Batt le of Algiers Reaction Paper

The movie Battle of Algiers depicts the initial conflict in the capital of Algeria which soon spread throughout the country and culminated with the French withdrawing their troops. While watching the entire film, one cannot get over the sense of authenticity and realism that permeates through the film maker, Gillo Pontecorvo’s style. I later learned that Pontecorvo himself fought against both the Germans and the fascists in Italy during World War II as a member of the resistance movement. His familiarity with guerilla movements, and his hands-on approach working with the members of the FLN certainly was evident throughout the film.

After the movie, I also learned that the author was heavily influenced both by the writing of France Fanon and, equally important, I believe, Antonio Gramsci. Where as Fanon wrote about the use of violence in dislodging imperial regimes, obviously applicable to the situation in Algiers at the time, the more interesting influence is that of Gramsci’s writings. Gramsci’s major premise about the established hegemony, represented here by the French, is only possible through the cooperation of the subordinate group, represented by the native Algerians. The wars of movements (such as the labor boycott) that he conceptualized are vividly depicted slowly but surely eroding the power of the French through the increasing militant stance towards the French the native Algerians took on. It was the Algerian middle class that the French and FLN were fighting over and which through their brutality the French lost, and through their bravery and uncompromising tactics, the FLN won over. This revival of the middle class, whose identity was destroyed by over 100 years of colonization, was necessary for the defeat of colonization.