Le Temps Des Copains: Youth and the Making of Modern France in the Era of Decolonization, 1958-1968

LE TEMPS DES COPAINS: YOUTH AND THE MAKING OF MODERN FRANCE IN THE ERA OF DECOLONIZATION, 1958-1968 by DREW M. FEDORKA B.A. University of Central Florida, 2012 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2015 Major Professor: Amelia H. Lyons © 2015 Drew M. Fedorka ii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the popular yé-yé phenomenon and its role in articulating a vision of modern France in the aftermath of decolonization. Yé-yé, a teen-oriented and music-based popular culture that flourished from roughly 1962-1966, was in a unique position to define what it meant to be young in 1960s France. I argue that the yé-yé popular culture, through its definition of youth, provided an important cultural channel through which to articulate a modern French identity after the Algerian War (1954-1962). Using a combination of advertisements, articles, and sanitized depictions of teenage pop singers, the yé-yé popular culture constructed an idealized vision of adolescence that coupled a technologically-savvy and consumer-oriented outlook with a distinctly conservative, apolitical, and inclusive social stance. It reflected France’s reorientation toward a particular technological and consumer modernity while simultaneously serving to obscure France’s recent colonial past and the dubious legacy of imperialism. To contextualize yé-yé, this thesis begins by examining the blousons noirs (black jackets) and the societal anxieties that surrounded them in the early Fifth Republic (1958-1962). By tracking the abrupt shift from the blousons noirs to yé-yé in predominant media representations of youth, this thesis provides a unique vantage point with which to interpret dominant discourses of the Gaullist Fifth Republic and its attempt to reinvent France into a modernized and decolonized consumer republic. As the work suggests, it was not a coincidence that the optimistic yé-yé youth, unburdened by the tribulations of France’s recent past, appeared in full force within months following the recognition of Algerian independence in 1962. iii To friends and family, who make all this worthwhile iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Amelia Lyons. She has been an important and invaluable presence during my graduate (and undergraduate) education. As a constant source of encouragement and support, she has always pushing me to work harder, to think more critically, and to look for ways to improve my writing and research. Of all of the people I have been fortunate enough to work with during my time in graduate school, she has undoubtedly been the most influential. I would also like to thank my committee members, Richard Crepeau and Deepa Nair. Both have contributed to my research in their own ways and I know my project is improved as a result of their feedback. This research would not have been possible without the help of archivists and librarians, both here at the University of Central Florida and abroad. In France, the librarians at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Bibliothèque Forney proved very accommodating. Additionally, because it consumed the majority of my time in France, I have particularly fond memories of my time working in the Mediathèque Musicale de Paris. The staff was always courteous and helpful, providing timely book recommendations and helpful tips. Closer to home, Joanie Reynolds and the UCF Interlibrary Loan Office always made my research easier. Among the ILL Office’s many feats, the one that remains especially impressive was their retrieval of numerous years’ worth of the weekly magazine L’Express (and no, not in microfilm). Equally impressive was their patience in allowing me to peruse the issues of the magazine at my own slow, deliberate pace over the course of several months, all the while an entire countertop in their office was rendered unusable. In short, they are a special and invaluable resource. v Elsewhere on campus, numerous colleges and departments enriched my experience. The History Department has been a valuable source of support. Individual professors, including Rosalind Beiler, Peter Larson, Connie Lester, Edward Dandrow, and Daniel Murphree, spent time, often at length, talking to me about my project and about research in general. Even if it was just casual conversation to them, their feedback and insight always proved helpful. The College of Graduate Studies has afforded me many opportunities along the way. The RAMP Graduate Fellowship, awarded by the college, provided me generous financial support for a good portion of my graduate education. The college also granted me several fellowships that greatly facilitated my travel to academic conferences. When I was an undergraduate, Michael Aldarondo-Jeffries, the Director of the Research and Mentoring Program, and Kimberly Schneider, the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, both opened many doors for me during my transition to graduate school. Years later, their guidance is still not forgotten. I also want to acknowledge Richard Jobs, who offered vital feedback early in this project. He gave me important themes and ideas to consider as I pursued my research. At the various academic conferences I attended during my graduate education, I had an opportunity to present early versions of the research contained herein. At the New England Historical Association Spring Conference, Philip Mosley, a fellow presenter on my panel, spent a good portion of the morning talking with me about my project. His recollections of growing up in southern England during the 1960s and practicing his French by listening on his transistor radio to transmissions broadcast from France somehow made this project more meaningful for me. At the PCB-AHA conference in Portland, my two co-panelists, Daniel McClure and Ryan Shaffer, made recommendations that have subsequently improved my research. vi Also, I want to thank Michel Brillié, who I met serendipitously while working in a Paris research library. Not only did he permit me to conduct an oral history interview, in which we discussed his time working at the radio station Salut les copains and his memories of the 1960s, he also treated me to an exciting evening out on the town. The friends and colleagues who have accompanied me through the graduate program were always there when I needed them. They provided many moments of levity during our time together, and they had impressive patience for both my moments of self-doubt and for my occasional grumbling. Whenever asked, they always offered their time. Ella Gibson was my constant history conference companion; as we worked on our own respective projects, we presented research together at conferences in Florida, Massachusetts, and Oregon. Kristian Steele and Meghan Vance spent a lot of time reviewing earlier drafts. Ian Marsh helped me in the always monotonous task of copy-editing. Naturally, he deserves blame for any remaining typos or formatting errors. Kevin Mercer and Daniel Velásquez were always supportive and offered well-timed words of encouragement. Finally, my family deserves acknowledgment for their constant support during my education. They have made it very clear that they are proud of me and my work. Their unwavering encouragement made this process much easier. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: DEFINING TEENAGE CONSUMPTION IN THE ERA OF THE BLOUSONS NOIRS, 1958-1962 ........................................................................................................................ 18 The Blousons Noirs and Juvenile Delinquency in the Early Fifth Republic ............................ 20 Mass Culture, Americanization, and the Question of Juvenile Delinquency ........................... 29 French Rock and Roll and the Legacy of the Blousons Noirs .................................................. 36 CHAPTER 2: ENVISIONING MODERN FRANCE IN THE TEMPS DES COPAINS, 1962- 1966............................................................................................................................................... 46 The Rise of Yé-Yé...................................................................................................................... 47 Inclusion and Exclusion in a Modernized France ..................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 3: YOUTH AND CONSUMPTION DURING LES ANNÉES YÉ-YÉ, 1962-1966 ... 74 The Automobile ........................................................................................................................ 78 Ready-to-Wear Fashion ............................................................................................................ 87 CHAPTER 4: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY IN THE YÉ-YÉ PHENOMENON, 1962-1966 ...... 98 The Marriage Ideal .................................................................................................................. 102 Envisioning the Ideal Mother and Housewife ........................................................................ 106 Containing Youth Sexuality .................................................................................................... 117 EPILOQUE: THE DECLINE OF YÉ-YÉ, 1966-1968 ................................................................ 122 LIST OF REFERENCES ...........................................................................................................

Load more