Assane- Protagonist, smart, strong
Babakar- Assanes dad, smart, hard working, wrongly accused
Mr Pelligrini- Cruel, demanding, racist
Claire- Assanes ex wife, sympathetic, kind,
Raoul- Assane and Claire’s son, teenage, angsty
Narrative-
Assane is a very clever and cunning man who wants revenge for his father who was wrongfully imprisoned after being accused of stealing a necklace, Assane intends to and succeeds in stealing the necklace.
Assane conducts a heist to try and steal the Marie Antoinette necklace, using very clever tactics and twists including double crossing he succeeds
Assane struggles slightly as a father to connect with his son and ex wife whom with there are still tensions
Released in 2021, success due to the popularity of the heist genre mixed with mystery and action
Is a French production
Themes of racial inequality and class struggles
Gender in Lupin:
Lupin both supports and subverts typical gender stereotypes through its characters, Assane and his Ex Wife Claire
Assane subverts typical gender stereotypes through how he acts and behaves, instead of utilising typical masculine and male stereotypes such as intimidation, anger, brute strength. Assane is very well mannered and calm using his intellect and cunningness rather than the very typical masculine attributes protagonists have. But he also supports typical gender stereotypes by just being male, having a male protagonist who constantly wins and succeeds at everything is very typical and conforms to typical gender stereotypes.
Claire also supports these typical gender stereotypes by fulfilling a very stereotypically feminine role and behaviour, she is very kind, sympathetic and nice toward Assane aswell as her main role in the episode being Raouls mother, a very stereotypically female gender role.
Overall the episode generally supports very stereotypically gender stereotypes but does heavily subvert them at times.
Social Class
The Social classes we represented in the episode are primarily the higher and lower class. We see Assane switching through these through clever disguises and acts as a way for him to succeed. The lower class is represented as aggressive, filthy and unkind. Seen through the home of the people Assane goes to recruit for his heist, the lower class also features mis-en-scene like Graffiti outside of the walls, dark coloured hoodies and trousers. All very stereotypical characteristics of a Lower Class area. While the upper class is represented as Happy, comfortable, clean and fabulous. Assanes interactions with all the Higher class people at the auction are all very polite and positive. Additionally the higher class is essentially exclusively made up of white people, Assane being the only visible person of colour there. Again, very stereotypical and expected characteristics of a higher class event. Overall Social class is represented very stereotypically in the episode and clearly shows the intense divide and difference between social classes.
Lupin Ethnicity
In the episode Assane’s ethnicity is an important part of his story. As a Black man, he faces racism and discrimination in France. Both in the past, shown through the poor and cruel treatment of his father by the pellegrinis, specifically Mr. Pellegrini. This affects how others treat him and helps motivate his actions. Assane uses his intelligence and skills to fight against discriminatory treatment and subvert these extremely stereotypical and racist stereotypes many people apply to him. showing how his background and ethnicity influences his actions and behaviour in the episode.
History & Culture representations
Class struggle & Social Class-
Throughout the episode there is contrasting representations of the upper and lower class, the upper class being represented as narrow, lavish, luxurious and comfortable while the lower class is represented as violent, uncomfortable, unclean etc, We see Assane change through these classes with cunning disguises and acts, additionally he exposes how the upper classes use exploitation and corruption to obtain their wealthy status. Overall the representation is a critique of social inequality especially in France but also in the rest of the world.
Race & Immigration-
The episode heavily incorporates the idea of race, class and privilege. Mostly through the flashback scenes that display the racial inequality when his father was wrongfully arrested due to the racist stereotypes and assumptions from the Pellegrini family. The representation of immigration and struggle with racial inequality in France are influenced by the complex and somewhat negative history France has with race and immigration.
Cultural Significance-
Assane's whole identity of a cunning and skilled thief comes from the book his father gives him that features the character Arsene Lupin, who is a famous french character. It acts as a clear link to the French culture in the series as a whole, having the protagonist be inspired by famous french literature helps define the world and clearly display were the show is set.
Representations of Age
Age in Lupin is represented as both a strength and a weakness, throughout the episode we see adult Assane represent age as a strength. using his experience, wisdom and intelligence to outsmart and trick others. Showing how Assane is clearly in his prime age being able to move and think very quickly. While his father Babakar represents age as a weakness, being older and being treated less equally makes him vulnerable, also emphasising the shows representations and theme of social injustice. When Babakar is wrongfully arrested due to racist stereotypes, he was powerless to do anything. Mostly due to the racist nature of the Pellegrini family but also due to his older age and physical weakness due to his older age. Young Assane also represents age as a weakness, being a child he was unable to do anything to help his father but this injustice is also enhanced by the racist ideology society of France at the time.
Key Representations
The key representations in Lupin are Class inequality, Racial inequality and Revenge. Class inequality is present throughout the episode as we see Lupin cleverly navigate through the classes and how unfair and discriminatory the class inequality within the show is. This representation is most present in the Heist bidding scene, where the polite, classy representations of people completely contrasts the previous representations of the aggressive, messy lower class we saw earlier in the episode. This scene also touches upon the representation of racial inequality, Assane being the only non white person at the Bidding hall. Racial inequality is further and most represented in the flashback scenes with Babakar and the pellegrini's. Showing the violent and racist inequality between Babakar, a black man, working for a very rich white family where Mr. Pellegrini treats him the worst, immediately accusing him, repeatably impolite towards him etc. And finally revenge is also a key representation throughout the episode as the whole narrative is fuelled by Assane trying to avenge his father for being wrongfully accused of stealing a necklace which eventually led to his suicide.
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