Cinematic spaces of a gendered margin

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2023-07-19

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en

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The banlieue is as much a geographical location as it is a dynamic concept and space that is produced and reproduced by social practices. One category of those social practices is formed by representations. The banlieue is constantly represented in media, the political discourse and cultural products. These representations have changed from being dominated by young, male characters to a more diverse variety of characters and producers. Especially in banlieue cinema this change can be perceived. This thesis has examined how banlieue cinema, through the (re)production of space, relates to dominant gender perspectives of the banlieue. Gender perspectives have been analysed with a thematic focus on space, a defining component of banlieue cinema. The research has shown a wide-ranging variety of ways in which banlieue cinema relates to dominant gender perspectives. There are films, with a male or a more female-oriented perspective, that seem to validate the stereotypical gender perspectives on the banlieue by emphasizing the masculine and hierarchical ways in which power is exercised in the banlieue spaces. Gender performances are shown as spatial strategy for both men and women. Other films show a relatively neutral, less hierarchical space in terms of gender, emphasising themes such as community in the banlieue. There is thus not one dominant way in which banlieue films relate to dominant gender perspectives of the banlieue, but it is clear that gender and space play an important role in recent banlieue film.

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