Out of this world: the lunar imaginaries of cinéma-monde

Abstract

This article investigates the ways in which cinéma-monde imagines itself “universally” by examining how it portrays its relation to the cosmos, the universe beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. Analyzing Yamina Bachir-Chouikh’s 2002 Rachida, Jean-Pierre Bekolo’s 2005 Les saignantes, and Jean-Marc Vallée’s 2005 C.R.A.Z.Y., this article asks how a consideration of cinéma-monde’s perspective on outer space might allow us to conceive of the “kaleidoscope of Cinéma-monde” (Gott and Schilt) as a planetary phenomenon. The article also explores how imaginations of outer space reconfigure cinéma-monde’s margins in terms of gender and sexuality.