History Main / Jaccuse

* Joseph Göbbels himself commissioned a film by this title in 1941 as UsefulNotes/{{Nazi|Germany}} propaganda for euthanasia programs, about a doctor arrested for [[TilMurderDoUsPart killing his wife]] to [[MercyKill end her suffering from MS]].

Once upon a time in France, a renowned writer named Émile Zola penned a [[StronglyWordedLetter scathing open letter to the President]] (published in liberal publisher Georges Clemenceau's newspaper ''L'Aurore'' on January 13, 1898) that accused the government of France's Third Republic of anti-Semitism and corruption in its handling of the Dreyfus Affair of 1894 -- in which an innocent French Army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, who just happened to be Jewish, was used as a [[TheScapegoat scapegoat]] in a German espionage case (France had [[UsefulNotes/FrancoPrussianWar recently lost a war to Germany]] and despised them), when it was quite clear to everyone that the only thing that Dreyfus was guilty of was being Jewish and from the region of Alsace (which the Germans had taken from France as part of the peace settlement). The letter pointed out the weakness of the evidence and several clear occurrences of judicial error and prejudice during Dreyfus's trial, and formally named and accused scores of people of everything from incompetence to crimes against justice and humanity; for someone so prominent and respected as Zola to write something so harsh was a big deal, and for that Clemenceau (who loved picking political fights) set the sensationalist headline, in giant, bold letters: "'''''J'Accuse...!'''''".

* ''Film/JAccuse'': A French movie released in the 1920s filled with as much political weight as can be. The film is famous for its sudden uprising of the French dead of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[TropesOfTheLivingDead coming back]] to condemn the guilty living who sent them to die. The whole film is an anti-war pamphlet, which the director convinced the [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades French army]] was going to be a propaganda flick, so they gave him real soldiers for actors -- 80% of whom died once they went back to the front since it was filmed during the war.
* Joseph Göbbels himself commissioned a film by this title in 1941 as UsefulNotes/{{Nazi|Germany}} propaganda for euthanasia programs, about a doctor arrested for killing his wife to end her suffering from MS.

* ''Series/TheWestWing'': In "The Indians in the Lobby", President Bartlet attempted to use this on his wife Abbey when he finds out it's her fault they were going to celebrate Thanksgiving in Camp David rather than their family farm in New Hampshire. It didn't work out so well, though:

Once upon a time in France, a renowned writer named Émile Zola penned a [[StronglyWordedLetter scathing open letter to the President]] (published in liberal publisher Georges Clemenceau's newspaper ''L'Aurore'' on January 13, 1898) that accused the government of France's Third Republic of anti-Semitism and corruption in its handling of the Dreyfus Affair of 1894 -- in which an innocent French Army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, who just happened to be Jewish, was used as a scapegoat in a German espionage case (France had [[UsefulNotes/FrancoPrussianWar recently lost a war to Germany]] and despised them), when it was quite clear to everyone that the only thing that Dreyfus was guilty of was being Jewish and from the region of Alsace (which the Germans had taken from France as part of the peace settlement). The letter pointed out the weakness of the evidence and several clear occurrences of judicial error and prejudice during Dreyfus's trial, and formally named and accused scores of people of everything from incompetence to crimes against justice and humanity; for someone so prominent and respected as Zola to write something so harsh was a big deal, and for that Clemenceau (who loved picking political fights) set the sensationalist headline, in giant, bold letters: "'''''J'Accuse...!'''''".

* ''J'accuse'' is also the French title of the [[Film/AnOfficerAndASpy movie adaptation]] of ''Literature/AnOfficerAndASpy'', which is also about the Dreyfus affair. It's from the point of view of the officer who defended Dreyfus this time around, Zola merely has one or two scenes.

* Prosecutor Gideon Hausner quoted "J'accuse!" (albeit translated) in his opening statement in the trial of Adolf Eichmann, "the architect of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust". Doubly appropriate since Eichmann was being tried in Israel for his crimes against humanity in general and the Jewish people in particular, especially innocent Jews who died and suffered for the "crime" of their ethnicity/religion like Dreyfus.

* Music/SonicYouth released "J'accuse, Creator/TedHughes". It's not JustForPun, that's a controversial English poet who developed a {{Hatedom}} after Creator/SylviaPlath (whom Hughes had just recently divorced) [[DrivenToSuicide killed herself]].

* ''[[Film/JAccuse]]'': A French movie released in the 1920s filled with as much political weight as can be. The film is famous for its sudden uprising of the French dead of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[TropesOfTheLivingDead coming back]] to condemn the guilty living who sent them to die. The whole film is an anti-war pamphlet, which the director convinced the [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades French army]] was going to be a propaganda flick, so they gave him real soldiers for actors -- 80% of whom died once they went back to the front since it was filmed during the war.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27accuse_(1919_film) J'accuse]]'': A French movie released in the 1920s filled with as much political weight as can be. The film is famous for its sudden uprising of the French dead of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[TropesOfTheLivingDead coming back]] to condemn the guilty living who sent them to die. The whole film is an anti-war pamphlet, which the director convinced the [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades French army]] was going to be a propaganda flick, so they gave him real soldiers for actors -- 80% of whom died once they went back to the front since it was filmed during the war.

* There's also a 1958 film about Dreyfus, fittingly entitled ''I Accuse!'', directed by and starring Creator/JoseFerrer, along with Anton Walbrook and Viveca Lindfors.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27accuse_(1919_film) J'accuse]]'': A French movie released in the 1920s filled with as much political weight as can be. The film is famous for its sudden uprising of the French dead of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[TropesOfTheLivingDead coming back]] to condemn the guilty living who sent them to die. The whole film is an anti-war pamphlet, which the director convinced the French army was going to be a propaganda flick, so they gave him real soldiers for actors -- 80% of whom died once they went back to the front since it was filmed during the war.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27accuse_(1919_film) J'Accuse]]'': A French zombie movie released in the 1920s filled with as much political weight as can be. The ZombieApocalypse is the sudden uprising of the French dead of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, coming back to condemn the guilty living who sent them to die. The whole film is an anti-war pamphlet, which the director convinced the army was going to be a propaganda flick, so they gave him real soldiers for actors -- 80% of whom died once they went back to the front since it was filmed during the war.

* There's also a 1958 film about Dreyfus, fittingly entitled ''I Accuse!'', directed by and starring José Ferrer, along with Anton Walbrook and Viveca Lindfors.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%27accuse_(1919_film) J'Accuse]]'': A French zombie movie released in the 1920s filled with as much political weight as can be. The ZombieApocalypse is the sudden uprising of the French dead of WWI, coming back to condemn the guilty living who sent them to die. The whole film is an anti-war polemic, which the director convinced the army was going to be a propaganda flick, so they gave him real soldiers for actors -- 80% of whom died once they went back to the front.
* Göbbels himself in 1941 commissioned a film by this title as propaganda for Nazi euthanasia programs, about a doctor arrested for killing his wife to end her suffering from MS.

* One of the lesser (but still recurring) running gags on Series/HowIMetYourMother, usually invoked by Ted.