Their neighborhoods sometimes make the front page of newspapers they don’t read, or news stories they don’t watch. Sofia, Malika, Beldi and Yousra, four teenagers from Corbeil-Essonnes, sometimes see extracts « a scrollant on TikTok ». Their own way of getting information. The news is far from being their priority and yet, for the past few weeks, this handful of young people from the Moulin-Galant neighborhood center in Corbeil-Essonnes have been taking part in a weekly media education workshop focusing on video. , the format they consume the most.
This Wednesday, March 29, with journalist Céline Beaury, member of the La Friche collective (see marks), and videographer Félix Seiler, they filmed interviews with other teenagers for two hours, in the neighborhood center next door, that of La Nacelle. The opportunity to understand how information is produced, but also to reclaim a media narrative from which they feel excluded.
Take up topics that affect them
The previous week, they chose the two themes on which they would investigate and prepared their questions. “The objective is to make them work on subjects that interest them, by which they feel concerned”, explains Céline Beaury. After many ideas, in particular discrimination in the search for employment – or, in their case, third-level internships –, it is finally the fights and the drugs that are essential.
“When the media talk about it, it’s always by making young people in the neighborhoods look like savages. There, we give them the floor, to also show that they are not all in it, or that if they are part of it, it is often because they have no choice “, describes Malika, 18, oldest member of the group. For her and the other participants in the workshop, between the ages of 13 and 15, a brawl is not just a headline or a news item in the press. It is a reality that affects their movements, their activities, even their school orientation and which, sometimes, carries relatives or acquaintances.
It remains to convince the young people of the Nacelle district to sit down facing the camera. “Where is the video going to be broadcast? », is wary Malo (1), like his four comrades after him. “Perhaps on the site of the neighborhood house. Don’t worry, you won’t be on TV. Felix reassures him. But that’s not enough. Negotiations begin: “And if we didn’t film your face, would you agree? » By dint of solicitations, the five teenagers end up giving in, on condition that they are masked or that only their hands are framed.
Learn the delicate art of interviewing
Once the technical questions have been evacuated, Yousra grabs the camera and Malika the question sheet. The REC button pressed, the joyous agitation that reigned until then dissipates. Everyone wants to do well. Félix and Céline pose as guides, ready to intervene if necessary, without imposing anything, all in suggestions and proposals.
“Have you ever been in a brawl?” », begins Malika. « Non. – Have you ever witnessed a fight? – Oui. » To get a slightly more detailed answer, you will have to dig deeper, be curious, feel how far the interviewee is capable of going…
Following the advice given by Céline and Félix a little earlier, Malika bounces back, asks for details, detaches herself from her file to adapt the thread of the interview, like a true news professional. Opposite, Beldi’s nervous laughter stops, his tone hardens as he recounts his experience.
The interviews are edited by Félix. “But I explained to them last week how it worked,” he specifies. “I didn’t know that you could cut pieces of sentences or add them, to the point of changing someone’s words. Now I pay a little more attention when I watch videos, I ask myself more questions,” testifies Malika.
Next to her, Beldi asks Félix if he can borrow his camera to practice. All are curious, eager to give voice and to seize it.
Next stage of the workshop, in a week: organize and shoot a debate set, still on drugs and brawls in Corbeil, with the common thread of the interviews. The speakers, as well as the young people, seem impatient to meet again for the next workshop. Celine confirms: “Each time, I have the impression that they taught me more than the reverse. »
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A collaborative information factory
La Friche, for Reasoned Factory of Collaborative, Horizontal and Emancipatory Information, is a collective of journalists, artists, documentary filmmakers and photographers. The association organizes media and information education (EMI) workshops, but also training for professionals wishing to become players in the field. Its members are at the origin of the A Critical Media Literacy Handbook » (Éd. du commun, 2021) and the review Backlightconstructed from workshops, meetings and residences of EMI, the first issue of which is to be published in April.