29: Algerian Cinema & Tom Cruise/Top Gun
Kathleen Norris on ALGERIA IN FILM
We have only to watch the news to see that the legacy of 19th century colonialism is still with us today. The unspeakable brutalities of the Belgian occupation of the Congo have been mirrored in many years of violent unrest there. Algeria is just one example of a nation in which people who once suffered under colonial rule have become trapped between corrupt leaders and the guerrilla fighters who rebel against them.
In 1962, after 8 years of a fierce and bloody rebellion, Algeria gained independence from France. But passions still run hot over the conflict. A recent New York Times article, “Shadows of Algerian War Loom Over Election Campaign in France,” tells of attempts by right-wing politicians to fuel resentment of President Macron’s attempts to heal the wounds of the past, criticizing especially his acknowledgement of crimes committed by the French military and police in both Algeria and at a demonstration in Paris in 1961.
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