La Haine Post-Modern Dystopia in Essay

The degree to which they are shown as incapable of doing so -- and to which French society is shown as being equally incapable of interacting with them -- illustrate the degree to which a certain cinematic panopticon has been placed around the subjects. From the omniscient perspective of the viewer, there is no apparent escape provided from this disposition.

And in this immobility and the resultant anger that drives the idle lives of the young men in the film, the Kassovitz film emerges as part of an increasingly saturated body of modern cinematic work dedicated to exploring the dystopian realities of modern urban life. While so many depictions of this experience center on the privileged experience of industrialists in generations past, post-industrial life has given way to the cinematic obsession with such experiences as those faced by Vince, Hubert and Said. According to Shannon-Jones (2011), we can define the dystopia as "a fictional society in which life has taken a turn for the worse -- the opposite of a utopia, or 'good place'. In contrast to a utopia, which celebrates individual freedom and well-being, a dystopia is poverty-stricken, subjugated and dehumanised. This sorry state of affairs is usually the botched result of mankind trying and failing to create the perfect society.Global warming, nuclear holocaust, religious fanaticism, animal testing and rampant technological advancements have all been responsible for one dystopia or another" (Shannon-Jones, p. 1)

Ultimately, the experience presented in La Haine falls in line with these films and simultaneously stops short of suggesting any single reason for the experience of his characters. Instead, the film leaves it to the audience to interpret the broader sociological concerns that are at the foundation of the terrible experiences of a single tragic day in the lives of the film's protagonists. In doing so, we are inclined to exit the film with a decidedly dystopian conception of the modern post-industrialized society, with so many accomplishments as those which paint the illuminated backdrop of Paris hiding the seeming underbelly that will eventually claim the lives of Vinz and Hubert. To the viewer, the sheer socioeconomic imbalance and divergence of ethnic experiences in modern day Paris suggest a society where greatness is only achieved as a consequence of the great suffering of others. In the dystopian vision of society, we may perceive the events effecting the trio of Kassovitz's characters as a microcosm of events leading to a much broader civil despair and disorder.

Works Cited:

Friedberg, A. (1994). Window Shopping: Cinema and the Postmodern. University of California.....