Braving blasphemy

Freedom of speech and satire is placed on
trial in Daniel Leconte’s documentary
It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks

HARNESSING HUMOUR: It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks

by CHRISTOPHER SYKES

There’s seldom room for humour in religious debate, something Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten became all too familiar with in 2005. The fallout from publishing 12 caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in an attempt to debate self-censorship and Islamism was enormous. Protests across the Muslim world escalated into violence that claimed over 100 lives. In short, all hell broke loose.

In an act of solidarity—and sensationalism—French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo reprinted the caricatures under the title, “Muhammad overwhelmed by fundamentalists.” Their front page displayed a weeping Prophet Muhammad saying, “It’s hard being loved by jerks.” The publication was condemned by the EU and then-French President Jacques Chirac for being an “overt provocation” towards Muslims. “Anything that can hurt the religious convictions of someone else should be avoided,” Chirac added. Hebdo’s editor, Philippe Val, was promptly sued by the Grand Mosque of Paris and the Union of French Islamic Organizations for inciting hatred. Freedom of speech was placed on trial.

French filmmaker Daniel Leconte takes a humorous—and cynical—look at the Parisian court case in his superb documentary It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks. The Mirror met up with Leconte while he was in town for the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. The charismatic filmmaker voiced his contempt at governments who abandon journalists: “I was surprised the EU condemned Charlie Hebdo and Jyllands-Posten rather than Islamists and their allies. I think it’s the role of the EU to support the freedom of expression, which is the pillar of our world.”

In Jerks, Leconte points out there were few media outlets in France willing to voice an opinion. Only two other papers, France Soir and L’Express, published the caricatures. The editor of Soir was immediately sacked for refusing to kill the piece.

The burden that accompanies rocking the boat was too great for most to voice an opinion. “There was the fear of being called a racist,” Leconte says. “Hebdo was accused of being racist; it’s stupid. The first victim of the Islamists are the Muslims themselves. The most numerous people killed by the Islamists are Muslim. That’s why the trial was so important: to create a democratic space to debate without being labelled extreme right-wingers.”

Defending the satirical stance

The powder keg theme of the film also had repercussions for Leconte as a filmmaker. “I tried to get support from French TV channels to co-produce the film and some of them told me, ‘Are you crazy? Do you want a bomb in my station?’ It means that the fear—which is the purpose of these terrorist groups—works very well.”

When asked about the comical tone of Jerks and its perceived complicity with Hebdo’s staff, Leconte doesn’t hide his personal opinions. “My film is not one of a journalist, it’s one of an auteur. It’s important as an auteur to voice my point of view, and I do that. The difference between me and a filmmaker like Michael Moore is he doesn’t try to explain the point of view of his enemy. He discredits him from the beginning. That’s not my case at all. It’s in my interest to explain the arguments of my contradictors.”

Leconte smiles and continues: “A world without satire is not a human world. I was a journalist during the Cold War years and humour was the last means of the Soviet people to resist because it meant taking a stance against the dictatorship. Now we confront another form of dictatorship. Nazism was one, Stalinism another and Islamism is a third kind of totalitarianism. Humour is a way to contest this totalitarianism. It’s a weapon of mass destruction against stupidity.”

Jerks ends emphatically with George Kiejman, the lawyer for Hebdo, describing a particularly comical moment that underlines the absurdity of the case. The plaintiffs are grumbling that they only want equal treatment for their religion. Kiejman notes that Catholicism, Judaism and Buddhism are regularly caricatured in Hebdo, and adds sardonically that they should be careful what they ask for.

The scene has a wonderfully Dr. Strangelove-esque “there will be no fighting in the war room” feel to it. While there’s little doubt as to how the case will end, Leconte agrees the scene sums up the trial brilliantly. “I think that’s the first moment I felt sure we were going to win. When your opponent is laughing with you, it’s all over.”

IT’S HARD BEING LOVED BY JERKS
OPENS THIS FRIDAY, OCT. 24