The Positive Representations of Franco-Arabs of Islamic Heritage In French Contemporary Visual Culture

Abstract

The purpose of my Senior thesis is to examine the prominent works of Riad Sattouf, Ismaël Ferroukhi and Jamel Debbouze’s collaboration with Rachid Bouchareb, in the hope that I find alternative and positive occurrences through the representations of French Arabs of Islamic heritage in contemporary visual culture in France. My initial form of visual culture is the graphic novel. I will center on the popular autobiographical graphic memoir series of Sattouf, L’Arabe du Futur, and focus on the way in which he represents French Arab Muslims through his work. The rest of my analysis will deal with French films. Ismaël Ferroukhi is a filmmaker responsible for the seminal work Les Hommes Libres (2011), which seeks to exploit a little-known historical memory of the Islamic resistance during World War II. Similar to Ferroukhi, Bouchareb’s Indigènes is set in World War II, and also seeks to revisit the past in order to impact the contemporary situation of French Arabs of Muslim culture. Through his collaboration with Debbouze, I will seek to explore the critically acclaimed Indigènes. All of these individuals are internationally recognized for their contribution to French visual culture and all of them share a common French Arabic Muslim heritage, yet each of them contributes something quite different. By exploring their work, this research paper seeks to understand more about the issues facing Franco-Arab Muslims and develop insight into how these projects and individuals specific contributions have affected, and continue to affect, popular culture and perceptions of Arabs and Muslims in France.