Introduction Mon Oncle is a comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. It was released on 10 May 1958. It was the first of Tati’s works in color. The reception by critics was overwhelmingly good with the film winning several awards. Overall, it was the most successful work by Tati. The protagonist of the movie – Monsieur Hulot – is an individual that does not fit in the society represented in the film, yet this character is immediately easy to empathize with and understand. Hulot’s main moving force is his conflict with France in its period after the war took place, the architecture that characterizes it, and the dominant consumerism. Tati is famous for his usage of visuals that are aimed at supporting the thoughts and comedy presented in his films, and Mon Oncle is not an exception. All in all, the film is highly satirical and focuses on showing the lowest points of yet-to-be French consumer society. The modernization and traditions both find their way into the movie creating a sharp contrast to represent just into what the French society may evolve. Representations of Modernization Modernization finds a lot of interpretations in Tati’s work. As stated by McCaffrey, architecture becomes the most obscene in the scenes, when, for example, the Arpel family’s exposed concrete and Hulot’s “Chambre de bonne’s” obliqueness are demonstrated (203). It is also easy to see how modern architecture is needlessly complicated in some scenes. For example, when the viewer can see one of the modern houses of this world from aside. Thus, the author is trying to convey a simple message. While France is trying to reach higher levels of urbanization, it becomes progressively harder to find any spare space to fit in the complexity of the architecture. Moreover, lack of knowledge about urban architecture drives French people to create obscene structures that cannot serve any purpose other than creating a vision of urbanized style in them. Moreover, Moon claims that Mon Oncle “is a criticism of the inhumane environment led by technology, through visualizing the dryness of modern architecture” (92). It is important to understand that the architecture presented in the film does not only convey the message stated above; it also drives people to come farther from their traditions and their perception of the land they inhabit. Thus, through exaggerated lifeless architecture, Tati creates a vision of what may happen should this trend continue. Representations of Tradition Firstly, to fully grasp what role the traditions play in Tati’s film, one has to understand the background behind Mon Oncle . As stated by Haenni et al., “Tati was one of the few French filmmakers of the 1950s and 1960s to engage in a critical dialogue with the modernizing and emergent mass consumerist aspect of French society. His work is notable for its engagement with ‘new and disquieting forces infiltrating the sphere of the quotidian in post-WWII France” (354). The author intended to highlight how important it is to preserve traditions and not forget them in the pursuit of rebuilding a damaged society. To better engage the audience, Tati fills his work with contrast presented by both how individual characters interact with each other and the “modern” architecture. For example, the kitchen scene perfectly demonstrates the struggle