Opinion

I hated Emily in Paris (but still finished it)

By Alma Fabiani

Published Nov 5, 2020 at 09:30 AM

Reading time: 3 minutes


Entertainment

Nov 5, 2020

Picture this: Parisians wearing berets, romantic scenes at every street corner and an omnipresent Eiffel Tower. This is what you’ll get watching Emily in Paris (or any other American series or movie taking place in Paris). As lovely as it may sound to some, let’s be honest here, this is not what the Parisian life is about. I should know, I grew up there. Here’s why Emily in Paris only deserves a one-star review—buckle up, you’re in for a treat.

Emily, who’s originally from Chicago and works for a marketing firm lands a job in Paris after her boss falls pregnant. Within four minutes of the series starting, Emily has already moved to the city of love in a ‘chambre de bonne’, the top floor flat where maids used to sleep. While chambres de bonne are infamous for being no bigger than a shoebox, Emily ends up with a decent loft. Already, something doesn’t look right here, but for the sake of it, I won’t linger on the price of Parisian flats. There’s one other problem left: Emily doesn’t speak a word of French.

Not to worry though, the season-long running joke somehow gets solved by Emily’s ‘fake it till you make it’ approach. In no less than the first three episodes of the show, Emily has already encountered all the French stereotypes you can think of: chain-smoking, wine before lunchtime, rare meat, handsome men in expensive suits talking openly about sex, croissants so good they made Emily have a mini orgasm and a hatred for American culture like no other.

What did the French do to deserve Emily in Paris? The show mostly consists of Emily not only encountering French clichés, clearly found on Wikipedia, but she adjusts them the American way too. In other words, Emily spends her time in Paris teaching her friends, colleagues and lovers a thing or two.

View this post on Instagram

two words to describe 2020

A post shared by Emily In Paris (@emilyinparis) on

In a similar Carrie Bradshaw-esque approach—after all, Emily in Paris was created by Darren Star, who also brought us Sex and the City—people, French people in this case, either hate or fall in love with Emily. It must be her tone-deaf charm, along with her ‘plouc’ attitude; so wholesome!

At times, viewers might even feel bad for the American stuck in Paris with aggressive, borderline predatory French people. It can be easy to forget that while she may be labelled as tacky, Emily still has the privileged experience of a slim, white woman. Emily in Paris is just another American interpretation of the city of lights, one that is blatantly whitewashing the diversity of the capital.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, creator Star said he wanted to show Paris in a really wonderful way, and intended it as a “love letter to Paris.” Instead, he romanticised the city while also insulting its infamous residents. Poverty was obviously completely erased from the streets, when homelessness in France is in fact a significant social issue. The idea that everyone in Paris is rude is just not true. The idea that you can walk around freely and without a care in the world while wearing a head-to-toe Dior outfit is definitely not true either.

Emily is quick to accept unsolicited lingerie and kisses from older male clients (even in France, we call this sexual harassment), presumably because ‘that’s just what French men do’. Yet, Emily is utterly shocked and offended when a guy she has been flirting with all night tells her he likes “American pussy.” Granted, that’s probably not the pick up line she expected from a Parisian boy…

The final episode of season one sees a love triangle, which Emily is involved in, bien sur, getting broken up in a way that is supposed to be romantic but feels more like your typical betrayal. One thing Emily in Paris got right? No, cheating is not part of our cultural heritage, but I would be lying if I said it isn’t a common aspect of dating in Paris. Nice one Emily.

Emily in Paris has nothing to teach viewers about what it’s truly like to be a young person that lives and works in Paris (or anywhere else really). Posting a few selfies with the Eiffel Tower won’t make you Insta famous, we all know that. Why did I watch the whole show if I hated it so much, you wonder?

First, because every once in a while, it’s nice to numb your brain with some well-deserved American imperialism. And secondly, well because, that’s what Parisians do, we love to hate! C’est la vie!

Keep On Reading

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Female students fear harassment after all-male committee form pro-life society in Manchester

By Abby Amoakuh

Meta’s Kendall Jenner AI avatar roasts 818 Tequila and endorses other celebrity alcohol brands

By Charlie Sawyer

Will the Supreme Court banish Trump from the presidential ballot? Social media users have their say

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Woman miraculously comes back to life minutes before her own cremation

By Abby Amoakuh

Nicola Peltz Beckham faces backlash following new controversial campaign with Balenciaga

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

From Best Director to Best Picture, here are our top 2024 Oscar predictions

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Former boy band member accuses Taylor Swift of performing demonic rituals at concerts

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

AI used to resurrect dead Indian politician M. Karunanidhi ahead of elections

By Charlie Sawyer

Michael J. Fox speech at the BAFTA Awards 2024 leaves viewers in tears

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

AI-generated porn is growing in popularity. But will it simply become another man’s world?

By Abby Amoakuh

As cities wage a war on wee, the UK public toilet crisis intensifies

By Bianca Borissova

What is the girlfriend effect? Inside the TikTok trend improving men’s style

By Charlie Sawyer

Man partied for four days unaware he had been shot in the head

By Charlie Sawyer

Miley Cyrus fans convinced that her bodyguard was hiding something shocking at Grammys 2024

By Charlie Sawyer

Ron DeSantis’ administration links pro-Palestine student group to terrorism and bans it from campus

By Abby Amoakuh

Grace Beverley is being cancelled for asking fans to fund her wedding by buying her £42 planners

By Abby Amoakuh

Did Taylor Swift disrespect Céline Dion at the 2024 Grammys? We investigated the incident

By Charlie Sawyer

Five of the best and easiest side hustles you need to jump on in 2024

By Abby Amoakuh

Tory Crispin Blunt might be the latest MP accused of sexual misconduct, but he isn’t the first

By Abby Amoakuh

What does rizz mean? Learn why it’s Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2023