Comparing The Wretched Of The Earth And The Battle Of Algiers
Introduction Both in The Wretched of the Earth and The Battle of Algiers we are presented with the harsh reality that is the French colony of Algiers during the post-war period. Both works focus very strongly on the use of violence but both adopt a very different approach in justifying its use. On one hand, The Battle of Algiers presents us with an ever-escalating conflict in which neither of the parties of the conflict seems entirely right. On the other hand, Fanon argues that violence is a catharsis for improvement and the source of a psychological need to recover an apparent sense of self-respect. Both will be analysed in turn before drawing a conclusion that will compare them.
Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers
The Battle of Algiers …show more content…
The underlying cause of the conflict in the film is the persistent injustice and oppression experienced by the native Arab Algerians through colonialism and occupation. Whilst this injustice is not always explicitly shown to the viewer, its reality is made apparent to us because …show more content…
The French try to dissuade the Arab population from rebelling by reminding them that France has given them “civilization and prosperity”. Throughout the film, the French refer to the Algerians as “dirty Arabs” and “rats”. The insensitivity of the French settlers is also made apparent in the lifestyle they have imported into the culture.
It is important to note, however, that there is also a blatant and widespread injustice throughout the uprising itself: selective suspension of legal rights and procedures, extensive use of torture, and the murder of relatively innocent individuals who find themselves in the midst of a war they did not choose to partake in. All in all, before and during the uprising, we are presented with a situation in which a group of people does not have equal access to the resources of the State and the inequality is strengthened through an ideology of entitlement and superiority. This leads to violent conflict which itself perpetuates and exacerbates the injustice that is already inherent in the structure of the relationship between the native Arabs and the European settlers
Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers
The Battle of Algiers …show more content…
The underlying cause of the conflict in the film is the persistent injustice and oppression experienced by the native Arab Algerians through colonialism and occupation. Whilst this injustice is not always explicitly shown to the viewer, its reality is made apparent to us because …show more content…
The French try to dissuade the Arab population from rebelling by reminding them that France has given them “civilization and prosperity”. Throughout the film, the French refer to the Algerians as “dirty Arabs” and “rats”. The insensitivity of the French settlers is also made apparent in the lifestyle they have imported into the culture.
It is important to note, however, that there is also a blatant and widespread injustice throughout the uprising itself: selective suspension of legal rights and procedures, extensive use of torture, and the murder of relatively innocent individuals who find themselves in the midst of a war they did not choose to partake in. All in all, before and during the uprising, we are presented with a situation in which a group of people does not have equal access to the resources of the State and the inequality is strengthened through an ideology of entitlement and superiority. This leads to violent conflict which itself perpetuates and exacerbates the injustice that is already inherent in the structure of the relationship between the native Arabs and the European settlers