Zadi’s Series “En Place”: Breaking Banlieue Stereotypes

Abstract

Since the classic film La Haine (1995), the representation of the banlieue has emphasized stereotypes of the peripheries with ills such as unemployment, instability, restive youth, poverty, and marginalization. In this thesis, I demonstrate how Jean-Pascal Zadi’s series En Place (Represent) addresses these clichés while presenting a radically different view of the banlieue by challenging the representation of deprivation, frustration, oppression, and exclusion of French people of color in the banlieue. On the other hand, to the extent that stereotypes ring true, the series ascribes different causes than usual to the experiences of banlieue inhabitants or addresses some of their conceptions with recourse to self-deprecation and self-criticism. The plot revolves around the unlikely presidential campaign of Stéphane Blé, one of the residents of a neighborhood in a banlieue, Bobigny, after a public altercation with the mayor, who is himself running for president in an upcoming election. Through his main character, the series conveys the view that rewriting the political discourse of the banlieue is necessary and that racism, social ills, and gender inequality, which are denounced by the left, should be confronted more consistently and efficiently for everyone’s sake.