This  week’s assignment is worth double points.  Please watch this famous  movie “The Battle of Algiers” carefully.  It’s in French, so you need to  click “closed captions” and select “English” for subtitles.  The film  is incredible significant and depicts the Algerian people’s struggle to  decolonize from the French after news of the famous battle of Dien Bien  Phu and the success of Vietnamese freedom fighters.  

As you watch the movie, pay careful attention to and take notes on the following:

Ali La Pointe (The main character, a simple, illiterate Algerian  villager whose awakening and understanding of French oppression  represents the awakening of the Algerian people)

The French General and his use of torture, violent intimidation, and brutal crackdowns

The role of terrorism

How the French broke the Algerian revolutionaries

The reasons for the ultimate success of the revolution

Role of women

Role of Islam as unification force, plus secular aspect of the revolutionaries

Role of the media/global fallout

Write a summary with specific personal reaction, details, and  insight on these topics mentioned above.  Tie it to the broader  decolonization and liberation movements, like Vietnam.

Algeria was not a French “colony” in the sense that Vietnam was.  It  was considered a French “state” like Hawaii or Alaska is to the US.   There were several million French people living in Algeria and  exploiting the local population, using the land, resources, etc.  Those  people didn’t want France to leave Algeria and even threatened violence  in France to stop the departure from Algeria. The Algerian  revolutionaries were intellectuals (modern, sophisticated, understanding  the global issues).  They wanted a SECULAR Algeria, free and  independent.  

The French engaged in SEVERE torture of Algerians for many years.