Le Grand Frère Problème

By london_alex Last edited 230 months ago
Le Grand Frère Problème
funkycops.jpg

As Londonist sat down to our Monday morning coffee and reading of the (internet-based) newspaper, something struck our eye: Paris culture police pull the plug on l'anglais chic. We were expecting some hot article about an English designer gone astray at Paris Fashion Week but this was not the case at all.

It seems the French are trying to protect the sanctity of their culture from the crushing waves of modernity once again. So who or what is to blame for this recent outbreak of French protectionism? Reality television shows of course.

It seems that the French see reality television shows as part of a conspiracy by the English to impose their superiority.

France's Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA) has given television stations a command; either change the title of the show to French, or run a double-title which includes both French and English. So what is the CSA's reason for the crackdown? "This results from the idea that English is superior and stems from a widespread sentiment of the inferiority or outdated nature of the francophone culture," the CSA said. We think that this statement is what spreads sentiments that the francophone culture is outdated, not the titles of reality shows.

Despite French belief, reality TV shows are not an English attempt to ruin the future of French minds, they aren't that specific. They are created to sour the minds of all cultures that spend countless hours pondering who will be kicked off first, which alliance is really a sham, and which two people will secretly sleep together as video cameras record it. Reality TV sees no culture lines – they seek to ruin all minds, not just French ones.

Some of the proposed changes include:

La Star Academy — L'Ecole des Vedettes

La Hit Machine — La Machine à Succès

Loft Story — Histoire d'un Loft

Popstars — Vedettes de Variétés

Totally Spies — Des Espions à Part Entière

And our absolute favourite: Funky Cops — Des Flics dans le Vent.

Last Updated 31 January 2005