« Rire et faire rire de la guerre : Kaamelott (M6, 2005-2010) ou la mise à distance du conflit »

The French TV series Kaamelott (M6, 2005-2010) seems to solve the paradox of representing never ending wars and a culture of violence through a light and humorous tone, which is characteristic of this short comic program for the whole family. This series of medieval inspiration develops a constant m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Justine Breton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Groupe de Recherche Identités et Cultures 2016-12-01
Series:TV Series
Subjects:
war
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/tvseries/1796
Description
Summary:The French TV series Kaamelott (M6, 2005-2010) seems to solve the paradox of representing never ending wars and a culture of violence through a light and humorous tone, which is characteristic of this short comic program for the whole family. This series of medieval inspiration develops a constant martial theme, but tones it down by a comical aesthetic and structure. Through the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Kaamelott consists in a parody and proposes a burlesque point of view on both warfare and the armies’ role. Arthurian military power is mainly developed in a humoristic way. Thus, war is the very heart of the series but is never directly pictured: through linguistic and thematic diversions, laughter and ridicule substitute themselves to the context of military violence. Consequently, Kaamelott underlines the fact that creating comedy while representing war necessarily implies a diversion from conflict, a desacralization of a superficial and suggested violence.
ISSN:2266-0909