This document provides discussion questions and lesson goals for analyzing representations in the film La Haine. It focuses on representations of gender, age, ethnicity, place, and social groups. Specifically, it examines the representations of youth culture, family life, women, and other groups through scenes and activities depicted in the film. The goal is to understand how the film portrays these groups and what perspective or impression the director aims to give through these representations.

1. Representation in La Haine
Lesson Goal:
To analysis the way the film represents
gender, age, ethnicity, place and social
groups

2. Representation
• Most of the characters are young men
• The director is presenting us a certain
perspective – representing life as seen only
through their eyes.
• What they experience (negativity/aggression)
is part of daily life but does not tell the whole
story

3. Family Life
1. What other family members do we see?
2. What do we see them doing and/or saying
3. How do our main characters react to their
own families and to their friends families?
Look at the scenes at 8:14, 33:58, and 43:02

4. Women
4. What women do we see?
5. What do we see them wearing and how do they
act?
6. What impression are we given of them?
7. How do each of our characters react to them?
8. Does the inclusion of these women allow us to
see a different side to the men’s characters?
Think about the scenes from the last slide and
1:12:52

5. Youth Culture
• As we following Vinz, Said and Hubert through
their daily life we are presented with a very
definite perspective of youth culture through
what we are, and are not, shown
• With a partner make a list of all the activities we
see the three characters involved in.
• Now re-arrange your list to place the most
frequently seen activities at the top, down to the
least frequent at the bottom. What impression
are we given of youth?

6. Youth Culture
9. What positive activities do we see the boys involved
in?
10. What activities might have taken place throughout
the day that we do not see?
11. Why do you think the filmmaker chose to represent
youth this way? How do you feel about this?
12. What older people do we encounter? How would you
describe them?
13. What do the older characters bring to the film?
14. What are the boys reactions to them?
Use the following scenes to help: 55:45, 50:54

7. Youth Culture
15.What other films have you seen with similar
representations of youth?
16.Who do you think are the audience for these
films?
17.How does La Haine compare with City of
God?

8. Other Representation
• Move around the room and add comments to
the sheets about the representations of
– Place
– Police
– Place (Les banlieus and Paris)
– Ethnicity

9. Homework
• Complete the sheets in the booklet that relate
to Representation (four key scenes)
• Try and focus on Representation of Place
(Paris and Les Banlieus), Ethnicity and police
and then one other that relates to Youth
Culture