Dissent and Resistance: The Representation of the Bodies of People Living with AIDS in Jacques Nolot’s Cinema

Abstract

Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jacques Nolot directed three films: L’Arrière pays (1998), La Chatte a deux Têtes (2002) and Avant que j’oublie (2007). In the latter, Nolot stars as a writer grappling with old age, his identity as a person living with AIDS and the death of a friend and former lover. Building on this premise, the filmmaker/actor explores issues such as the representation of the bodies of people with AIDS from a stance of resistance and dissent. This article examines these themes from different perspectives: the discourse established by activist art in the early years of the AIDS epidemic and the concepts of the political body and dissident bodies as outlined by Paul B. Preciado and Roberto Esposito.