Phantasmatic Indochina: French Colonial Ideology In Architecture, Film, And Literature (asia-pacific: Culture, Politics, And Society)
by Panivong Norindr /
1997 / English / PDF
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This reflection on colonial culture argues for an examination of
“Indochina” as a fictive and mythic construct, a phantasmatic
legacy of French colonialism in Southeast Asia. Panivong Norindr
uses postcolonial theory to demonstrate how French imperialism
manifests itself not only through physical domination of
geographic entities, but also through the colonization of the
imaginary. In this careful reading of architecture, film, and
literature, Norindr lays bare the processes of fantasy, desire,
and nostalgia constituent of French territorial aggression
against Indochina.
This reflection on colonial culture argues for an examination of
“Indochina” as a fictive and mythic construct, a phantasmatic
legacy of French colonialism in Southeast Asia. Panivong Norindr
uses postcolonial theory to demonstrate how French imperialism
manifests itself not only through physical domination of
geographic entities, but also through the colonization of the
imaginary. In this careful reading of architecture, film, and
literature, Norindr lays bare the processes of fantasy, desire,
and nostalgia constituent of French territorial aggression
against Indochina.
Analyzing the first Exposition Coloniale Internationale, held in
Paris in 1931, Norindr shows how the exhibition’s display of
architecture gave a vision to the colonies that justified
France’s cultural prejudices, while stimulating the desire for
further expansionism. He critiques the Surrealist
counter-exposition mounted to oppose the imperialist aims of the
Exposition Coloniale, and the Surrealist incorporation and
appropriation of native artifacts in avant-garde works. According
to Norindr, all serious attempts at interrogating French colonial
involvement in Southeast Asia are threatened by discourse,
images, representations, and myths that perpetuate the luminous
aura of Indochina as a place of erotic fantasies and exotic
adventures. Exploring the resilience of French nostalgia for
Indochina in books and movies, the author examines work by
Malraux, Duras, and Claudel, and the films
Analyzing the first Exposition Coloniale Internationale, held in
Paris in 1931, Norindr shows how the exhibition’s display of
architecture gave a vision to the colonies that justified
France’s cultural prejudices, while stimulating the desire for
further expansionism. He critiques the Surrealist
counter-exposition mounted to oppose the imperialist aims of the
Exposition Coloniale, and the Surrealist incorporation and
appropriation of native artifacts in avant-garde works. According
to Norindr, all serious attempts at interrogating French colonial
involvement in Southeast Asia are threatened by discourse,
images, representations, and myths that perpetuate the luminous
aura of Indochina as a place of erotic fantasies and exotic
adventures. Exploring the resilience of French nostalgia for
Indochina in books and movies, the author examines work by
Malraux, Duras, and Claudel, and the filmsIndochine
Indochine,
,The Lover
The Lover, and
, andDien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu.
.
Certain to impact across a range of disciplines,
Certain to impact across a range of disciplines,Phantasmatic
PhantasmaticIndochina
Indochina will be of interest to those
engaged in the study of the culture and history of Vietnam,
Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, as well as specialists in the
fields of French modernism, postcolonial studies, cultural
studies, and comparative literature.
will be of interest to those
engaged in the study of the culture and history of Vietnam,
Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, as well as specialists in the
fields of French modernism, postcolonial studies, cultural
studies, and comparative literature.