Articles
20.11.2021
Watching recommendations: "Emily in Paris"
The titular character of "Emily in Paris" is a young American woman working as a marketing manager. Her employer – a transnational corporation – has recently taken over a French company, and the latter's performance is not exactly up to the main management's tastes. It's up to Emily to set things right! She is expected to plan a marketing strategy that could reflect American corporate values and, at the same time, appeal to the French audience… And so, Emily heads off to Paris – the city she only knows for the "Ratatouille" animated cartoon. Hilarity ensues (no).
Earlier, we recommended a book about corporate etiquette in various countries. Which was exactly what the "Emily in Paris" characters could do with, in their situation! They didn't, though.
The sonorous enthusiastic voice commonly used by Emily in Chicago, is met with nothing but annoyance and irritation by her new French colleagues. The very first question she gets during a team meeting is "Why are you shouting?"
While in the USA "08.11.2020" means August 11, in France it stands for November 8. A most unfortunate date discrepancy when one needs to book a restaurant for an important business occasion…
A limited language fluency (or, to be more precise, a dangerous premise that similar looking words must have similar meanings), the main heroine presumes a collège pupil to be a much more adult college student…
All in all, it might be worth your time to sit through a couple of "Emily in Paris" episodes – to see the pitfalls of moving to another country for business. And if you like what you see, there is an upcoming second season already.