Prologue
06-14-23: Paris, the city of lovers, luxury and lengthy museum walks. You could spend an eternity discussing the architecture, the culture and chainsmoking inherent to this European utopia. But this blog’s about something different. Its about image.
Time Travel
Through its tumultuous trip in time, France and its crown jewel have firmly positioned themselves as the epitome of artistic inspiration with visionaries from Van Gogh to Fitzgerald having frequented its eclectic streets. However this is accompanied by a fair amount of entitlement and distaste toward anything not resembling French-ness (Def.: the state of being French).
Language, limits and luxury
In fact this cosmopolitan city is notorious for the limited adoption of foreign languages among its residents, making the daily life of an English-speaker fairly challenging. To be fair, the progression of time has led to a minor alleviation of this, however it largely holds true to this day. While frustrating at times, it is a part of that very positioning, defined by a deeply ingrained patriotism and the inevitable undertones of superiority. That too is a part of its European charm.
Luxury, despite recent attempts to be inclusive, is inextricably linked to exclusivity. It is uncompromising and daring. This is just another example of this very stance. One MUST adopt the norms, language and culture to be a part of this community, and in a sense, I appreciate that. In a time where the boundaries among mother tongues is getting consistently blurrier, staying true to one’s roots is refreshing and, sometimes, even admirable.
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