Fast Cars, Clean Bodies – Decolonization & the Reordering of French Culture: Decolonization and the Reordering of French Culture

Kristin Ross brilliantly unpacks how postwar France reconstructed its identity through consumer culture—fast cars and modern hygiene—while simultaneously burying the trauma of decolonisation. This sharp cultural history reveals how domestic modernisation became a distraction from Algeria and Indochina, reshaping what it meant to be French. Perfect for readers fascinated by how nations use consumer fantasies to forget uncomfortable truths, or anyone curious about the hidden links between washing machines and empire.