10 March 2003

French TV

When we moved to Senlis we decided not to get cable.  Actually I hate TV so the thought that we might have more of it made me start to shake a little.  With only four local channels to choose from we now had a French teacher right in the living.

My first exposure to French TV programs was while we were staying in a hotel in Paris two years ago.  Cat and I started to watch cartoons one morning and suddenly there were two people doing things that shocked even me.  I called down to the desk and demanded that they block the channel.  I was afraid to turn on the TV after that. 

There isn’t much to watch on TV.  On Thursday night there is occasionally a good movie but the rest of the week the programs are mostly “talk” shows.  One of these shows is “Tu la Monde en Parle (Everybody Speaks)”.  The male host asks questions of a panel made up of singers, comedians, politicians, corporate executives, or writers.  It is expected that everyone in France is well informed and has an opinion that is interesting, not just the few that appear on TV.

The latest episode of Everybody Speaks featured the Eric Laurent who wrote LES SECRET INAVOUABLES D’UN CONFLICT (THE SHAMEFUL SECRET OF THE CONFLICT).  His work is a collection of stories about the Bush family, starting with Grandpa Prescott and their long business association with the Bin Laden family.  In fact he says that the Bush clan would find it impossible to separate their business dealings from the Bin Ladens.

The next guest was Mohammad Sifaoul, a journalist who wrote the book MES “FERES” ASSASSINS (MY BROTHER ASSASSINS)”.  As near as I could understand he is a Muslim who infiltrated the terrorist activity that comes out of Algeria and Saudi Arabia. 

His findings, through personal experience show clearly that the U.S. friend Saudi Arabia is really the hotbed for much of the Islamic terrorist activity.  He says that the people behind this fundamentalist Islamic activity are no different than people like Adolph Hitler.

During the show the camera panned to other guests like the president of a huge department store chain or an actress.  They all seemed to be able to comment intelligently on the issues raised by Laurent and Sifaoul.  I was definitely struck by the impact of this show’s message and the fact that something so controversial is on mainstream French TV on a Saturday evening.

I was having trouble trying to imagine this type of show in the US.  Most folks on US TV don’t even seem to know where to find Kansas on the map, let alone Iraq. 

On another channel was THE PATRICK SEBASTIAN SHOW, a variety program featuring all kinds of stage acts.  In the audience are performers who introduce the acts and have discussions with Patrick about their own work.  Patrick is a sort of a has-been stand up performer.

The opening of the show was quite a shocker.  Patrick walks up on the stage saying something.  (None of these people speak clearly so it sounds mostly like a sea of words.)  Suddenly six thin bare-chested women come prancing out in high heels and g-strings.  They are each carrying two huge feather fans to hold up in front of Patrick.  I made some remark about how they didn't have any bosom, but Jay said he definitely could see that they did.

One of the stand up comedian acts on the show that night is a man who looks like Elvis with a big nose and black and white shoes.  His partner wears a pink bow right in the middle of her beehive hairdo, and a matching 1950's sleeveless dress with a bow at the waste.  She laughs a lot and pretends she is stupid.  He sang a song and she reacted to it.  I have to admit that even without understanding much of what they were saying I was laughing pretty hard. 

For once it was an interesting night of television.  I might have even learned a French word or two.