The impact of trauma on the psyche of the individual using the film Belleville Rendez‐vous as an illustrative vehicle

Abstract

Using the film Belleville Rendez-vous as a vehicle for discussion, this paper argues that whilst a traumatic complex may bring about dissociation of the psyche, this is not the only possibility, nor is dissociation necessarily to be seen solely as a difficulty to be overcome. If trauma is experienced within the context of support and validation, the experience of trauma may generate integration not only of the trauma but also of the growth potential that the trauma has previously inhibited.

(Re)cycling in Sylvain Chomet’s Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003): Spokes in the wheels of French exceptionalism and global exploitation?

“…; of the mechanisms of trauma (Waldron, 2008) and of the tensions between French urban centres and banlieues (Austin, 2009). However, this animated film's recurrent references to recycling and to cycles -vehicular, conceptual and economic -have not been explored.…”

“…Sylvain Chomet’s Les Triplettes de Belleville was a surprise hit at Cannes and internationally in 2003, 1 and has attracted a broad spectrum of international scholarly attention. Significant analyses of the film have already considered it in terms of its cross-cultural intertexts (Floquet, 2006); of nostalgia (Place-Verghnes, 2007); of its relationship with the history of animation (McCann, 2008); of the mechanisms of trauma (Waldron, 2008) and of the tensions between French urban centres and banlieues (Austin, 2009). However, this animated film’s recurrent references to recycling and to cycles – vehicular, conceptual and economic – have not been explored.…”