Cultural frissons, anyone?

[SaligoBay]

You get lots of these when you move to France, c'est normal, but now I'm starting to have them the other way!  

Our TV is French and v patriotic, doesn't show UK channels or satellite or any of that globalised nonsense.   So, for the new Doctor Who (BRILLIANT!!!!!) we had to rely on someone taping it and sending it to us.    Among other things, there was an ad on it, can't even remember what for, but it had a girl working at a factory production line, and all I could think was "oh la la, un peu costaud, celle-là", and I expected some message about losing weight.  Mais non, no message, just an ad with a cuddly person in.  You NEVER see fat people in French adverts!!

I've had others.   Does anyone else suffer from these wrong-way-round surprises?   Or have I just been here too long?   Maybe a holiday back in the UK is called for, to sort out my PC values! 

[Teamedup]

I am simply all messed up now and semi linugual to boot.

I am confused too, an ad on BBC, well I suppose that they advertise their own progs and some services but no 'pub' as such. 

 

I loved this Dr Who series.

[SaligoBay]

an ad on BBC

No, it was just somewhere else on the same tape.

I also don't read many UK publications now, so my other recent frisson was when someone sent me a booklet on healthy eating (don't ask!).   On the front was a picture of a young black lady positively glowing with joy as she tucked into her delicious fat-free yoghurt.   And the thought that jumped into my mind?   "How British is THAT"!!!!

For the most part, the default colour in France for these things is white.  Newsreaders, adverts, magazines, you name it.   I hadn't even thought about it until I saw that English booklet.   Bit scary how you assimilate these things without realising it.

No racist anything intended, just observations about political correctness and reality and goodness-knows what else.  Thinking about it, I probably know and see more non-white people in my daily life here in France than I did in the UK.   But in the media it's the other way round.  Apart from football, of course! 

Am I right?    I'm a bit worried, because I know mentioning colour is always a bit dangerous, so please take it in the spirit it's meant.  

 

 

 

[Dick Smith]

Of course the use of ethnic minorities in advertising is at least partly about recognising the value of the black pound - see also the grey pound, the pink pound and the green pound. And generally recognising that British society is now genuinely multi-ethnic and diverse.

[letrangere]

And generally recognising that British society is now genuinely multi-ethnic and diverse.

Yes and it's a very positive thing but isn't PC in the UK getting a bit out of hand?  I read recently about an advert for local council services somewhere in Surrey/Hampshire.  There was a photograph apparently depicting typical residents but practically all the people in the picture save a handful were ethnic minority.  Yet as the writer pointed out, the percentage of the population in that particular district who were from the ethnic minorities was minute so why have a disproportionately large number of them in an advert representing the local community?  And I saw something similar in my local British Council recently. There was ad for London yet everyone in the picture standing in front of Tower Bridge was of either West Indian or Chinese descent.  Thought crossed my mind that it would be more accurate in that neighbourhood if they had perhaps put some Bangladeshi people in the photograph.

I think what SB is experiencing is perfectly natural for she's simply losing touch with a British culture that is rapidly evolving.  I went for nearly four years without a trip to the UK in the early 90s and when I did eventually go back for a brief visit, it was unbelievably weird.  It was all so different yet my subconscious was telling me, this is where you're from, you should recognise this place.  But I didn't...  M

[Mpprh]

Hmm

Strange place to visit n'est-ce pas ?

Everyone talks English, even if with funny accents. It seems every car has a UK plate. Supermarkets open when you want to shop. And they even drive on the wrong side.

And things are expensive. Like a hotel breakfast at GBP 15.50, and the hotel price for a bottle of wine from my area was exactly what I pay in my local cave for 12 litres VRAC !

But the pubs and fish & chip shops do have a certain attraction. And I nearly forgot to mention the English traditional Chinese and Indian restaurants !

Peter

  

 

[Russethouse]

Peter - only Chinese or Indian ? Within a mile and a half we can take our pick from Fish & Chips, Indian, Greek kebab shop, Chinese take away, Chinese restaurant (different) 2 Italian restaurants, Greek restaurant, Spanish, Balti and Thai plus the traditional British pub grub available in four different locations - I am also the proud owner of a dozen or so Pizza quick home delivery menus, plus we have home delivery of Indian or Chinese food available.

Variety is the spice of life !!

[letrangere]

plus the traditional British pub grub

The "local" where we have a place in England only serves Thai food, and people say it's fantastic.  That's another thing about Britain nowadays that continues to surprise, it's so gloriously cosmopolitan.

M

[Tresco]

On the front was a picture of a young black lady positively glowing with joy as she tucked into her delicious fat-free yoghurt.   And the thought that jumped into my mind?   "How British is THAT"!!!!

For the most part, the default colour in France for these things is white.  Newsreaders, adverts, magazines, you name it.   I hadn't even thought about it until I saw that English booklet.   Bit scary how you assimilate these things without realising it.

I only have French TV, and it's something that stood out to me straight away. In France, I really notice that things that are dark, chocolate and coffee for instance, they will use a black woman to advertise, and really also for anything where they are trying to market it as being exotic. The last time I went to Paris I noticed it on hoardings too.

It all feels very 1970's/80's UK to me. I think UK and American Marketing strategies and audiences are much more sophisticated and advanced than here in terms of not only wanting the 'ethnic pound', but also in their avoidance of stereotyping, to put it very simply.

Here, I saw a TV ad recently and I really noticed it because there was a black guy, clearly a business man, with a lap top. There was some sort of exchange between him and a white guy sitting next to him, and it was quite clear that it was the black guy who was cleverer or whatever. It really stuck out to me, and I thought oh that's the first time i've seen anything like that here.  It then turned out it was an American ad for IBM I think, not a French ad at all!

I wouldn't have thought twice about that ad in UK, but I still would if a similar ad showed someone who was of Pakistani origin, in fact I don't think I've ever seen even an 'asian' child in an ad yet, whereas you will frequently see 'chinese' or 'west indian' looking kids. Margaret touched on this above, but it strikes me as being very true of broadcast media and print advertising, much more than LA's.