the classblindness of Emily in Paris
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- čas přidán 27. 05. 2024
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I really struggled to find a conclusion to this video as I kept on circling back to the "it's supposed to be an escapist show and people want to see it like it so your criticism on it will always be limited/easy to counter" so I'm open to your criticism and perspective on the show, the politics/lack of politics of it. Let's continue the conversation over here :)
Just don't take too seriously lol
Pretty sure many ppl watch the show for laughs
Much like no one thinks Johnny English is representative of the UK (tho it's pretty close)
I thought Sex and the City was terrible.
But now we have Emily in Paris.
The same feeling I and many soccer fans had when watching the Qatar fifa World Cup 22. Life is more important but having a little escapism isn’t bad unless you don’t think critically and choose to ignore certain harsh realities. We all live in some kind of bubble.
I watched TV and movies shift from having a great deal of class consciousness in the 1970s within the US to shifting over the 1980s and beyond to be stripped of it in most programming. Reagan set the tone, such as the "City on the hill" speech and TV and Hollywood shifted and began removing class markers until almost all media in the 1990s presented an upper class and beyond lifestyle as the only representation of how people live.
"If the market wants that, what is the big deal?" is the mantra for this defense. However, what happens when that lowest common denominator of escapist aesthetic is the only aesthetic? When culture just slides along, as frictionless as possible, by sheer momentum after several decades? Like corn syrup, salt, and fat, it leaves the people sickly and malnourished. It serves the interests of corporations. It numbs the population more. These atomized women in the suburbs, sedated as they cope with a life that is unsatisfying.
It all feels, it all is... exhausting. Art should do more, and it could do more by creating a base layer that provides more friction to the people. It doesn't even have to be heavy handed. Every show doesn't have to be The Wire, but providing more of a mirror on everyday life would provide new fertile ground for the culture to grow a more nourishing aesthetic.
as a Pole I was very surprised to see the enthusiasm about this series from my female friends and family regardless of age. What you said after 6:00 got my eyes wet, since it implies what a powerful fantasy this (bad) series is and how its escapistic characteristic is enhanced by the socioeconomic situation of the viewer
watching Emily in Paris to learn about France (or Paris) it's like learning Kazakhstan's culture by watching Borat.
LOL so accurate!!!
No one is watching to learn about France history or culture. They watch to be entertained for a hour. The show highlights France tourist areas where
tourists will visit. It would be like watching Baywatch for American history
And Borat was filmed in Romania...
lmao
I LIKE !!!!!!!
”How could someone want to watch something so unrealistic?”
*KDrama has entered the chat*
At least we can relate to some characters, but this show just comes across as shallow
@@mairaaris8945 and somehow the characters are multi-dimensional
i agree that the typical kdrama plot is generally a form of escapism but most of the time, even the fluffiest most cliche kdrama has some scenes where you go "oH" bcs it still conveys some form of social criticism. it can be quite subtle, but if youre aware of south koreas social struggles, you recognise them in kdrama.
@@studywtha.m4012 Most of the social commentary in kdramas is accidental when it does happen let's be real. kdramas are idfic. The difference between kdramas and Emily is that Emily is overly self-aware, overly manicured idfic, which takes away the appeal that kdramas have for being so shamelessly and unpretentiously self-indulgent.
By the way, I mean most older kdramas. I stopped watching kdramas after graduating high school around 2010, so I don't know if the modern stuff on Netflix is different.
Emily's Paris is surprisingly small. Walk into any café or restaurant and you are bound to bump into a friend, colleague or client. The whole show is so unintentionally funny and weird. My favourite scene: Mindy moaning that she has no money and owes Emily, while throwing herself on the bed - in a Gucci dress. I had to stop Netflix and found myself screaming at the screen: Are you kidding me? Sell your f***ing dress.
I littérallyhad the Same réaction to that scene😭🤝🏼
I lack the suspension os disbelief to watch something like this
Paris is a village, esp when compared to London
Loved the opening scene in the new season where 2 working class girls had about $10k worth of Louis Vuitton bags on the table lol
😂😂
Also who wears thigh high ridiculous boots in ridiculous colors all the time. What bugs is many celebrities mouth about going green, climate change, praise Greta Thunberg and then go on to create ridiculous shows like these with ridiculous fashion that is totally non- wearable
It was all happening in Emily's dream btw;)
@@umaganesan80 There are liberals and then there are "Liberals".
or they can become working girls. nothing new here.
The average American woman living in suburbia that watches 'Emily in Paris' cannot even begin to imagine the concept of public transit, because there is none to speak of where this audience lives. That's probably the reason why the metro is never shown or dealt with as a problem.
The problem with that is that Netflix's real audience is not 'the average American white suburban woman', most Europeans won't want to watch the show the moment they see that it doesn't in any way realistically reflect Paris or other European cities. On top of that it's not an alluring show for people from any other region in the world either because it's clearly for ignorant white Americans and so they won't relate to the characters/feel invisible.
Because of that Emily in Paris is actually a TV-show that isn't getting a lot of viewership.
@@eev14 ?? Emily In Paris is a hit all around the world, including many European countries… Even in France, it gets criticized a lot sure, but viewership is very high.
@@virgilernml Real Paris is a shithole tho..
@@eev14 the audience is exactly average American white suburban woman...
@@virgilernml yeah idk what theyre talking about. A lot of non white, european, men watch the show
Class differences aside. I don't enjoy this kind of escapism because it's not a utopia but post-capitalistic nightmare where fashion is limited to expensive clothes and art, like architecture, design or paintings, are used only to signal wealth. However, the diversity. It's ridiculous. I've been to Paris couple of time with my friend from Luxemburg. She was working there for some time in finance and she was very realistic in her portrayal of the city that wasn't limited to Hollywood-core. There are people of France of Arabic, African and Asian descent. That was the first thing I noticed about Paris in comparison to Champagne where I spent the summer. Looking at trailers and snippets of the show I've seen so far, Paris through lense of the creators is a city full of default rich, white characterless people. Writers purposefully ignore rich and vibrant scene full of people that don't fit that mold.
You're right... it feels like American Psycho but instead of being a smart satire on materialistic and vapid upper-class lifestyles it's just playing it all straight...
@@katfujioka212 Your comparison is absolutely fantastic. Great intuition. The show is unintentionally so empty and depressive. Unlike American Psycho, the nihilistic emptiness of consumption has no function but it's the soul of the show. Emily's story is presented as an aspirational tale of an expat but her experiences are highly Americanized, dictated by dreams of status. According to snippets I've seen, even the love interests are written to be attractive thought the lense of status where being together allow one to climb the social ladder and validates their success. It explains the white washing of this story. There's no place for vibrant and diverse Parisians of various backgrounds because they aren't usually associated with commercial Parisian chic sold abroad.
This is the sort of astute analysis that makes me want this stupid show to be revealed as a satire, when I know it's just bottom-of-the-barrel garbage for Americans who think Paris is a place where everyone eats croissants 20 times a day and wears berets in the bath...
Not everything needs to be super deep. Sometimes people just want to see a messy love triangle in a beautiful place. Escapist? Yeah. Like about 90% of other shows.
never seen the show but honestly that paris sounds much more BORING than the place I was lucky enough to visit a couple of times. but then again that's what you get when you're writing for a demographic that's obsessed with the norm.
no, the greatest charm of Paris is the grime. the dirty alleys and monumental old buildings in need of a coat of paint. the contrast of the day-to-day hustle and bustle of a myriad of different peoples with the open air museum where that rush is taking place.
Emilys apartment is honestly the most luxurious chambre de bonne I ever seen 💀
As a person who had been to Paris several times, this comment is spot on! I never found a decent Airbnb to begin with when I was there. Everything is so tiny! But I liked how they played on all of the stereotypes that Americans have about the French and about Parisian life. It's not reality, of course.
Wow, congratulations to this incredible new discover that has not been made already 1.000.000 after the first season came out 🤦🏼
@@patrickb6341 some have not seen the show yet, or have not really deliberated the clichés in it, so no need to rub it in people’s faces that you have already read all of this stuff before.
It looks like a dumpy apartment with a view imo. I think it’s realistic enough 🤷♂️
@@LucasFernandez-fk8se haha, surely because you've never been to Paris. This is a very decent apartment here. And because of it's location and how big it is (for Paris) it must be really expensive.
Chambres de bonne are waaaaay smaller
In French and English
Mon vrai problème avec la série est qu'après trois saisons on a toujours pas vu une femme noire ou une personne issue de l'immigration arabo-magrhébine. Je défendais la série pendant les premières saisons justement avec des arguments d'escapism et le fait que Emily traîne dans des lieux et des milieux socio professionels aisés et souvent très blancs. Mais après Trois saisons, ce non choix est un choix (pour reprendre la morale de la saision), et un choix dangereux - représenter Paris comme une ville blanche est non seulement faux, mais c'est aussi un choix politique irresponsable voire dangereux dans une époque aussi instable avec la montée de l'extrême droite et de la violence raciste en France.
My real problem with the series is that after three seasons we still haven't seen a black woman or a person of Arab-Maghrebi descent. I defended the series during the first seasons precisely with arguments of escapism and the fact that Emily hangs out in places and spheres that are often haunted by very affluent and very white socio-professional backgrounds. But after three saisons, this non-choice is a choice (to use the moral of the season), and a dangerous choice - to represent Paris as a white city is not only wrong, but it is also an irresponsible or even dangerous political choice in times of the rise of the far right and racist violence in France. There are black and arabs french and there are black and arabs parisians
Tout à fait d’accord, c’est pas comme si on manquait d’acteur.rices compétent.es en plus…
YES!! And when it comes to the layer of racism, the escapist nature of the show actually makes it even more problematic. Because when making a show with the goal of creating something escapist, you are automatically making a statement about what a "semi-paradise" would look like in your eyes.
In other words: The creators are indirectly making a statement about where they think people want to be. And if the answer to that is literally "A place without BIPOC", that's as racist as an answer could possibly be.
After being constantly slandered on french TV, us arabs being ignored in a series is an improvement 😂
Moreover... Why does an escapist, ideal Paris *have to* lack different ethnicities? It's as if the show wanted to escape not only class or politics, but the mere fact of having different skin colors, clearly pointing at it as a problem that makes life less romantic.
There's a really good tv show on Netflix that I think shows Paris in a more realistic way, it's called The Eddy and I personally loved it, even if not many people watched it. I'm not from Paris but I've been there twice and I think that the show depicted a real side of the city and the people who live in it. Considering that it's an american production I was surprised by it.
I love how the people behind the show keep saying "It's meant to be a fantasy" as a way to escape criticism from its flaws, both when it comes to cultural portrayals and overall lazy writing. It's like defending a mediocre show by simply saying "It's camp!"
Great video! Ultimately, because of its initial shortcomings, Emily In Paris will now always be scrutinized for its inaccuracies. They will always stand out, and while it's never gonna be perfect, it doesn't mean other shows can't learn from it and be more aware!
Clearly you've never seen Morbius
omg the over use of camp sends me
LOL yeah it's the laziest excuse to defend mediocrity!!!!! "ItS cAmP yOu JuSt Don't GeT iT" 🤪
It's like portraying americans as hunk cowboys with their rifles and 10-gallon hats saying "howdy" waiting to be enlightened by an adventurous european lady, and then saying "It's meant to be a fantasy".
@friendlyspaceninja Totally agree! I like that take, and I think that's the only true positive outlook we can take from it. Let's hope future shows use Emily In Paris as the A-grade example of what NOT to do.
I don’t watch Emily In Paris because the fashion in the show disturbs me greatly, but as an American who went to college in NYC and worked in LA, the two cities that dominate US television and movies, this is a common theme throughout American shows and Emily In Paris is produced by an American production company I used to intern for (ironically I had to quit my internship because they refused to pay me lol).
NYC, LA, London and Paris are EXTREMELY expensive cities. The joke that was always made while I was in college was that someone who made $500K/yr was “New York Broke” because the cost of living was so ridiculous that even a successful person would find it hard to keep up with all the expenses while maintaining a nice lifestyle there. Most of my wealthy friends in college never had access to the money their parents had because it was locked away in a trust. Their basic needs may have been covered (in extreme cases they weren’t) but they’d have to go an work to make a disposable income to do other things like grocery shopping, or just going out on the town.
Though these shows are incredibly misleading for the average viewer, what I will say is that this kind of reality is not far off for upper middle class and wealthy kids in the US who experience being on their own for the first time either in college or after leaving college and working for the first time. They aren’t necessarily poor because they have support from their parents, the institutions they attend, and they have all the same clothes and luxuries they brought with them from home, but they aren’t well off anymore either because many of them are put on an allowance, or are cut off financially and must work and get scholarships and fellowships to live. They receive the benefits of being raised upper class, but they are almost put through a boot camp of temporary struggle while starting their educational and professional careers to “make it on their own” even though we all know they wouldn’t even get into big universities, internships or jobs at desirable companies if they had not come from upper class backgrounds to begin with.
It’s the illusion of “started from the bottom now we here” when really they started close to the top of the hill and their parents and connections pushed them to the top. I hope that makes sense whew!
@Essiggurke Yes but buying property in London, or any of the cities I mentioned, is practically impossible unless you make at least $500K/yr when the average home is $1-2 million for a small townhome or an apartment that isn’t even renovated. Who actually wants to rent for their entire life and never own a home? Living on a fixed income may be doable as a single person, but once you have children, and your parents get older, or if you have a small business, that kind of income is not sustainable.
Rich people should be taxed much higher rates, and if they were we probably wouldn’t be in the situation we are in now. But if you want to achieve upward mobility, you have to play the part, and that in and of itself costs money.
@sxt444 No one in major cities in Europe, such as Vienna (where I live), have any hope nowadays of buying an apartment in the future due to the insanely high real estate prices. The old generation was able to do that, but not the current one.
@@samernammari8785 Yup, if you want to buy a house, you take something outside of town and commute. The city apartments are for young workers without families.
As someone who has grown up in the American upper middle class, this is so true. Emily in Paris really does mimic these young adults that get to live rich exciting lives in the middle of expensive cities because their parents have the money for them to make it in the corporate world with little to no struggles or financial risks. My parents are immigrants and grew up poor, so I was raised to be much more frugal and academically ambitious but even I have never had to deal with the struggles or fears that my parents had. Emily in Paris highlights the personalities of that very specific privileged American young adult demographic that’s starting to deal with real life problems but still has a lot of cushion from generational wealth
Most internships are not paid, that's why you get valuable experience and the company has to train you but their upside is that they didn't have to pay you. Often one gets educational credit for working for a company. Often, people will receive offers of employment.
Some of things you said about children of the wealthy is true, and having a certain name will open some doors for you, but to a lower degree than times in the past. Most of these children, don't have the burn to succeed since they know that once they reach a certain age, they will get their trust funds. If you follow children of the ultra-wealthy, they don't out earn what other students in their classes earn, and often make a good deal less.
I am from East Asia and now working and living in the US. Class & ethnicity divides worked and looked slightly differently, so I always like to think about what I’ve seen here after living in suburbs, cities, and mid-sized towns. When I was interning in NYC, renting in a very cheap accommodations far away from the city, I really saw how *extreme* American TV whitewashes & glamorizes it’s cities. Outside the city center, it seemed even the government doesn’t even want to take care of its local communities, from the cleanliness of the streets I’ve seen compared to the financial center buildings I passed on my way to work. I think most Americans who live in suburbs or “fly-over” states do NOT realize what their own country looks like, and that’s terrifying because like other comments mentioned, it creates a sense of entitlement in them that this country is supposed to look white & rich, and they deserve the best, and most of all, that they already are.
There's this show called Good Trouble, set in downtown LA. It's hillarious to see these young women walk around like it's shangri-la without the rows of tents and meth heads chasing them down with metal pipes. In the show downtown is like this cool neighborhood where they never drive (also ridiculous for LA) and walk around like they're in downtown Disney. Oh, and their rental lofts are enormous and cheap. LIES!!!!!
@@bloodorangemoon absolutely. I work and live in west LA now. It was def a shock for me even though I always have been living in other parts of SoCal. LA is big - there are so many different hubs across the county, and they are all very diverse. The common thread there is that they are never as glamorous as shown on TV shows. Ha. As a single woman, it baffles me how those TV show characters can afford spacious apartments in glamorous, safe, and mostly white neighborhoods. Haha.
I never thought of it that way, but you are right. Often these TV shows do portray countries in the idealized way of the show-runner/stations. My (European) country does not produce a lot of their own shows, and the ones that do get produced are super gritty and realistic. (Think crime dramas, or neighborhood slice-of-life dramas.) I used to complain about that, because it didn't give me any escapism. There was some discussion about the portrayal of a muslim family in one of the popular neighborhood dramas, but the showrunners argued that it was realistic that a Turkish family would live in this large, lower middle class neighborhood, so people calmed down quickly. I mean, in the end, the portrayal was of misunderstandings and in the end everyone was friends. Which is also realistic for that city.
As a European I do not appreciate American shows making us seem like this whitewashed, affluent wonderland, but they are doing it to themselves as well... I always thought they did the whitewashing of Europe, so American viewers wouldn't be upset that their "ideal homecountries" have moved on to diversity since their forebears left it. Racists especially hold Europe and whatever fantasy legends they have of their forefathers up as the ideal state, when in reality we have our own diversity and issues.
@@thirstwithoutborders995 I wholeheartedly relate to this. I am a huge history nerd, as well as a huge fan of many European tv shows both historical and modern, the amount of times I’ve run into ppl screaming “they cast this non-white actor to be in an EUROPEAN story because of PC culture! Bleh!” is simply staggering. And really shows how many Americans only think of race&social geographical history in an American-centric way only. As if Europe only consists of blond hair, blue eye, fair skinned “Europeans” only, or that commerce & trade, or/and any ethnic migration and mixing prior to the current day never existed…I’ve long give up trying to find them. You can’t win.
Thank you for sharing this awful truth. It’s as if some areas are set up for success while others are left to rot...
I do think that being blind to aspects of race or class also indirectly endorse this blindness. With discrimination like in Bridgerton that is great, I do think a more diverse world would be great. But Emily in Paris is not blind, it erases the lower class in favour of the upper class. I do think it therefor promotes the lifestyle of the upper class like consumerism, beauty standards etc. which I do not think are the best messages.
Public relations mainly work with many famous brands. In this case, it is a public relations firm working specifically with luxury brands. The show does not have anything to do with high or low class distinctions. We don’t know much about the characters preferences and shopping habits, but many expensive clothes can be sought and bought through consignment thrift stores and online second hand sites. Emily has a knowledge of fashion but it does not mean that her income reflects her status, it only reflects her deep love and appreciation of French design. As far as we know, she could have a fabulous eye for style and a great ability to buy at fantastic prices.
It is a show dealing with the world of fashion, which is very shallow by its very nature. If there was going to be a show about a French girl working in New York in the fashion world, it wouldn't be that different. Look at a Vogue magazine in any country, how many lower income women are featured in articles or ads. How many even feature anyone with tattoos?
@@mtngrl5859 heh, now they only put celebrities on the covers. In the past, it was supermodels. Who knows what the future trends will be. Maybe someone with tattoos might be a possibility, since it seems like 99% of females now have tattoos. It’s rare these days for girls not to have them. Carla Delevigne, Miley Cirus are done with tattoos and they’ve been given magazine covers.
@@CatsInHats-S.CrouchingTiger Iman is on the cover of British Vogue for Jan 2023 and yes, Florence Pugh is on USA Vogue for 2023. So, 1 actress and 1 model. While many people under a certain age have Tattoos, I wouldn't say its 99%. I have a second home in Central America ( not going to name the country), and a friend visited me. She has a highly inked arm, the locals stared at her, like she had 2 heads. It's just not common here.
I know lots of people are sensitive about any criticism, but from a health point it does lower your immune system. During the health crisis, people who had them had a higher rate of contracting the :virus". If one thinks about it, one is injecting ink into one's system, how healthy is that?
When Angelina Jolie modeled for the premium brand St. Johns, she had to sign a contract that her skin would airbrushed of the tattoos in any ads. While I think its a personal choice, it really turns my husband's stomach. He's 45, so not ancient.
Anyone can make a critique of Emily in Paris, but only a truly French video-essayist will make a class critique of Emily in Paris and that's the best reason to watch this channel!
It’s a thoroughly enjoyable show because the characters are delightful and different. That makes the show a winning success.
EiP clearly wasn't made for the French.
Life as an expat is a form of escapism. Class and race differences are often minimized or even disappear depending on where you come from and where you move to. Being able to communicate and talk about shared experiences becomes a stronger foundation for connection than anything else. For me, this makes the relationship between Camille, Emily, and Mindy easier to believe.
I hate that expat category, something 1st world immigrants use to differentiate from the rest.
@@edgarrodriguez8973 I don't disagree. I am a proud 1st world immigrant. But I use expat to mean someone living abroad temporarily for a job. Emily fits the bill in this case.
@@edgarrodriguez8973 expat is not an immigrant. An immigrant is someone who leaves the home country permanently for a different life abroad. Expats, on the other hand, usually live abroad for a few years temporarily and don't really integrate into the local society. But I agree-- some live in Europe for years on end and still call themselves expats so as not to be confused with the rest. Another thing to note is that local Parisians would never befriend or even tolerate someone like Emily. Life in Paris is hard already! 😂
@@edgarrodriguez8973 The term expat is not a new term, it goes back to the era when artists like Hemingway or even Lord Byron would live " on the continent" for a period of time or go from place to place. Some prefer the term nomadic. I would not see the character of Emily as an expat, she is not self supporting, she has a job. Typically with an expat, they are self supporting or the country would not let them in. In France, if one is a non EU citizen, one has to show documentable source of income, proof of health insurance, so one is not relying on the system, quite different than a immigrant. Emily would have had to have a work permit with a job offer, or significant income.
Emily in Paris is Alice in Wonderand. It's fantasy, it's what the Japanese call isekai - a genre where a character gets thrown into a different world and has to learn to deal with it. I don't think any person with a minimum of critical thinking ability will believe that the Paris in EiP is a representation of reality. I can imagine it's hard to watch as a Parisian but frankly, it was never made for Parisians.
Last sentence extremely accurate lol
So true. I watch shows like this and think its entirely fiction, I don't take it seriously. Maybe people should start rethinking about how they approach TV shows. Escapism is real, that's why kdrama and isekais are so popular
exactly, thanks for sharing this :)
I also think the producers/writers didn't make it for Parisians. However, I think that was a terrible miscalculation on their side. Like, most shows on Netflix play in America, specifically, the USA. Does it really seem that unlikely that a Parisian will be interested in that one popular show which is set in Paris? As white people, Europeans might be quite represented in pop culture, but not culturally. Europe is not a tiny USA, not even a tiny America. Europe is very culturally diverse, so any of us will find joy in seeing even just a bit of that reflected in a big Netflix show.
To not expect that seems like first - the writers didn't even understand what they were taking on, and second - a poor marketing choice.
Do not insult Alice in Wonderland by comparing it with this vapid, bland garbage
I think that we should approach a show like Emily in Paris like it's science fiction tbh
More like fantasy even
It's not just Emily in Paris tbh. I think Hollywood has a long history of writing characters with low income or middle class income jobs living luxurious lives, or portraying certain well-known cities or countries as being perfect and beautiful. You'll see so many movies where the parents have two normal jobs but somehow their houses are huge, they have latest gadgets, they're all wearing expensive looking clothes, and they're constantly travelling with no worry about money. Or you see movies in a well-known city, and the movie is full of picture perfect mansions with nice cars, when in reality, most of the time, the cities they're portraying just look normal or even very crappy in real life (bonus if everyone in the movie is white even though they live in a city that's very ethnically diverse). I get why sitcoms might have huge living rooms (because it's easier to film that way, I think) or why movies that are supposed to be hugely exaggerated for comedic effect don't have everything being 100% realistic, but a lot of these shows are trying to be "relatable", as if they're trying to say, "THIS is how normal people live nowadays."
I guess Emily in Paris is supposed to be an escapist show, and I'm sure the plot relies on glorifying things, but it can be a problem when a show that portrays itself as being "realistic" and show "normal" people being "relatable" is everything but that, especially since a lot of people believe everything they see on social media, movies, and TV shows, and it can make the legitimate complaints of having less money become invalidated if young people or families with low wages are seen living life as if they have more money than they actually do.
I'm not saying that the people making these shows or movies need to do years of extensive research on the place the show is set in or that they need to be 100% perfect, but they could at least try to do some research, or at least use their common sense.
That's a very good point, all of American TV is like that, the character will have low income, yet somehow live in a nice place, and I'm like how can they afford that?
Ien Ang: "Watching Dallas" might be a good old read here
Business marketers make a range of 62k-150k a year….that’s more than enough to afford the life Emily has bc she’s just one person.
I'd look at their jobs; in the series we have the world of luxury brands, bullshit marketing jobs and only one person who is doing actual job being a chef. The world of work doesn't exist, it's a constant stream of hedonism and status play
Lol selling air is an actual job :p
In the story, the agency helps solve problems for their clients. Each episode shows a differ problem.
Business marketers make a range of 62k-150k a year….that’s more than enough to afford the life Emily has bc she’s just one person.
Actually, if you cut off the conversations and presentations to the clients, most of the people in the office are always working in their computers.
Coming from Damascus, Syria, a very disadvantaged place, I can see how people escape through plain and silly shows.
While poverty eats us, we find what we're missing through seeing shallow rich people going through romantic hardships. It's the same reason why Nollywood (Nigerian Cinema) is so popular among their country.
However the use of escapism is much larger than I can imagine. For example, in Syrian shows and plays, we can find a cliched/silly scenario that has a lot of political jokes inside of it. The jokes that show how absurd our government is, like the play Cheers Nation (1979) that ends with the protagonist criticizing Syrian's government by saying "all we are missing is some dignity". This line let people vent, it made people feel that their hatred toward the government is valid. The confusing part is when people vented, it made them much far away from rebelling against this dictatorial regime. (I can give some more examples of how dictators exploited political jokes as a mean to control their people)
Which indicates that even when those shows make people more politically aware, people might be better off without such awareness because it might make them much more numb, fragile, and easily controlled. Other thing that even if the targeted audience were suburban women that are stuck in a certain lifestyle, they are people that can be affected by stereotypes and propagandas and even teach it to their children and spread it outside their areas.
I don't know but considering those shows as a way of escaping, makes it even worse to accept.
Would you mind sharing the other examples you mentioned about dictators using political jokes as a means to control the people? I’m really interested in your take on this subject
That's interesting. I think it could be a bit like that in the UK. Our TV is very good at portraying ' normal' people - although often in hugely abnormal situations. But it's rarely done in a way that makes you angry about a character's situation - generally because it will all be resolved. Then in comedy it' s satire - which is a kind of safety valve too, it allows us to laugh at politicians etc when we should be getting angry.
I've heard the stories of tourists who suffered a huge disappoitment when they finally visited Paris. People had expected this glamorous city from postcards and rom-coms, they got to... well a normal city, with graffiti on the walls, rusty signs, rubbish on the street. So not everything is clean and perfect there. Like everywhere.
For me the interesting potrayal of Paris was featured in 2011 French drama "Poliss". It's where I realised how big is the gap between certains districts. The "posh" parts of the city were very clean but also devoid of people, almost like it was just a fancy decoration. Less wealthier parts of capital seemed to me more like a real city, because there were people on the streets, and they were very diverse.
Other, even more fractured vision of France's capital was in the very weird movie "Holy Motors" - call it a city of myriad faces.
If I visit a Paris one day, I imagine I might be a bit dissapointed too, but maybe this real Paris, inhabited by real people, with many layers of history mixed together. That would be much more interesting than 1950s postcard.
We u start with “ I heard stories” your credibility shrinks
@@sterlingmarshel6299 Do you expect a peer-reviewed study on how people are disappointed when a city isn't as flawless as it was portrayed on a TV show?
I've seen Poliss as well, it was really good!
Emily in Paris though I have absolutely no desire to watch precisely because of this unrealistic portrayal of the actual city and population of Paris.
I was so underwhelmed by Paris and Milan/Italy. Many of these big cities are marketed so strategically to tourists in film, fashion and culture. Would love to visit again but with locals and learning about their lives.
@@fi-train8961 I like your idea for sightseeing! I guess There's lot of guides helping to avoid most obnoxius tourist-traps and finding real gems.
I am happy you mentioned the demography of the people who enjoy these aspirational shows and the comradery among housewives in Facebook groups. If you stayed long enough you would realise these women are very much aware of the unfairness of social and class structure since they live that reality. These women have a lot to teach younger women cosplaying at the realities of depending on your partner for financial support. I wonder if some of them will be open to a discussion on the phenomenon of younger women romanticising not working.
that's interesting you say that actually because I did stay in those groups for a while and have grown up surrounded by working class/lower middle class women, a lot of them stay-at-home mums, and class and social structure/oppression were often discussed in the form of what some sociologists call the "female complaint", which often ended with a "that's the way it is!" type of statements. So the women enjoyed having a space to complain, share, and connect but it didn't seem to go further than that, at least in my experience. In the end we all practice the "that's the way it is" at times but it was interesting to see it in that context. And yes! Super interesting conversation and something I've been thinking about a lot lately, again very complex and nuanced discussion :)
@@AliceCappelle awesome! I'm disappointed they left it at a that's just the way it is place. The women I interacted with actually explained how it led them to multilevel marketing and how they used unsafe means to get abortions. They bemoaned the lack of familial and social support that led to their choice. They advised me to stick to my guns and use every means available to me to become financially independent. It does make me look at the criticism of girl boss culture in another way.
Paris Syndrome is a real thing where a tourist (usually from Japan/East Asia) will have an acute panic attack because they were expecting basically Disneyland in Europe, but found themself in a real world city with real world problems. It's not common, but it absolutely happens, and I feel like EiP is going to see that problem spread to American tourists.
As a French, I enjoy Emily in Paris because it reminds me of how (sometimes) Paris can feel a little bit magical
A French
gossip girl did/does this exact thing with new york. not only is it a total fantasy version of manhattan, but it’s not even a realistic depiction of the upper east side! but I get it, it is just a fantasy
I have to disagree on this one. From the perspective of the majority of people who live in NYC (myself included) gossip girl (referring to the OG since i didn't watch the remake) can come across as a complete fantasy but gossip girl is about rich teenagers. Rich people in general are very insulated in their own "society" and have no reason to expend their worldview because they can just buy almost everything. The most unrealistic thing for me was always Dan and his huge Brooklyn loft. Like not even pre-gentrified Brooklyn (the time the show was set in) would Rufus be able to afford a loft like that. But back to gossip girl. The lives of the rich kids and the parts of the UES they occupied was very realistic. i went to undergrad in Hunter so I always walked between Park Ave and 5th Ave and after i graduated I worked in Mount Sinai, three blocks from where Blair was supposed to live and that place is 99.99999 white. From Park Ave all the way to the Park in 5th Ave, that community is very white and the people are clearly from the one percent. The only people of color tended to work there. You can also see that on the census data for that particular zip code. Manhattan was a fantasy to us but not to them. For gossip girl i could understand why we never saw them (after the pilot) in public transportation. They were all rich and could afford to take cabs everywhere. As someone who has, stupidly, paid for cabs from Hunter to downtown and midtown, i can say that everything looks very Ritz when you see them through tainted windows.
@tiffanymoton704 the whole show was about wealthy elites so it makes sense they only filmed in affluent locations
@@CaraMarie13 Dan is upper middle class.
With all the valid criticisms, Gossip girl was way much better than Emily's crap :) Class discussion wasn't absent of the GG, actually at some point it was all about it
Fantasy helps to cope or can motivate to work hard for your vision. It can go in so many ways.
As a professional musician i’ve never earned 2500 euros a month ever. So actually the difference between her and Emily is much bigger. For a gig in spain they pay from 50€ to 100. And at these gigs you work a minimum of 5 hours not counting rehearsals.
It was exactly the same with the show Friends. They lived in penthouse size apartments they would never be able to afford from their salaries. TV entertainment is not for reality.
Exactly! And people watched it for a good laugh, not to creat commentary on the non realistic life it portrayed.
It's absolutely not the same thing.
Friends was a sitcom based on the characters being funny and stupid people, over the top representations of the real world.
Those apartments were a set, a place for the plot to happen.
Emily is meant as an escapist fantasy with relatable characters and situations.
And this SPECIFICALLY results in an high class life style.
They are two very different things.
Actually Chandler (actually he was just saving money) and Ross can afford it without a problem (not really big apartments), Monica paid only 200 dollars because it was a rent-controlled leased apartment her grandmother illegally left her. Rachel and Joey were almost freeloaders! and Poebhe's grandmother may have purchased the apartment before her death.
In a way I do understand the escapism because Spanish soap operas do the same thing. Spanish soap operas often focus on rich characters “living a normal life” and normally watched by working class women.
Thank you for bringing up escapism. If somebody wants to watch something that shows brutal and honest reality they should watch documentaries.
Since you didn't put sources/resources in the description this time I wanted to say how much I appreciate that you take the time to recommend further lectures.
Please don't stop.
Emily in Paris is like the new SATC, its just a fun fantasy story to watch, not to be taken for real in real life.
Lmao yeah but don't expect the video creator to get that. Leftists can't differentiate between fiction and reality.
That is true, New York is also used like Paris as a fantasy. I guess it’s less cringy when Americans do it on their own cities compared as to when they do it with another country’s city.
Mindy theoretically had her clothes as a wealthy woman, and kept them in good condition when her fortunes changed.
They don't really show her shopping a ton or anything.
Your voice is so soft and relaxing,😅 i literally listen to these to get asleep, like some bed time stories
I think criticizing a show for its short comings is different from telling people they can’t enjoy something. There are lots of stories that lets people enjoy themselves without erasing people’s lived realities. For me and the circles I’m familiar with, this is much more enjoyable than erasure. Plus I’m so done with real places being treated like nothing more than toys for some people’s imagination. It’s gross.
(American) People like to demand change in their entertainment because it’s so much easier and more effective than demanding change from the state.
It's also easier than creating your own stories. Writing your own tv show, book or movie and then finding someone to publish or produce it can take years of time investment whereas you can put together a video critiquing someone else's tv show in a few hours. That's not to say people shouldn't criticize entertainment but the real work of changing the culture is always done by those who create something of their own that sets a new standard.
Why can't we have both? And at least with entertainment you don't have as much of the expectation of gridlock as you'd expect within the government, that is, wanting and needing change but barely ever reaching a bipartisan agreement within the bicameral government.
I have a question are you American?
I watched the first season of Emily in Paris alone (hate-watched, really). My boyfriend and I literally binged the last two seasons. There's so much that triggers me in this show if I think about how the characters and the plot would likely play out in real life. However, it's also fun and light, and I absolutely love Sylvie, she's my style icon and a woman with character. We really enjoyed the TV series, and I'm waiting for the next season! :)
As your typical binge-watcher, I don't have expectations from this TV series to provide me with a realistic portrayal of Paris, French culture, and how to make good relationships (most characters are awfully bad at relationships). I think that's what allows me to enjoy it, however triggering it may be.
I enjoyed this video, as it let me realise why I watch it and not feel like I'm watching 'that awful show'. It also made me raise the following questions:
- Should we expect this show to portray Paris and the French people and culture realistically? Why?
- Why can't it be a fun and somewhat ridiculous TV series?
- Why do we expect TV series to always portray life as it is - with a certain level of diversity among actors, with the beautiful but also the ugly always shown?
When you consider that including poc as a debatable issue, the problem is starting there. But maybe they're doing us a favour, the only black guy is ridiculous as its peers.
@@masterculturedunkerque7918 not sure what you mean by poc :)
I almost agreed with you until I reached the representation part. You either try to create a realistic portrait of a city or a fantasy. I hope I don't need to explain why non-white representation is needed when it comes to a realistic potrayal of a modern, Western European, post colonial, tourists infected city. The more interesting question is about the fantasy aspect I guess
When you make a fantasy you inevitably make a political statement (sorry). So let's say you want to build a utopia - all of the choices you make say something about how you see the perfect world. Let's say you don't want to have black people there. What does it say about your mindset? Good = 100% white?
Those choices don't have to be conscious but still. Escapism is the strangest explanation of lack of non-white characters
@@angelikaskoroszyn8495 I don't understand why making a fantasy automatically involves political statements? By saying that, we're assuming that by showing only the rich and fancy-dressed people, the show makers are absolutely saying, "we don't want to acknowledge people from other backgrounds". What if they simply portray something very specific and don't necessarily think badly of the rest they left out of the picture? Do filmmakers have to include specific actors just to ensure that people don't get offended, even if they don't have any offensive beliefs?
Of course, it depends on how the directors respond to the received critique, something of which I'm not aware in the case of Emily in Paris so I can't comment here.
I totally understand where you're coming from. I simply don't see a political or social attack towards specific groups of people in this particular show. It may be my personal background that influences this relaxed perception of an international tv series.
Escapism is not an explanation for why this show doesn't have a sufficient number of non-white characters. The escapism that viewers of Emily in Paris, including myself, mean they want to disappear into the world of fancy French people, fashion, and fun for 40 minutes or the whole season in a binge. It's dangerous to automatically assume that this includes wanting to disappear into the world of only white fancy French people.
your video essays are always excellent, i'm happy that your channel has grown as much as it has since i first discovered you!! (and i hope it keeps on growing)
really thoughtful and reasonable analysis. loved every minute!
Wow, I love your perspective if full of empathy. You just made me understand a part of myself. Thank you
I love how they eat at the restaurant twice times per day in this show
‘Alice in Paris’ is a 4 Season Show that we’d love to watch. Also, so happy to see more regular uploads.
This is my new favorite channel. You're so refreshing, articulate, intelligent and pretty.
What is also funny and unrealistic in the show is how Emily (and her American boss) is always wearing zillions of clothes out of an excessively Midwestern wardrobe. It must be to emphasize the contrast in styles between the Chicago girl and the "chic" French outfits of Sylvie and other French characters. Unless she packed 20 suitcases when moving to France, that's totally unrealistic because it would be nearly impossible to buy these outfits in Paris :)
you can buy ugly clothes in Paris too lol
awesome analysis and commentary! thank you ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What stroke me the most in the latest season of Emily in Paris was the horrible work ethic, nepotism and clientelism of the scenario. For me the escapism doesn’t even work as everything in this show is about mingling work and personal life which is my worst nightmare. I would love it to go even further in the « camp » and drama of it all to be at least entertaining.
Many times classblindness has been also colourblindness
i love this video so much i learned a lot thanks!!! great job
I definitely agree with the part about watching the show because of the idealized version of Paris that is presented. I watched it faithfully since it came out because I was obsessed with the idea of going to Paris and watched it even more leading up to my trip there this last June. Unfortunately, my experience there was pretty terrible. The city was beautiful and the people were wonderful, but shortly into my trip I caught Covid and became extremely sick so the rest of the trip was spent stuck in my hotel room during a heat wave. I still feel like I haven’t even been to Paris because I really didn’t get to enjoy it and was so sick that I’ve basically forgotten any time there that I spent before that. I still watch Emily in Paris now because I’m in a way trying to live vicariously through the characters since that desire to have my own “Emily in Paris moment” is still there.
As someone who grew up in New York, I just flashed back to some major sex and the city and friends trauma.
I was thinking something like that when skimming through the comments: That NYC is usually just as glamorized as Paris, with only the touristy sights being shown, and our upper-working class heroines somehow being able to afford no end of fashionable outfits and shoes and restaurants.
And yes, both is dangerous I think because it creates the half-conscious impression that that's a normality that you should have / would have if not for some mean machinations. And it's all to easy to use that back-ground sense of the world doing you wrong is due to the evil Big Government, Woke Mind Virus, Politicians or whatever the target _du jour_ is ...
Fantastic work. You have a new follower. I love how you look at this in an objective way.
I really don't understand why people would be upset over this show as it's obviously a glamor show, ment for escapism, not a documentary. I think people just want to be angry in general nowadays. If you want realism, anyone can look up true stories on CZcams etc but people already are overwhelmed by their own lives and know the world is a hot mess and want to , need to get away from that for awhile. escapism is essential for mental health. I don't know about the statistics on education level and Netflix use, since so many people have it and the pole never included me, and I have a college degree...anyway it's pointless to direct anger at a harmless TV show that never pretended to be anything other than it was. Direct your anger at bettering your own lives. The only one who can fix you is you.
Yes!!!
Meanwhile in reality Emily would be on max 38K, Mindy on 25K…
Probably less. Average salary is quite terrible in France
France willingly choose to portray Paris this way given the revenue tourism provides there but I also find it interesting that New York is also a popular tourist destination despite Americans constantly portraying it as a chaotic hellhole
Lol Gossip girl and Sex and the city had once existed
@@masterculturedunkerque7918 Simpsons "Homer vs New York" has more international viewership than both of those shows combined
@@kpunk and? The cultural impact of Gossip girl and Sex & the city is huge still
Thank you so much for this video, Alice. I love hearing the perspective of a French person and as always you offer valuable insight. In thinking about covering the show, I could never quite explain why I keep going back to it despite its many glaring flaws. Just this morning I thought the draw had to do with a formula for things that have been proven successful and replicating it. We love Mad Men and Devil Wears Prada, so they smashed them together with fashion choices so atrocious it feels spiteful after three seasons. Like the showrunners are aware of the criticisms surrounding the show and chose to triple down.
I agree with all the reasons stated about finding escapism in the show, but by the end of this latest season I found myself more bothered than entertained, as I couldn't shake the feeling that now they're just trolling. I think the excuses only work for so long, because if the show doesn't grow then sooner or later the audience will outgrow the show.
That last part was so meta ❤
It's so interesting to have some data on the demographic of netflix viewers ! It gives some perspective on the show
I really appreciate your powerful words, since Brazil 🇧🇷❤️
I’m not a fan of the show as a Parisian from the 7th but we must remember this is entertainment. It’s supposed to make people get out of their daily grind. It’s a Hollywood series. It’s not a documentary.
Just coz it’s not a documentary, doesn’t mean it can’t be critiqued as an entertainment piece.
Everything you said can be said of the way New York City is portrayed in 90s tv shows. Everything is wealthy with no classes or race.
At the risk of stating some obvious things; I wanted to give you props for both this video and a lot of the other videos I've seen on this channel for... something I find oddly difficult to put into words without honestly sounding weird and not quite what I mean. I guess the mix of dense intellectual conversation in a way mixed with personal/relatable topics like Emily in Paris. The way the lighter topic is so transparently weaved in to the larger topics facing our society/world.
Anyways, it's very hard to find such enriching content on CZcams even if you constantly search for it. I wanted to thank you and act as some positive signal that we appreciate the hard work it takes to make a video like this. :)
I find Emily in Paris interesting as I it slightly mirrors my experience. I love Paris and by a quirk of fate ended up as a project manager for a large retailer in the late 1990s. I was a consultant so did a fly in fly out from London on a weekly basis and stayed in the Sofitel for four months. I didn’t have Emily’s wardrobe and my job was HARD but I the company was very kind and spoke English is any meeting I attended as my French was rudimentary at best (luckily my tech lead spoke fluent French). Yes, I was a middle class white woman in my early 30s at the time - but that was a persona. I had actually worked my way up from poverty in my original country and had until recently lived in a squat in London for years. Apart from the clothes (and the romance as I had a boyfriend in England) it was similar in many ways and reminded me of that time.
As a child i experienced Paris as a magical place. I loved the monuments, hunting for perfume samples at Lafayette, eating at a Vietnamese traiteur, marvel at the fake birds of the street sellers. I wish those memories for everyone; either by visiting the place or watch a tv show about it.
Great video!
As someone who has a doctorate in immunology and works in a major US hospital, I really enjoy this show and genre. Working in a hospital during the pandemic was hard and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was to watch shows that had a lot of violence or drama. It would take my stress level up to 100% so I looked for shows that were easygoing and had some humor. Is it a form of escapism? Is it very inaccurate when it comes to many aspects of daily life? YES, but that's ok for me because I take the show for what it is. Just a show.
Great video. Subscribed!
Interesting perspective and well said
this video totally changed me veiw about ‘watching netfilx’ itself.
This is the best critique of the show I’ve seen.
Yes, this: I kept on circling back to the "it's supposed to be an escapist show and people want to see it like it so your criticism on it will always be limited/easy to counter"
Your criticisms are likely true of many such shows, set in any large city.
I like Emily in Paris. It doesn't "deconstruct" the world or divide people into different groups (apart from maybe American and French). It's refreshing to watch something that doesn't look like it has an agenda or wants to make some form of social commentary. In a word, it's entertaining.
Your point about using tv shows as escape from your own class reality, I have found music to be similar, as in, I don't mind listening to Stromae sing about class etc in "Sante" but I also like to listen to Britney Spears vapid "Gimme More", like I know it's stupid or whatever but yeah it's a nice reprieve from husseling my ass off. To enter fantasy is a saving grace in this life. And it's like you can imagine you are these singers, or actors (parasocial relationship etc) but still even if I make my own music I know I can't be a popstar because of class, etc. Anyway, merci pour le video, Alice
I don’t watch any of those examples, I did the first season of Emily in Paris but I rubbed me in the wrong way on so many aspects I can’t stand watch anything else. And as I was listening to this video I realized I am happy with my life, I don’t need or seek escapism, that’s why shows that are made for that are only annoying to me. And now I understand better why so many people seem to not care about all the problematic aspects, because they want/need the escapism. I feel like I won’t judge or get confused with why they are popular anymore. I really liked your analysis on this topic!
Merci bien, Alice! I enjoyed your views a lot!
I always feel kind of duped by shows like Bridgerton or Emily in Paris. They are so unrealistic, it seems like a waste of time to me to watch them. But they are there and spark helpful and reflective discussion, which is something I’m grateful for.
Such a great take on the subject!:) I guess we tend to erase class also in the discussions about audiences?
Btw if someone wants to see "the other side", though not Paris, I love the books by Edouard Louis. They've been translated into multiple languages.
I have a degree, work in a leadership position in a large Company and live in one of the largest European cities and enjoy Emily in Paris, besides not liking the real Paris and never could imagine being a stay at home mom. It is like reading fairy tails as children, you know it is not real - but it does no need to be. Humans are creative beings.
"Daughter from another mother" discusses classism in Mexico as well as other themes around feminism and the lgbtq community, it was interesting to look at the differences in Mexican culture relating to these subjects. One of the main characters is an executive and she is constantly dealing with blatant and overt sexism that will make your little westerner jaw drop
this is such good content :))
Thank you, Alice! I love hearing the pov of a fellow european on socio-cultural issues. The demographical info was also interesting for me. P.s. that top brings out your eyes :D
I am so tired of all the hate Emily in Paris gets whenever there's a new season... I like social commentary and I find analysis videos interesting. But I think I would be more open to this kind of analysis if it didn't feel like everyone screaming "Oh EiP is terrible! It's not realistic! Oh the stereotypes!" like wow a feel-good, rom-com show is not realistic? What else is new? 😒
And I notice people mentioning "oh it's terrible but I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it." Then just enjoy it. It shouldn't be a guilty pleasure, there are worse things to feel guilty over. I hate that people don't feel like they can like something because they are being told that it's terrible by a loud group of people. Let people enjoy the things they like.
And what a shame that our culture is often much quicker to judge shows, music, and books predominantly enjoyed by women.
EiP hardly passes as culture and we are critiquing it because it glorifies (a white brand of) ignorance. It's like eating junk food daily and defending it as an escape from a healthy diet. And many people (myself, an immigrant woman of colour) truly do not enjoy the show... No plessure, just criticism. If a show is receiving it, there is good reason and "getting tired of the hate" isn't an argument.
@@mimi_pesss But higher education is supposed to be elitist. Those who have received more training in pursuit of higher learning are in general supposed to possess more critical thinking skills. You'd hope that's the result of higher education anyway...That's the point. If everyone really were intellectual equals, regardless whether they spend their time reading and writing vs watching EiP, then what makes the exceptional "exceptional" and what makes for "intelligent discourse"? There would be no justification for university learning
@@13hehe Thanks for your reply. I think you are right, it`s supposed to be elitist. But having had a house staying mom I don`t share this view that housewives watch these shows without criticism. I believe it is escapism for them, and they are aware of it. And also I am not white nor coming from a rich country, so maybe I have a very different perspective from the general audience for this video.
@@mimi_pesss I think shows like this exploit women (including housewives) and exploit their situations, so, at least for me i think the critique is certainly not addressed at housewives, but to the shows are for constantly feeding this stuff. Maybe in the short term it feels satisfying to binge this kind of tv, but i wonder the longterm effect this has on a woman's self-esteem, feeling of freedom vs entrapment etc. being exposed to this story of living it up in a "fun job" in Paris but never attaining it...idk..
Oh my your so critical!!!!Emily in Paris is beautiful!a feel good stories of experiences and what u can create and imagine when u are in Paris,why so skeptic????geeze!loosen up girl!!!
Some accused the show of portraying (maybe making fun of) french steretypes. As a European, I like to see it as a show that is actualy making fun of American steraotypes.
I mostly agree...I'm Italian, and I felt the show made fun of the French a bit, but of American themselves much, much more. Like, do people actually think Emily is supposed to be a "positive" character?
I found her to be almost a caricature of an american. Loud, often inconsiderate, obsessed by social-media and with a predictably minuscule attention span, dishonest and at times disloyal, workaholic, egocentric...the list goes on. And yet every single male in the city would fall at her feet immediately - I presume _that_ is the escapism part, that she sleeps with some new hottie each episode. Eventually I stopped watching because I couldn't suffer Emily _herself_ anymore.
Escapism I’m Bridgeton is so nice. It’s nice not to be “a black person” on screen and just a person. Escapism is so great especially if you aren’t happy in day to day real life. There are many shows that show reality and our grim existence. I think we can let a few slide. Emily in Paris isnt fantasy like Bridgeton so I understand the criticism.
I think it also reflects real life more than many want to admit it.
Being say a good coworker is going to oftentimes be the biggest thing about someone at work and so on.
You perfectly explained it :)
Greetings from France
a very good video. tbh I think Emily in Paris is shown from the american way, the way they see Europe, especially France. It´s all over aesthetic, like a fancy postcard, it´s so fashion and stylish and also sexualised, because that´s a prejudice french people always get in movies and film. They proceeding the show, the way the Paris-Syndrom is working. A picture perfect Paris, but the reality is a lot different.
I really enjoyed the show during some difficult days with my baby being sick. It brought some much needed light and happiness. Not everything has to be realistic imo, sometimes you just want to dream away.
I'm the light also include sex with an underage boy.
Shows are escapism naturally. People artificially enjoy a type of life they can't reach. Documentary makers are a niche now, a small one, and it's sad. Thanks for your videos!
It's like sitcoms and their depiction of life in New York.
This was a brilliant essai Alice. Especially the second part where you explain why pop culture is such a good basis for political/sociological discussions.
Inclusion of class in media, when done accurately, could have great reception. The key word is 'accurately'. An individual from a working class background won't enjoy being mocked at, but could have a fun time (even if the show is a comedy) if they can see themselves in the characters. Plus, it could give some hope: maybe by watching that, people who aren't working class will be better able to understand their realities. These are some of the main issues I find from the way you've described these two characters in Emily of Paris: I, as a working class individual, feel mocked at by these characters; more importantly, I worry that this is what rich people think it's my reality. That when I say I'm on a budget, they think that I also have money for a super diverse wardrobe and numerous social activities. That when I say I'm struggling, it's just because I don't know how to do personal finances. If Cami, for example, can have such a life in Paris, then why aren't the rest of us trying as hard?
Worse... If Cami can have such a life in Paris, then what's wrong with me? It's my own fault if I have money issues.
As a working class woman, I DON'T watch shows to escape from my class reality. Sure, maybe Gossip Girl was like that, but it got to a point where it was so ridiculous, I simply had enough. Instead, I'd rather see people like myself on TV, not necessarily full of dramas, but that's the point: even with our very real class struggles, it doesn't mean our whole life revolves around them. We're humans too, who socialise and have hobbies and enjoy nice things when possible.
I know my own experience isn't representative of the rest. But I think shows like these can be dangerous. Blaming the victims + inaccurate representation + ignoring class when it's meant to be essential for the kind of characters they're introducing.
I strongly agree. I think you can have escapist/fantasy media without sacrificing those perspectives of class/etc.
Ayo who in Paris😳😳
emily
Esteemed and refined gentlemen of a darker skin tone
Emily! It literally stands in the title of this video
Haven't watched the show, but been once to Paris and all I can say is "shitty city". I got a sensation of Paris that it was a decadent city, the remainings of what once was a vibrant city, capital of a world colonial power, now living of old glories long gone. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie put it perfectly in an interview. She said something like "France hasn't realized it is not the world power it once was"
Also just suscribed. I watched most of your videos, don't know why I hadn't before
Paris always had a huge wealth divide, it never was uber "decadence" all around. Modern day Paris is extremely lively depending on the district. You clearly did not experience the city.
To be fair, most of the ones about New York/London are the same as this. Always comically poor but somehow have decent accommodation in swanky areas.
I know everyone have different opinions. But lately it seems people like to just over think and over analyze everything. There different types of shows: the ones that are more realistic(they make you reflect about life and sometimes teach you something), the ones that are pure fantasy(fun to watch) ones that are more heart warming(my favorites) and etc, and then other that are just entertainment like Emily in Paris. This show it's no to teach you some life lesson or to look a the real world, it's just a lighter show to entertain, with some good and bad fashion, some romances and caos that it's solve easily, that's all. It never claim to be more than that. If people are looking for something realistic there's plenty of shows like that. I don't watch this show thinking "oh I'm going to see how life in Paris really is" i just think "oh I'm going to disconnect from everything for a bit and just relax". Again if people want to see something more realistic, or the social problems that we see all around us everyday, then there other shows for that and the news.
100%
There is nothing wrong with being critical and thoughtful of what media is being created and we consume. A piece of creation is for the public to see and understand, regardless of their conclusions. "Over analysing" is just doing exactly that (and there is no such thing as over analysing to begin with imo). When a show like this comes out, clearly clattered through its narrative choices and design to the privileged few, of course people are going to talk about it. Media does not exist in a void, be it fantasy or sci-fi, it will ultimately mirror real issues real humans struggle with
Dead on! The comments that drag on to novels seem to look for the deep dregs of commentary on life as if we need to see it in everything. I never turned on the show hoping to learn about the true nature of Paris and all its grittiness.
It reminds me of English teachers I had that needed to over analyze books where you almost started to stop enjoying them. I had this funny thought that the author might be laughing at everyone saying, yeah, I just wrote it for the heck of it. There is no unlined meaning to it.😂
I see Emily in Paris as similar to sex and the City.
It doesn't seem like showing various classes would fit into the theme of the show
Thanks for your thoughts !
I haven't seen that show, but still I could enjoy your critique. I think you as a French individual, or an old-World individual if you like, have a better understanding of social class structure. I think it would be interesting to explore that subject more.
It's not like you discovered America... When people come home from stressful jobs they want to watch something simple to relax. Tbh most netflix shows can be count as escapism? All scifi genere etc. So it's a normal thing for people to look for sth simple to enjoy after a hard day at work. You don't have to classify that "mostly women from small towns" watch these kind of shows...
I appreciate your comment!
This is a great review that goes beyond the surface. Loved the review, hate-watched Emily in Paris!
Thanks Alice.
i just want to point out that saying that not going to college is equal to “having little to no education” is not at all correct
Oh thank you!!!!
En tant que personne vivant en France mais pas a Paris je dois avouer que toutes les discussions outragees (et à juste titre!) sur la vraisemblance d'Emily in Paris me font un peu rire, car c'est exactement le genre de discussions (a une échelle moindre) que j'entend quand une série française se passe ... ailleurs qu'a Paris.
Très bonne video en tout cas !