Abstract:
Beyond its social dimension and its power of emotion, music has issues of
power and certain political logics can lead to its instrumentalization. The history
of humanity gives evidence of music to music annexed by political regimes, but
in addition all music holding identities and values that appeal to tolerance and
resistance.
The interest of this article concerns the political aim of the music in two
documentary films of propaganda and counter-propaganda on Algeria in the
colonial period: Algeria seen by the French authorities in 1958 | INA’s Archives,
and Algeria in Flame by René Vautier. Both of these productions that represent
two opposing political visions since one is favorable to the colonial occupation
and the other refutes it. The idea is to discover how these two productions manage
music as a narrative tool to reinforce the feeling of identity and convey a political
discourse.
