Dieudonné: Anti-Semitism, moral panics and deviant community

Based on research into several of Dieudonné’s shows, this article analyses the articulation between anti-Semitism and reactionary criticism of Western societies centred on the disappearance of heterosexual norms. We show that the adherence to this link is all the stronger as it is expressed in the space-time of public performances, where Dieudonné stages his stigmatization as much as he transcends it. In interaction with an audience also feeling stigmatized, a “deviant community” is thus formed, taking pleasure in transgressing “prohibitions” perceived as contributing to the moral collapse of Western societies.