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Desplanques, Erwan
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Laughter as an escape from dictatorship
The journalist Erwan Desplanques has interviewed the French historian Amandine Regamey on 'resistance laughter'. The historian has just published a book on derision under the Soviet dictatorship, the cover of which features a picture of Karl Marx sporting a red nose. "In a context of indoctrination, triumphant conformism and the denial of freedoms, this popular culture of dissenting comedy is the manifestation of considerable critical distance - the contrary of a submissive, oppressed society blinded by dominant ideology. ... Humour permits the open attack of targets which may be in high positions but are weakened by the acceptable nature of the chosen form of assault. Some believe that political jokes were invented by the KGB itself in order to allow frustration to be vented while avoiding more serious attacks against the leadership".
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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Russia
All available articles from » Amandine Regamey
Internet, the best weapon against press censorship
The journalist Erwan Desplanques notes that several recent cases of censorship in the French press have been divulged on the Internet. "The information always comes from the Net, which seems to be gaining new strength from the pressure placed on traditional media. The Net also provides an opportunity to get even, or at least to confirm the Net as a real alternative, not always dependable, but always fiercely independent, in the old style of newspapers. ... So an article is censored? Very well, here it is on the Net, sprinkled over a continually growing number of sites. So widespread that it becomes an 'event' recuperated by the headlines transforming the censor's scissors into a boomerang. The written press treated the Internet as a rival for a long time. Now it is discovering how this new technology has also become a guarantee of its freedom."
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More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Online media, » France
Sophie Calle artistic remedy for break-up blues
As the multi media artist Sophie Calle prepares to represent France at the Venice Biennale this summer, the journalists Erwan Desplanques and Virginie Félix have interviewed her about her work. She will be presenting a work inspired by a recent separation. "Two years ago, I received a letter breaking off a relationship I was in. I had already noticed that playing with events in my life helped me to take a step back and adapt to painful situations. So I reclaimed the letter and it worked, the artistic project soon replaced the pining. I got so excited about the idea that I was almost afraid the man might come back. Thus, for the Biennale, I asked women to interpret the letter according to their profession. The proof-reader corrects spelling mistakes, the cruciverbalist creates a cross-word grid, the criminologist draws up a facial composite."
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More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » France, » Italy
All available articles from » Sophie Calle, » Virginie Félix
Where has provocation gone in France?
The arts and culture weekly makes provocation its front-page story, wondering whether it still has any place the French media or arts today. "It left without a word," writes Erwan Desplanques. "In a puff of smoke, gone. Like a proud and stubborn girl in a huff. We waited for her to come back. Then we feared the worst, but there's no such thing as hara kiri without bowing out and bidding farewell. Then we put an ad in the personals: 'Desperately seeking provocation'. So just where did she go? She who happily paraded through the 1970s with comedians Coluche and Desproges, actor Jean Yanne, and Serge Gainsbourg. Did she die with them? After looking everywhere (on TV, in the papers, under the bed), we have set out on a desperate quest, a notebook in one hand, and a net in the other. The risk is that we will catch nothing but the wind."
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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » France
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