ETHNIC CLEANING!

I'm writing a term paper on 'ethnic cleaning' (not

cleansing) i.e.- the relationship between ethnicity and

the act of 'cleaning', cleaning products and their marketing

(i.e.-soap ads.)and also obviously the title is a pun on

words- the threat of European (fascist) history repeating

itself....  There are three English-speaking European films

with cleaning scenes which

comically use this link between ideas about race and

significations surroundig cleaning and cleanliness.

These are

-  Bagdad Cafe/Out of Rosenheim  (Adlon)

-  Stranger than Paradise  (Jarmusch?)

-  I was on Mars (?)

 

Can anybody out there think of some other films which have

distinct scenes in them where a central character is doing

some cleaning, where these distinct scenes play around with

the significations of clean,pure,white vs. otherising

equation of black with filth....?  Or any films which are

about Europe's past and constructed notions of ethnic

purity and necessary clansing?

  By studying this area I hope to problematise the idea of

race itself.

----------------------

trevor barton

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