Représentation, performance et réception dans Le Comte de Bouderbala de Sami Ameziane : La société française actuelle au prisme de l'humour

• Main Author: Chatagner, Morgane
• Format: Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: University of Louisiana at Lafayette 2015
• Subjects: Modern language; sami
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1592904

This thesis aims to study stand-up comedies as an oral and humoristic performance in today’s French society. In the sense that these shows are mainly produced by minorities, often from Maghrebi descendants, this work asks the ethno racial question within France’s boundaries. Based on oral tradition and humor theories, the author wondered in what ways stand-up comedies as oral productions could unveil the realities and concerns of modern French society. The author chooses to focus her analysis on the current show Comte de Bouderbala by Sami Ameziane, a young French comedian of Algerian descendants and whose show addresses current issues, such as immigration, identity, or the political and educational French systems. To answer her original question, the author divides this work in two main parts: “Performance” and “Humor”, both of which are the two main components of stand-up comedies. These elements are analyzed separately, sometimes from the perspective of the performer and the production, other times from the perspective of the spectators and the reception. After isolating the performance aspect from the humoristic one, the author concludes that several analysis points overlap, such as the statements and messages transmitted during those performances, as well as the temporary reversal of the social power and the social recognition obtained thanks to those representations. Stand-up comedies, and more specifically Comte de Bouderbala, can be seen as a reflection of and about modern French society. A society that seems to refuse to admit the controversial situation, at its heart, in which ethno racial minorities – especially the Beur minority – find themselves.