From Autoroute to AutoBioBD: The Minority Voice in Bande Dessinée by David Cooper A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Master of Philosophy College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham July 2010 v7 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract The world of the graphic novel has become a popular topic for academic discussion in recent decades and this wide range of work is discussed and built upon here in order to explore the theme of minority voice in the Francophone arena of bande dessinée. This exploration is centred on discovering how and why artists and groups have used the medium to bring their voice to an ever- increasing BD readership. A range of approaches is taken to achieve this, from examining the formal structures of the medium to considering the historical and political influences on contemporary albums. This thesis begins by defining the term minority in the context of the graphic novel and explaining the role which autobiographical bande dessinée, or the neogenre of AutoBioBD, will play in its discussion. It then considers a range of albums in which the minority identity and voice of the artist focus on nationality, theme and race. Finally the thesis examines the work of two artists produced in the 1990s, Baru and Fabrice Neaud. Baru’s road movie inspired Autoroute du Soleil and Neaud’s autobiographical Journal project form two of the major case studies in the final chapters, and lend the thesis part of its title. [1] Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 5 0.1 Bande dessinée ........................................................................................................................ 5 0.2 Minority Voice and Autobiography ......................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1 | Minority Voice and Autobiography in Bande Dessinée ................................................. 8 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Definition of Terms.................................................................................................................. 9 1.2a The Minority ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.2b Minority Studies ................................................................................................................ 11 1.2c Autobiography, Autofiction and AutoBioBD ..................................................................... 13 1.3 Politics and bande dessinée................................................................................................... 17 1.4 Minority BD Case Studies ...................................................................................................... 18 1.4a Minority Nationality: Frédéric Boilet ................................................................................. 19 1.4b Minority Theme: Delisle, Chroniques birmanes ................................................................ 21 1.4c Minority Race: Spiegelman, Maus: A Survivor’s a Tale ..................................................... 22 1.4d AutoBioBD: Satrapi, Persepolis .......................................................................................... 24 1.4e AutoBioBD: Trondheim, Approximativement .................................................................... 25 Chapter 2 | Baru ......................................................................................................................... 28 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Culture versus Identity: France and the cité ......................................................................... 29 2.3 Baru’s bande dessinée ........................................................................................................... 32 2.4 L’Autoroute du Soleil (1995) .................................................................................................. 36 2.4a Voice in L’Autoroute du Soleil............................................................................................ 37 2.4b Baru’s Apportionment of Voice ......................................................................................... 40 2.5 Bonne Année (1998) .............................................................................................................. 44 Chapter 3 | Fabrice Neaud’s Journal Project ................................................................................ 48 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 48 3.2 Concepts for Analysis in Journal ............................................................................................ 50 3.2a Face ................................................................................................................................... 50 3.2b Circles ................................................................................................................................ 51 [2] 3.3 The Diarist’s Voice ................................................................................................................. 54 3.3a Identification of Voice ....................................................................................................... 54 3.3b The Minority Voice of AutoBioBD ..................................................................................... 57 3.3c Journal as AutoBioBD ........................................................................................................ 58 3.4 Formal Visual Resources ....................................................................................................... 59 3.4a Surroundings and Backgrounds ......................................................................................... 59 3.4b Points of View .................................................................................................................... 61 3.4c The Lines of the Frame ...................................................................................................... 63 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 65 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 68 Appendix A | Bande dessinée and Film ............................................................................................. 69 Appendix B | BD Culture ................................................................................................................... 70 Appendix C | www.expobaru.com .................................................................................................... 72 Appendix D | INSEE Data ................................................................................................................... 73 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 74 [3] Table of Figures Figure 1.1 | Love Hôtel .......................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 1.2 | Chroniques birmanes ......................................................................................................... 21 Figure 1.3 | Die Suche ........................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 1.4 | Persepolis (Tome 3) ........................................................................................................... 24 Figure 1.5 | Persepolis (2007) ............................................................................................................... 25 Figure 1.6 | Approximativement ........................................................................................................... 27 Figure 2.1 | A blast furnace in Uckange ................................................................................................ 29 Figure 2.2 | Le saut de l’ange ................................................................................................................ 30 Figure 2.3 | Comics by Farid Boudjellal ................................................................................................. 31 Figure 2.4 | “The Fastest way from Paris to London” ........................................................................... 32 Figure 2.5 | A Lyonnais zone à urbaniser en priorité ............................................................................ 34 Figure 2.6