A vast amount of money, time and intellect has been invested in researching the possibility that we may not be alone in the blackness of space, and whether in fact other life-forms have been monitoring events on this curious little sphere.
Well, if they have it's looking increasingly likely that any notion of contact was dismissed when they saw the level of criminal life which apparently rules this inexorably warming domicile. Any being whose primary source of research was our TV or movie output over the last ten years could be forgiven for thinking we're engaged in undeclared conflict of an unsurpassed ferocity and scale.
And most of it's caused by the French??
The Hollywood cognoscenti seem to have formed the opinion that if you need a villain for your production, your safest option is to make him a Frenchman. Should you opt to make him of Middle Eastern extraction, you'd be well advised to have a friend start your car for a few months.
In recent memory, 'le homme de Francais' have spread fear among the audiences of Oceans 12, The Da Vinci Code, Zorro and Die Hard 4. And, as you might guess, our Gallic cousins are less than flattered. In a recent article the French magazine, Paris Match says that the Frenchman has been used to embody depraved morals, "as evoked by George Bush." And that's not the sum of their hubris. The article continues, "He washes sparingly, smokes and he is vain, cowardly and unfaithful. And each of these defeats is meant to show supposed American superiority," the magazine concludes with tangible resignation.
The national newspaper, "Le Monde" suggests the reasons for the anti-French sentiment in movies are quite simple; Since France resisted the rush to war in Iraq, "Hollywood" has re-cast the entire race as, "criminals, cowards and capitulators". After 9/11 it's much safer to demonise the French because Arab audiences are "more vigilant". And Italians and Chinese people have a large presence in the US, and the studios want them as audiences.
Whatever the cause, I can tell you two things; Firstly, the French are actually a wonderful people; Once you know them they're warn, gregarious and passionately loyal. They just have a strong affinity for white when faced with the prospect of conflict. And second, to have the label of villainy pass to another race for a while is a great, and very welcome relief. For decades the de-facto choice for the Hollywood 'uber villain' was always a Brit. I'm not sure whether it's the accent, the lack of a Republic or the penchant for 'warm' beer, but to be perceived by entire nation as being universally malevolent and nefarious is not a distinction many people would welcome.
So for now, or at least until the focus returns to us, as I'm quite sure it eventually will, I shall join my countrymen in a nationwide sigh of relief and some well-earned relaxation.
L'étape est à vous, Monsieur...And you're welcome to it!
Well, if they have it's looking increasingly likely that any notion of contact was dismissed when they saw the level of criminal life which apparently rules this inexorably warming domicile. Any being whose primary source of research was our TV or movie output over the last ten years could be forgiven for thinking we're engaged in undeclared conflict of an unsurpassed ferocity and scale.
And most of it's caused by the French??
The Hollywood cognoscenti seem to have formed the opinion that if you need a villain for your production, your safest option is to make him a Frenchman. Should you opt to make him of Middle Eastern extraction, you'd be well advised to have a friend start your car for a few months.
In recent memory, 'le homme de Francais' have spread fear among the audiences of Oceans 12, The Da Vinci Code, Zorro and Die Hard 4. And, as you might guess, our Gallic cousins are less than flattered. In a recent article the French magazine, Paris Match says that the Frenchman has been used to embody depraved morals, "as evoked by George Bush." And that's not the sum of their hubris. The article continues, "He washes sparingly, smokes and he is vain, cowardly and unfaithful. And each of these defeats is meant to show supposed American superiority," the magazine concludes with tangible resignation.
The national newspaper, "Le Monde" suggests the reasons for the anti-French sentiment in movies are quite simple; Since France resisted the rush to war in Iraq, "Hollywood" has re-cast the entire race as, "criminals, cowards and capitulators". After 9/11 it's much safer to demonise the French because Arab audiences are "more vigilant". And Italians and Chinese people have a large presence in the US, and the studios want them as audiences.
Whatever the cause, I can tell you two things; Firstly, the French are actually a wonderful people; Once you know them they're warn, gregarious and passionately loyal. They just have a strong affinity for white when faced with the prospect of conflict. And second, to have the label of villainy pass to another race for a while is a great, and very welcome relief. For decades the de-facto choice for the Hollywood 'uber villain' was always a Brit. I'm not sure whether it's the accent, the lack of a Republic or the penchant for 'warm' beer, but to be perceived by entire nation as being universally malevolent and nefarious is not a distinction many people would welcome.
So for now, or at least until the focus returns to us, as I'm quite sure it eventually will, I shall join my countrymen in a nationwide sigh of relief and some well-earned relaxation.
L'étape est à vous, Monsieur...And you're welcome to it!
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