Intergenerational injustice in a Parisian banlieue. Ladj Ly's contemporary reframing of Les Miserables

• This article analyses Ladj Ly's Les Miserables as a depiction of a generational conflict in a contemporary banlieue. The film stresses that age-related mistreatment is an abuse of power in parity with ethnic discrimination and social exclusion. When local authority figures are prepared to sacrifice a boy to secure their power game, the young banlieusards retaliate with violence. The uprising is visualised as an act of revenge owing to this intergenerational injustice. Several narrative and cinematic strategies are used to represent the children's powerlessness. The film is told from the perspective of a policeman, but highlights the boys' difficult position. By linking Les Miserables to Victor Hugo's novel, Ly underlines that the children's uprising must be seen as the struggle of an age class, fighting for full citizenship and democratic rights. The futility of revenge is balanced by the alliance between the violent rebel and a budding visual activist, suggesting that the young generation of today can use cameras as a new weapon against intergenerational injustice. The article further approaches Les Miserables as an example of Nicholas Mirzoeff's idea of countervisuality. It ultimately argues that Ly claims the children's 'right to look' and to demand a better society.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Filmvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Studies on Film (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Generational order

intergenerational injustice

Les Miserables

children's revenge

banlieue cinema

visual activism

Film

Radio & Television

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)