1 An introduction to modern Algerian history and politics
-
Guy Austin
Abstract
Algeria combines an ancient Berber culture with the historical influence of diverse invasions and colonial occupations. An attempt to wrest Algerian identity away from colonial constructions, as well as a mythologising of lost national unity, is central to much Algerian cinema. Modern Algeria is however officially an Islamic state and its national language is Arabic: both legacies of the Arab invasion that began in 647. The Algerian war or Algerian revolution began with an insurrection in the Aurès mountains in the east of the country on 1 November 1954. Forced by the French into internment camps, or fleeing to slums on the edge of the northern cities, Algerians were systematically cut off from their family networks and their larger clan or tribal connections. Under Boumediene, the influence of the military on the Algerian state only increased: 'A partner in 1962, the army was now the arbiter of Algerian politics'.
Abstract
Algeria combines an ancient Berber culture with the historical influence of diverse invasions and colonial occupations. An attempt to wrest Algerian identity away from colonial constructions, as well as a mythologising of lost national unity, is central to much Algerian cinema. Modern Algeria is however officially an Islamic state and its national language is Arabic: both legacies of the Arab invasion that began in 647. The Algerian war or Algerian revolution began with an insurrection in the Aurès mountains in the east of the country on 1 November 1954. Forced by the French into internment camps, or fleeing to slums on the edge of the northern cities, Algerians were systematically cut off from their family networks and their larger clan or tribal connections. Under Boumediene, the influence of the military on the Algerian state only increased: 'A partner in 1962, the army was now the arbiter of Algerian politics'.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of illustrations vi
- Preface vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- 1 An introduction to modern Algerian history and politics 1
- 2 A brief history of Algerian cinema 20
- 3 The war of liberation on screen 33
- 4 Representing gender 61
- 5 Berber cinema, historical and ahistorical 100
- 6 After ‘Black October’ 121
- 7 Screening the ‘invisible war’ 141
- 8 Memory and identity 158
- 9 Conclusion 173
- Filmography 192
- Index 195
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of illustrations vi
- Preface vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- 1 An introduction to modern Algerian history and politics 1
- 2 A brief history of Algerian cinema 20
- 3 The war of liberation on screen 33
- 4 Representing gender 61
- 5 Berber cinema, historical and ahistorical 100
- 6 After ‘Black October’ 121
- 7 Screening the ‘invisible war’ 141
- 8 Memory and identity 158
- 9 Conclusion 173
- Filmography 192
- Index 195
