Abd al Malik’s “Meta-French” Perspective: An Audiovisual Approach to French Universalism and Difference-Consciousness

This article develops an audiovisual approach attuned to the lyrical and musical décalages between the sonic and the scopic in three of Abd al Malik’s most celebrated albums: Gibraltar (2006), Dante (2008), and Scarifications (2015). I propose that this audiovisual approach unlocks Abd al Malik’s “m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:L'Esprit créateur 2019-07, Vol.59 (2), p.120-133
Main Author: Knox, Katelyn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
African American literature
Alighieri, Dante (1265-1321)
Ambiguity
Consciousness
Critical theory
Cultural studies
Double consciousness
Ethnicity
Italian literature
Literary canon
Literary characters
Literary criticism
Literary devices
Logic
Otherness
Race
Rap music
Stereotypes
Universalism
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Summary:This article develops an audiovisual approach attuned to the lyrical and musical décalages between the sonic and the scopic in three of Abd al Malik’s most celebrated albums: Gibraltar (2006), Dante (2008), and Scarifications (2015). I propose that this audiovisual approach unlocks Abd al Malik’s “meta-French” perspective that underscores how difference-consciousness pervades French republican universalism. Ultimately, the works I analyze borrow from and build on French cultural patrimony to reveal how notions of Frenchness and alterity circulate in contemporary French media, all the while participating in these same processes.
ISSN:0014-0767
1931-0234
1931-0234
DOI:10.1353/esp.2019.0020