Taboo Talk, Gender, Race, and Religion Ethics in France
Le Film du Jour: Film of the Day
“Intouchables”
Intouchables (The Untouchables) has gotten a lot of attention since its 2011 release. Based on a true story, it is about a wealthy quadriplegic who hires an ex-con from the inner-city to be his caretaker. What ensues is a friendship that shatters the economic and social boundaries around them.
Touching and funny, this movie is more than meets the eye. It is a stellar example of the feel-good movie genre, but it also stands as a great commentary on race and religion ethics in France. From a language-learning perspective, you will be getting a lot of great conversation-ready vocabulary from the slow-moving dialogue and plot.
La Musique du Jour : Music of the Day
Stromae
The start of Stromae’s career is a modern fairytale. It begins with a track called “Alors on Danse” and a bevy of YouTube videos on composing. Cut to 2009 and you have a national sensation. “Alors on Dance” reached the top of the music charts in twelve countries, propelling Stromae into the spotlight as Europe’s next big thing. Former French president Nicolas Sarcozy admitted that he was crazy about his music. The Belgian Prime Minister gave President Obama Stromae’s first album as a gift representative of Belgian culture. It truly goes without saying that the Belgian-Rwandan singer has become a huge household name. His discography is eclectic and multi-faceted, as he pulls from African, French folk, rap, hip hop, and electronic genres at will. “Papaoutai”, another huge hit of his, pairs afro-pop with danceable electronic beats. “Tous Les Mêmes”, a song detailing relational drama from both sides, got a lot of buzz with a music video where he split his persona in half between male and female as he sang from both perspectives. Whether it be cancer, a drunk man separated from his girlfriend, absentee fathers, or the carnivorous nature of social media, Stromae wants to talk about it. His discography boasts two albums. Cheese (2010) put him on the map, and Racine Carrée (2013) looks as though it will keep him there.
Note: The name “Stromae” is verlan, a form of French slang that inverts syllables and plays around with the language to create new words. When you flip “stro” and “mae”, you get “maestro”, et voila! It is kind of like Pig Latin taken to a whole new level of fun, huh? Do not worry – we will be seeing more of this very soon.
L'Activité du Jour: Activity of the Day
Lire un Livre: Read a book
Reading a book in another language does not have to be saved until you become fluent. There are plenty of books that are not of the See Spot Run variety that you can start reading now, and future fluent-you will thank you for it.
That does not mean it is going to be a breezy read-through, though. For this exercise, you must have a dictionary on-hand, and you will be reading from it often. As you go along, you will pick up grammar constructions and solidify what you have already learned. Take your time, do not get discouraged, and know that your mind is soaking it all in. It sure beats the French version of See Spot Run. I guarantee it.
There are plenty of options to choose from, but today we will stick with two recommendations:
Albert Camus – L’Étranger (1942)
This French Nobel Prize-winning author is the father of absurdism, a post-WWII art movement characterized by gleaning meaning from the nonsensical. In this way, L’Étranger is a unique glimpse into the collective consciousness of a world horrified and confused by the ravages of a world war. Meursault, a French Algerian and the novel’s main character, kicks the novel into high gear after he commits a grievous crime directly following his mother’s funeral. The novel is divided into two parts, detailing Muersault’s mind frame in first-person before and after the murder. Camus summed up the novel himself, saying:
“In our society, any man who does not weep at his mother’s funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death.”
With a summary like that, you know you are in for quite a ride. This novel makes the recommendation list for its simple and easy-to-understand narrative style. The themes are looming and large with this pick, but you will be able to ponder them without scratching your head over the language more than you need to.
Marguerite Duras – L’Amante Anglaise (1967)
Marguerite Duras is one of the nation’s foremost feminist writers. Born in French Indochina (now Vietnam) in 1914, she made her way to her family’s native-country, France, and remained there until her death. Although some of her earlier works do not quite fit the genre, she is often associated with the rule-breaking nouveau roman (new novel) movement of the 1950’s.
In L’Amante Anglaise, we see her tackle a crime novel about the grisly murder of a small-town woman. Each chapter details the interrogation of a new witness, and it becomes very clear early on that each individual is unreliable or untrustworthy. Since it is wholly comprised of dialogue set up in an interview format, it is incredibly easy to understand. It is also a well-crafted treatise on gender identity and mental illness, and the mystery itself unfolds with equal depth. Even the title, “The English Lover,” is a play on words. “La mente anglaise” (English mint) is a huge symbol in the novel, and it is this duality, even in the title, that makes this such an intriguing read.
À demain! (See you tomorrow!)