Television Fiction as a Revealer of Urban Social Imaginary in Algeria (The Case of the Series Eddama)

Abstract

"Eddama," a television fiction broadcast during the month of Ramadan in 2023, is discussed in this article as a reflection of urban social imaginary, encompassing the representations of settings, character development, and skillfully crafted power dynamics within this fiction. The central question revolves around how Algiers, Oran, and Constantine inhabitants perceive themselves in this context. It is crucial to delve deeply into this question as the sometimes-vehement reactions sparked by the series' broadcast warrant thorough analysis. While the presented fiction represents a compilation of shared representations within urban society, as we will examine throughout this study, the responses it elicits also merit close examination. Immersed in the realm of urban research, focusing on the analysis of social representations and urban social imaginary in Algeria, the soap opera allows us to test the veracity of the system of social representations observed in so-called "popular" neighborhoods.