This project presents a creative short story titled Valeurs Faciales, which explores the relationship between social mobility, identity, and class in contemporary France. The narrative follows Léo, a man who grows up in the Parisian banlieues and later succeeds in entering elite professional circles through finance and marriage. Although he achieves economic success, his past resurfaces and ultimately destabilizes the identity he attempted to construct. The story examines the tension between origin and ambition, questioning whether social ascent can truly allow someone to escape their background.
The project draws inspiration from several literary and cinematic works that address ambition, social hierarchy, and structural inequality. Guy de Maupassant's Bel-Ami informs the portrayal of ambition and strategic social advancement, while Honoré de Balzac's Le Père Goriot influences the moral dimension of social ascent, particularly through the figure of the sacrificial parent. Michel Houellebecq's Extension du domaine de la lutte contributes a more contemporary perspective, presenting relationships as increasingly shaped by competition and market logic. In addition, films such as Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine and Ladj Ly's Les Misérables inspire the representation of the banlieue as a space marked by social exclusion and institutional tension.
The narrative is also informed by sociological work on inequality and urban segregation in the Paris region, as well as theoretical reflections on capitalism and identity, including Mark Fisher's concept of "capitalist realism." By combining literary inspiration with socio-urban context, Valeurs Faciales explores the psychological and social limits of reinvention and suggests that while wealth can transform one's position in society, it cannot fully erase the past.