Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
15 May 2011
What is it with France and culture? Financial austerity everywhere, but don't touch our culture, say the French. At last night's Eurovision song contest, William Hill's had French entrant M. Vasilie at odds-on to win. At last, an entrant who could actually sing, competing against pop dross all around. Of course, he lost. And then there's the ongoing Cannes film festival, where Woody Allen proposed his own 'idealised' version of Paris. What chutzpah - making a film full of touristy cliches, employing the French first lady and telling the French in France how Paris should be. Of course, what all this proves is that it's not the individual merit of each entry that's important, it's political correctness that counts. If you belong to a national culture where supporting your neighbouring country is paramount, then forget quality - la politique essentielle is the thing. Secular France may not espouse public religion, but la cultur embodying national affiliations - now that's very different. Bring back De Gaulle, that's what I say.
19th April 2009
Lately I've been experiencing a bit of an identity crisis. When children ask what's the point in learning subjects like history (it's all dead and buried), the wise history teacher will say that unless we know where we've come from, we'll never know who we are.
The French, for all their faults, know exactly who they are. From the blockading fishermen in the north to the village townsfolk in the south, their culture is supreme. I even saw in our village bibliotheque a leaflet on how to renovate ancient crumbling houses so as to maintain French local heritage and history.
I see in the Sunday Times that Prince Charles is battling to stop a monstrous glass and steel reconstruction of the ancient much-loved Chelsea Barracks in London. I agree with him. A lot of what's wrong with the UK is not the crumbling edifices of its houses, but the crumbling edifices of its culture. When will planners get the message that unless we conserve the essential character of our past, we destroy not only our heritage but the essential character of who we are.
So, I suppose my own id crisis is caused by being an Englishwoman with eastern-Europe ancestors struggling to be accepted in yet another country. Like the teeming nomads in history, cross-circuiting the globe in search of a better life, I too need to find the essential ingredient that tells me who I am.
Answers please (not on a postcard) but by the comments section here!
The French, for all their faults, know exactly who they are. From the blockading fishermen in the north to the village townsfolk in the south, their culture is supreme. I even saw in our village bibliotheque a leaflet on how to renovate ancient crumbling houses so as to maintain French local heritage and history.
I see in the Sunday Times that Prince Charles is battling to stop a monstrous glass and steel reconstruction of the ancient much-loved Chelsea Barracks in London. I agree with him. A lot of what's wrong with the UK is not the crumbling edifices of its houses, but the crumbling edifices of its culture. When will planners get the message that unless we conserve the essential character of our past, we destroy not only our heritage but the essential character of who we are.
So, I suppose my own id crisis is caused by being an Englishwoman with eastern-Europe ancestors struggling to be accepted in yet another country. Like the teeming nomads in history, cross-circuiting the globe in search of a better life, I too need to find the essential ingredient that tells me who I am.
Answers please (not on a postcard) but by the comments section here!
22nd March 2009
Many people who have left the UK cite reasons such as 'too many immigrants have been allowed to enter the country, without feeling obligated to take on the new culture and language'. So, I was interested to read that France is introducing free and obligatory French lessons to immigration candidates before they leave their country. Those currently applying to join family members in France - some 35,000 people - must now take a test to ensure their French is of a high enough standard. Also, answer questions like 'In France, does a young woman need the permission of her husband to go to work?' Interesting words because they reveal the immense gap between different cultures. Those who fail the test will have to take lessons in their own country.
France will be the first country in Europe to introduce such a scheme. Of course, France says that the tests are not a prevention to immigration. However......
For me, although I approve of these measures, it is not nearly enough. I have always liked the US style of requiring immigrants to swear on oath to 'uphold the principles' of the new country. There is a subtle difference there. It's one thing to be forced to learn about a new culture, quite another to change long-held beliefs and behaviour patterns so that newcomers begin right from the start to integrate fully. By that, I mean: wear the clothes of the new country, speak the language, integrate with the indigenous population and don't live in ghettos with former immigrants. One can hope I suppose.
France will be the first country in Europe to introduce such a scheme. Of course, France says that the tests are not a prevention to immigration. However......
For me, although I approve of these measures, it is not nearly enough. I have always liked the US style of requiring immigrants to swear on oath to 'uphold the principles' of the new country. There is a subtle difference there. It's one thing to be forced to learn about a new culture, quite another to change long-held beliefs and behaviour patterns so that newcomers begin right from the start to integrate fully. By that, I mean: wear the clothes of the new country, speak the language, integrate with the indigenous population and don't live in ghettos with former immigrants. One can hope I suppose.
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