I now live in France. I am done with my full-time language studies which kept me immersed in French 5 days per week. I now live with the reality that it is very difficult to find people who have time to just visit with a 40-year-old struggling to learn French. I continue to pray for such a patient friend to come into my life, but for now our television is a fabulous way for me to continue hearing and trying to understand French.
But, can I just say...TV in France is just plain STRANGE in my humble opinion! I thought it might make an interesting subject for a blog. Here goes...
You know you are in France when watching TV because...
1. Commercials. The most obvious difference between French and American television is the very noticeable absence of commercials -- at least for 40 minutes of an hour. Yep. You can watch a full 40 minutes of a program and never see a commercial.
But then, all of a sudden, the commercials begin, and they go on and on and on and on and on. They last for about 15 minutes. One commercial after another. I wonder who in their right mind just sits there and watches 15 minutes worth of commercials?
2. The commercials themselves are totally different. They are sweet, enticing, a work of beauty and rarely ever funny or obnoxious. At least, that would describe the commercials that I have actually stayed around and watched.
3. You pay for this! The government of France makes you pay for the luxury of not watching commercials throughout each program. Every person (including us) pays a TV tax of about 110 euros per year. Even a person who doesn't own a TV pays this tax. The tax is supposed to keep television from becoming all commercials.
The funny thing to me is that we pay a tax and it seems to me that there are still lots of commercials, even if they are all gathered together at the end of the program. What's with that? I keep wishing we could opt to watch the commercials and not pay the tax. But, I am told that is not an option.
4. Talk, talk, talk!!!!! The second most noticeable thing about French television vs. American is the style of program that is most popular. They are talk shows. Lots and lots and lots of talk shows. But, this is not the Oprah or David Letterman kind of talk show. This is a host around a table with other famous or semi-famous people talking; there might even be a stage where people perform in between talking.
Or, there's a stage in the middle of a studio audience with 3-6 people and a moderator and they are discussing various topics. Some are funny topics, some are serious topics, but they are always having very lively discussions.
In addition, most of the shows that France has adopted from America (or are they originally from Britain?) have been Frenchified. For instance, their version of American Idol lasts for THREE HOURS! (They've added lots and lots of talking.)
If you watch the French version of Survivor, it will be 3 hours long. (They leave a lot more 'in'. The editing allows for lots and lots of talking between the contestants. And the tribal council - you guessed it - has lots and lots of talking.)
If you watch the French version of Extreme Home Makeover, it is over 2 hours long. They show each room they have made-over for about 5 minutes. They scan the room very slowly and show every little detail. Then, each member of the family has to react at length to each room! I marvel at their level of patience to watch these programs for so very long!
5. Magic and performance. Along with the talking shows, there are a lot of shows with performers. They really like magic here. Many a night it is easy to find a magician performing. And, they really like 'discovering talent' types of shows too. (Note: the word talent is being used loosely. It could be anything, like the guy I saw the other night who did an act with his trained rats.)
6. Just one English channel. We had to purchase the very basic number of channels to hook up our internet and phone, so we have about 20 channels or so. Only one channel is English and it is the British CNN channel.
I won't even try to explain the difference between British CNN vs. the USA because CNN is not French, but it is pretty hilarious to watch. Especially the weather. But, you'll have to come and visit to see what I mean about that one. :-)
7. Sports. I find it really interesting how many other sports there are in the world besides baseball, basketball and football (American football, that is). There are so many other sports that are aired on TV here and I have to say it pretty fascinating to watch.
(Here's a French lady riding her bike across the Grand Canyon. Just about anyone you meet in France who has been to America has been to the Grand Canyon it seems. They are totally fascinated with the place.)
(Low and behold...they do curling at other times of the year besides just for the Olympics!)
It's also very amazing to realize that the USA sports stars are really pretty 'small' in the world at large. We Americans know very little about soccer stars, but they are really the ones who are known world-wide, not our sports stars.
Basketball is growing in popularity and NBA stars are more known than any other sports stars of the USA. It's funny the perspective you get of the world when you leave America for a while.
8. Swearing. I know it must happen. But, because I don't know the swear words in French yet, I cannot be offended! It works great!
But, I have just finally realized that my kids know them. I've been the 'ignorant' Mom who is just watching intently - trying desperately to understand what people are saying and my kids are cringing and saying "Mom, do you think we should change the channel?" I'm wondering if I need to learn those words. I really don't want to. What a quandary!
9. America's mark. It's so strange. There are so many American things on TV here. But, they are dubbed in French. So, you see the mouths moving in English, but you hear French. Oh how I wish I could read lips! TV would be so much more fun!!!! But, I cannot read lips and it is so much harder to understand the French when the mouths are not moving in unison with the sounds.
And, it would seem to us that there are only 5 French people producing all the dubs. After a while, you can tell that they are the same people who dubbed another old American movie. And, all the men sound like they have been smoking for 40 years. It's pretty funny to listen to these French dub artists (is that what you would call them?) when you know what the voices of the actors and actresses are supposed to sound like.
And, they have lots and lots of American movies and shows on the TV here. Old movies, old and current sitcoms, travel shows, Discovery programs, National Geographic shows and so forth. Its just so crazy!
10. Oh, and there's another really strange thing about TV here. They almost never start a new program ON the HOUR! It starts at 7:20 p.m. or 7:40 p.m. or 7:50 p.m. I still don't have it all figured out, but I just know that if I arrive at the TV on the hour, I'll be joining a program, not catching the opening of a program. And, each channel seems to follow their own schedule so the commercial blocks come at all different times during the hour if you flip through the channels.
Yet, our good old CNN still has news headlines at the top of the hour. That's a relief to this American.
Lastly, I'll tell you about our favorite TV show in France. It's called 'Un dîner presque parfait' which means "A Dinner Almost Perfect."
They bring together groups of 5 people who are competing to win 1000 euros. They each take turns serving the best meal that they can for the other 4 contestants in the group. The 4 guests vote on the ambiance, decorations, the entertainment (they have to come up with a good way to entertain the whole group between the appetizers and dinner) and then the dinner.
They take each guest off into a bathroom in the house (yep - it's almost always in a bathroom!) and interview them about the evening. It's pretty startling to hear their comments about the host, the entertainment and the food.
It sort of makes me terrified to have people into my home for a meal when I hear how they talk about one each other's gourmet cooking!
At the end, the host that gets the most points out of the group of 5 wins the 1000 euros. It's fun to watch and learn about French food and culture - and to see inside their homes, too. :-)
So, that's a quick look at TV in France. One big positive to television watching in France vs. America is that the volume levels stays the same whether it's a commercial or a regular program. Perhaps that's another courtesy of paying a TV tax? Whatever it is, it is rather nice.
1 comment:
Fun post! Thanks for the insights!
Carrie Andersson
Post a Comment