Abjection, Place and the Modern City Paris in Jacques Tati's Play Time

This thesis explores how cinema contributes to our knowledge of the modern city by examining Jacques Tati’s representation of Paris in his 1967 comedy film Play Time. In the ultra-hygienic modern city depicted in the film, nature has become abject, resulting in its removal from the city. Hence, the threat of the abject keeps the modern citizen under control; this control is embedded in the rational, desensitised, modern architecture, which plays a significant role in creating this city.