication
- Conclusion
- Appendix: Film Corpus and Access
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - Transmitting the Voices of Maghrebi Women through Feature Films: From Verbal to Non-Verbal Forms of Communication
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: Maghrebi Migrant Women in France and French Cinema
- 1 The Voices of Maghrebi Women in Documentary Films: Framing Construction and Transparency
- 2 First-Generation Women in Short Films: Crossing Barriers and Communicating Experiences through Objects
- 3 The Voices of Maghrebi Migrant Women in French Téléfilms: Portraying Agency
- 4 Transmitting the Voices of Maghrebi Women through Feature Films: From Verbal to Non-Verbal Forms of Communication
- Conclusion
- Appendix: Film Corpus and Access
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The image is a crucial pedagogical tool for changing mentalities. I don't know any way of communicating or saying something that is more powerful and more immediate, even if you don't speak the language.
– Yamina BenguiguiOf the four types of films examined in this study, the feature film is the one with which viewers tend to be most familiar, as well as the one that is most readily available to them, first in cinemas, and then on television, online, or on DVD. As I have highlighted in the preceding chapters, the medium of film can be especially effective in bringing viewers into sympathy with characters unlike themselves (in age or ethnic origin, for example) and in encouraging audiences to move beyond barriers (cultural, linguistic, or other) that could potentially distance them from characters. Yet, at the same time, film also has the power to do just the opposite, by imposing barriers and emphasizing difference. This chapter will focus on a selection of feature films that depict firstgeneration women from the Maghreb and will examine the techniques used to convey the voices of these characters (once again understood in the broad sense of subject positions) to the audience. These range from those that could be considered the most ‘verbal’ in the traditional sense of the word, such as the use of interior monologue voiceover, to those that are least verbal, like body language. In analyzing the films from this angle, I seek to gauge the extent to which these cinematic choices encourage spectators to come to a better understanding of the experiences of Maghrebi women in France and to share in and appreciate their perspectives. As was noted in the introduction, discussions of audience in the present context are to be read mainly with reference to the intended audience. For most films, this tends to be broad and inclusive of different ages and ethnic backgrounds. However, like téléfilms, feature films may cater to a majority ethnic audience to a greater extent than most short films or documentaries, since a key consideration in their production in the first place is their potential to attract relatively large audiences.
- Type
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- Information
- Muslim Women in French CinemaVoices of Maghrebi Migrants in France, pp. 134 - 172Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2015