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This article analyzes the cultural politics of Luc Besson's recent producing ventures. It argues that his EuropaCorp studio's three parkour films, Yamakasi (2001), Banlieue 13 (2004), and Banlieue 13: Ultimatum (2009), offer ways to think about how Besson negotiates the competing pressures of Hollywood cinema, a globalizing commercial film industry, and traditionalist conceptions of French cinema. By locating his Cité du Cinéma in the marginalized French suburbs and by setting some of its films there, Besson and other contemporary French filmmakers fuse French banlieue culture with American genre formulas to imagine what a commercially viable French popular cinema might look like. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the global distribution and commoditization of an extreme sport, Le Parkour, which was popularized by working class Parisian teenagers from the marginalized suburban projects. It examines the transformation of a localized phenomenon associated with the subversive use of urban space into a globalized and dynamic cultural form practiced on the street, in films and theatrical productions and in on-line communities. The authors study the discourses surrounding le parkour -- the origin stories, myths, movements, and philosophies of practice that attract followers. Analysis of Le Parkour offers a unique vantage point from which to understand transnational cultural flows, the construction of hybridized identities and the commoditization of youth expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the politics of ‘le parkour’ a new global art developed in the Paris suburbs. The practitioners’ creative and dangerous movements, as a form of spatial appropriation and as a collectively developed art-form, claim new commons. Their collaborative creation of these commons forges a group identity that allows each member to retain their individuality, forging an integrated but heterogeneous collectivity. This group dynamic, combining singularity and collectivity, suggests a connection to Hardt and Negri’s concept of the multitude, a potential, emerging democratic political force in the global information economy. In parkour, the centrality of embracing fear as an aesthetic experience is significant because it is precisely fear that prevents the multitude from forming and reaching its full political power by maintaining the separation of different segments of workers. An art of the multitude, parkour is its microcosm, artistic manifestation, or even harbinger. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parkour has emerged in the last decade as a significant cultural practice, both in France, where it originated, and internationally. The cultural resonance of parkour—a form of street gymnastics combining acrobatic agility with a creative approach to urban space—is emphasised through its presence on numerous internet sites, as well as representations in advertising media, the bande dessinee, and films. While the prevalence of parkour as a practice is widely known, these numerous manifestations within culture have not been widely theorised. This article focuses primarily on parkour's representations in visual culture, especially in cinema, and considers the associations made in two films between parkour and the banlieue. Analysing both the legitimacy and potential problems in making the banlieue a stage for parkour performance and big-screen entertainment enables us to reconsider the notion of the film banlieue, as well as the political possibilities of a 'parkour film'. Lastly, reflecting on the circumstances of contemporary cinema and the role of the internet, the article considers philosophical aspects of the 'parkour film', as well as seeking parallels between parkour's spatial practices and the practices of cinematic and online production and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is promising for improving motor and cognitive performance. Nevertheless, its mechanisms of action are unclear and need to be better characterised according to the stimulated brain area and the type of exercise performed., Methods/design: This is a double-blind crossover study, organised into two parts: the first is to assess the effects of tDCS on explosive performance (jump task) and the second is to assess the effects on endurance performance (cycling time trial task). Participants, who are recreationally active or athletes (parkour practitioners, cyclists), will receive two active tDCS sessions (over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right motor cortex) and one sham tDCS session (part A), or two sequences (one active and one sham) of two daily tDCS sessions over 5 days (part B). Motor and cognitive performance will be compared before and after tDCS sessions (part A), and before and after the first session, after the last session and at day 12 and day 30 of each tDCS sequence (part B)., Discussion: This study investigates the acute and repeated effects of tDCS on the motor and cognitive performance of healthy subjects. It will try to evaluate if tDCS could be considered as a neuroenhancement technology according to the physical task investigated (endurance versus explosive)., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03937115. Registered on 3 May 2019; retrospectively registered.