Representations of 1968 in French popular music: the case of Dominique Grange

Haworth, Rachel

Abstract

Focusing on the songs written during 1968–69 presented on the album L'Utopie toujours…(2004) by Dominique Grange, this article discusses some of the representations of key themes of 1968 in song. Grange is a politically engaged singer-songwriter who, whilst enjoying limited commercial success, was very much involved with the 1968 protest movement in Paris and was subsequently linked with various Maoist organisations throughout the 1970s. Her songs constitute an immediate response to the events of 1968 and reflect many of the key themes of the period as identified by Kristin Ross, whose seminal work on May ’68 provides the starting point for the article. The themes of disruption, displacement and reappropriation that Ross identifies in the movement generally are analysed within the context of Grange's songs. In particular the representations of these themes in the context of political contestation, the occupation of space and the seizing of speech are considered. This analysis will ultimately show how Grange's songs highlight the complex nature of the cultural construction that is 1968.

Citation

Haworth, R. (2008). Representations of 1968 in French popular music: the case of Dominique Grange. Modern & contemporary France / ASM & CF, 16(2), 181-194. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639480801975909

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Apr 8, 2008
• Publication Date: 2008
• Print ISSN: 0963-9489
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9869
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 181-194
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09639480801975909
• Keywords: Cultural Studies; Sociology and Political Science; History
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/417480
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09639480801975909