Caustic L aughter or R esistance L aughter? The Politicisation of Laughing in Le mécano du vendredi of Fellag

Résumé

“There is consent in a smile, while a laugh is often a refusal”, said Victor Hugo in his book The Man Who Laughs. One point of view shared between him and Fellag, who has always used laughter to express his protest. Through theatre or through his multiple writings, Fellag titillate the feelings of his young Algerians Audience, with his derisively daring humor, leading them into a kind of retrospective meditation about notions of life and the future in Algeria. And it's in this funny atmosphere, certainly, but ambiguous, doubtfully hilarious, that he delivers us the story of Youcef's daily life: A thirty-eight years old Algerian, wading into 1988's Alger, an academic, nevertheless deprived of situation. In technical unemployment, he considers himself as “a retired”, since for two years now, state television has exempted him from his duties as a director, while ensuring that his salary is regular.A sarcastic narration punctuated by implicit criticism, Fellag is obviously making mockery a real game of divers contestations.