Emily in Paris review- a rollercoaster journey of French stereotypes
By Adele Lau
The former creator of a hit show, Beverly Hills, 90210, has arisen to take on the journey of Emily in Paris. The romantic comedy series starring Lily Collins has outraged with the number of French cliches and stereotypes used.
The romantic comedy series, Emily in Paris, shows Collins, an American naive conquering cliche stereotypes in France in trying to go after her dream goal of becoming a social media guru.
The genre of Emily in Paris is a mixture of romantic comedy and comedy-drama. The main audience the movie is targeted for are teens, specifically above 15.
Emily in Paris was directed by Darren Star and was produced by MTV Studios. The show is online all over the globe, and then became one of the most heated headlines all over social media. The show climbing its way to the streaming platform’s top ten practically right after it aired shocked most viewers.
Debates have been said on whether or not the main character, Emily, is a living breathing stereotype or if she genuinely is just living the French dream as a naive American girl.
Emily worked in Chicago for a marketing firm, up till her boss was going to move to Paris, her boss then gets pregnant and gives the opportunity to work in Paris to Emily. The quirky thing about the show is Emily thinking she can run Paris with her “fake it till you make it” philosophy, in addition, expecting people to speak English to her even if she doesn’t ask because she doesn’t t know how to speak the French language. She lives through Paris and survives by her ‘cute’ personality and her showing everyone she’s a harmless naive American that literally doesn’t know anything about France.
“Emily in Paris isn’t a bad show, however, there are some elements in the show that include French stereotypes which can come across as rude or reflect a bad image onto the show,” said a Year 11 RCHK student.
“Stereotypes like ‘Chinese talk behind your back, French say it in front of you’ are used on the show. May seem funny to some people but offensive to others. Overall, it’s a messed up show that is in a way, good to watch if you’re just looking for a laugh,” a Year 9 student said of the show.
The character Emily is unexciting and throughout the show, it is blatantly predictable what is going to happen next. Because of this it doesn’t give the audience much of a thrill while watching the show. Fans weren’t too pleased with the stereotypes that were constantly mentioned on the show. For example, that every man in Europe is gorgeous and can only be that.
The impression the show gives for this stereotype is that every place Emily goes, she attracts men. The neighbour, Gabriel, the man she works with at the office and even strangers walking around the street, all seem to have a nice sparkle and glow to them.
The second stereotype is that every French person is mean. Many viewers absolutely despised how the show represented the attitude of French people. Starting with Emily’s friend, Mindy, stating that the Chinese are mean behind your back but the French are mean to your face. Having said that, the French are annoyed that they’re being labelled as ‘mean’ or ‘a snob’ when all they truly value is respecting those who respect them.
Overall, I would give Emily in Paris 3 stars out of 5. It’s a perfect show if you’re trying to find a series that distracts you away from reality and only shows the fantasy part of our world. It is not the worst television show to air, however, there isn’t anything memorable about the show except the absurd amount of stereotypes that are used as jokes. Let’s just hope Season 2 will not be as hectic as the first season.
Emily in Paris is streaming on Netflix.
Lily Collins in Emily in Paris. Photograph: Stephanie Branchu/AP