Q. The 1995 film “La Haine” was deemed so realistic that President Chirac ordered a private viewing for his cabinet.
To what extent does “La Haine” give a realistic view of persecution and racism in France?
Today, racism is a serious problem in France and the hatred towards other races and minorities is evident in society, mainly in the impoverished and suburban city areas. The film "La Haine", gives us such a realistic picture of the situation that in 1995, the President showed it to his Cabinet. The film is accredited for its realism of the discrimination and hatred that exists in the minds of people, especially those who live in the suburbs of cities. Even though the film was created in 1995, it is still relevant today and most likely in the future.
Discrimination and racism in France is more severe in the council housing estates and ghetto-type areas of France, where most of the inhabitants are from immigrant backgrounds. The National Front, lead by Jean-Marie Le Pen, encourages this racism by their intolerant and discriminative views. Le Pen himself stated openly that,
“Toute immigration nouvelle doit être interdite. Si l'on n'y prend garde, la France sera bientôt débordée par l'afflux d'étrangers. Ce débordement s'effectue selon une loi quasi-météorologique de hautes pressions démographiques se déversant sur cette zone de basses pressions que sont l'Europe et le monde blanc, “
This is a clear demonstration of his inotolerant views towards anything considered ‘un-French’. Le Pen and the National Front encourage the public to stereotype and oppress immigrants and ethnic minorities.
As the character Hubert says at the beginning,
"C'est l'histoire d'un homme qui tombe d'un immeuble de cinquante étages au fur et à mesure de sa chute il se répète sans cesse pour se rassurer: jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien... mais l'important, c'est pas la chute, c'est l'atterrissage."
This is implying that the state of racism that exists is not seen as serious as it should, as people reassure themselves that everything is ok, ignoring the danger of what the situation could become if let to escalate. The ‘landing’ that Hubert mentions could be disastrous and so needs to be avoided. Obviously, this problem of racism in France is getting worse and if society doesn’t act soon, it will only deteriorate.
The film focuses on a single day in the lives of three young friends after a recent riot, situated in an impoverished area of the Parisian suburbs. The three carry out their daily routine and struggle to find ways to keep busy, often under close surveillance by the police, who are all too aware of the racist activities that are rife in these areas, as well as facing various confrontations with a group of skinheads.
The three main characters help demonstrate the main targets of racism in France. Vinz is a white Jew, Said is an Arab Muslim and Hubert is a black Catholic. Their identities show the main groups of minorities in France and the difficulties that each of them face due to the hatred that exists in such areas.
Director, Mathieu Kassovitz creates realism in the film through various different techniques.
Firstly, at the start of the film, various clips from recent French news are shown. This makes it appear like a documentary so that the audience is aware that the film is not simply fictional, but a reflection of reality, because in France it is not uncommon to see stories of violence towards immigrants, refugees, or other minorities. In addition, this creates a very serious atmosphere which helps to improve the realism in the rest of the film.
The film is in black and white which forces the viewer to not focus on skin colour, but instead see everyone as equals, and also possibly to highlight the conflict between the uniformed officers who are trying to combat the racist violence and the groups of citizens involved in the violence cause by this hatred. In addition, the lack of colour makes it timeless; therefore, it is relevant in 1995, today and also in the future, as there is still riots and violence occurring within France. The black and white also give the impression of the situation being grim and endless, which helps set the serious mood of the film.
The character, Vinz, carries a gun with him when he is out so that if he faces a racist attack he can stand up and protect himself from the racist attackers, who are clearly very content to express their racism and intolerance openly. These young people are victims of racism and intolerance by the scrutiny of the police as well as street gangs. As the film "La Haine" shows, many young people experience racism and violence in their daily lives and so to them, hatred is the only answer they can find for it. As Hubert explains,
"La haine entraine la haine.”
The problems facing immigr
To what extent does “La Haine” give a realistic view of persecution and racism in France?
Today, racism is a serious problem in France and the hatred towards other races and minorities is evident in society, mainly in the impoverished and suburban city areas. The film "La Haine", gives us such a realistic picture of the situation that in 1995, the President showed it to his Cabinet. The film is accredited for its realism of the discrimination and hatred that exists in the minds of people, especially those who live in the suburbs of cities. Even though the film was created in 1995, it is still relevant today and most likely in the future.
Discrimination and racism in France is more severe in the council housing estates and ghetto-type areas of France, where most of the inhabitants are from immigrant backgrounds. The National Front, lead by Jean-Marie Le Pen, encourages this racism by their intolerant and discriminative views. Le Pen himself stated openly that,
“Toute immigration nouvelle doit être interdite. Si l'on n'y prend garde, la France sera bientôt débordée par l'afflux d'étrangers. Ce débordement s'effectue selon une loi quasi-météorologique de hautes pressions démographiques se déversant sur cette zone de basses pressions que sont l'Europe et le monde blanc, “
This is a clear demonstration of his inotolerant views towards anything considered ‘un-French’. Le Pen and the National Front encourage the public to stereotype and oppress immigrants and ethnic minorities.
As the character Hubert says at the beginning,
"C'est l'histoire d'un homme qui tombe d'un immeuble de cinquante étages au fur et à mesure de sa chute il se répète sans cesse pour se rassurer: jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien... mais l'important, c'est pas la chute, c'est l'atterrissage."
This is implying that the state of racism that exists is not seen as serious as it should, as people reassure themselves that everything is ok, ignoring the danger of what the situation could become if let to escalate. The ‘landing’ that Hubert mentions could be disastrous and so needs to be avoided. Obviously, this problem of racism in France is getting worse and if society doesn’t act soon, it will only deteriorate.
The film focuses on a single day in the lives of three young friends after a recent riot, situated in an impoverished area of the Parisian suburbs. The three carry out their daily routine and struggle to find ways to keep busy, often under close surveillance by the police, who are all too aware of the racist activities that are rife in these areas, as well as facing various confrontations with a group of skinheads.
The three main characters help demonstrate the main targets of racism in France. Vinz is a white Jew, Said is an Arab Muslim and Hubert is a black Catholic. Their identities show the main groups of minorities in France and the difficulties that each of them face due to the hatred that exists in such areas.
Director, Mathieu Kassovitz creates realism in the film through various different techniques.
Firstly, at the start of the film, various clips from recent French news are shown. This makes it appear like a documentary so that the audience is aware that the film is not simply fictional, but a reflection of reality, because in France it is not uncommon to see stories of violence towards immigrants, refugees, or other minorities. In addition, this creates a very serious atmosphere which helps to improve the realism in the rest of the film.
The film is in black and white which forces the viewer to not focus on skin colour, but instead see everyone as equals, and also possibly to highlight the conflict between the uniformed officers who are trying to combat the racist violence and the groups of citizens involved in the violence cause by this hatred. In addition, the lack of colour makes it timeless; therefore, it is relevant in 1995, today and also in the future, as there is still riots and violence occurring within France. The black and white also give the impression of the situation being grim and endless, which helps set the serious mood of the film.
The character, Vinz, carries a gun with him when he is out so that if he faces a racist attack he can stand up and protect himself from the racist attackers, who are clearly very content to express their racism and intolerance openly. These young people are victims of racism and intolerance by the scrutiny of the police as well as street gangs. As the film "La Haine" shows, many young people experience racism and violence in their daily lives and so to them, hatred is the only answer they can find for it. As Hubert explains,
"La haine entraine la haine.”
The problems facing immigr