April 07, 2003

Prime time

One of the many things I love about France is that political and literary debate are a mainstay of prime time TV.

Perched on stools around a très design table, or slumped on fat velvet couches, babes with their boobs spilling out of their tops hold forth on Kierkegaard or Middle East policy, sparring off with middle-aged men in rumpled pink shirts who have an odd tendency to wear glasses on their forehead, like a second set of eyes.

I love that when celebrities come on a show to promote their latest whatever, they’re not treated to mawkish praise or asked for cute anecdotes rehearsed in the green room, but rather bombarded with difficult and embarrassing questions that often leave them gobsmacked.

The French love debate, and will get heated about anything – life, love, wine and the weather. Coming from Canada, the land of polite acquiescence, it took me a while to catch on. I couldn’t understand how buying pears could lead to controversy, nor why I got funny looks when I only smiled and apologized for no reason.

When they come to visit, and we’re walking the streets, my parents now remark on how rude I’ve become. So I smile and apologize, then duck into the greengrocer’s for a fight.

Posted by Gail at April 7, 2003 11:39 AM
Comments

I like the specs on the forehead. Like a blinking sign: "I am an intellectual, the sort of man who has lost his sight in the pursuit of being smarter than you and all your friends put together. I am not vain and this is no big official deal or you would really be in trouble. I am merely telling you how things are. But I must keep my reading specs ready at all times atop my head as a warning to you all: I _will_ read, and I will read to _you_, I will read _at_ you, if you push me."

Posted by: Eeksy-Peeksy at April 7, 2003 01:40 PM

When I lived in France I would watch Nul Part Ailleurs religiously on Canal +, I loved that the Guignols (French puppets equivalent to British Spitting Image) would very often take the piss out of the guests on the show that night.

Posted by: D at April 8, 2003 03:41 PM

Nul part ailleurs is gone (and Canal is suffering badly from Messier's mess), but the Guignols are still pumping it out.

A few low blows of late, as you'd expect, and a bit stale on their US caricature, but still very few things make me laugh as hard as their Jacques Chirac. The nose alone is worth the price of subscription.

Le nez:http://www.guignols.com/chirac/chirac.htm

(sorry, I haven't figured out how to incorporate links in text, here. I'm too spoiled by textpattern.)

Posted by: gail at April 8, 2003 06:10 PM

Sorry, forgot to mention, no html in the comments. URLs should be automatically turned into links, though.

Posted by: mig at April 8, 2003 06:42 PM

Mig, you're such a meanie.

Posted by: D at April 9, 2003 05:00 PM