“Oh la la”!!!

Even in in this multimedia era, in which the

information is easily accessible by communication

means more or less reliable remain ignorant of true

French culture.

Like all stereotypes, these

particular facets of French

life do exist to some extent

(otherwise they never

would have become

stereotypes), but have

been blown out of

proportion. Media

especially Hollywood

movies have taken a

negative attitude towards

the French…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF_HGdK_oRM

Stereotypes start to be problematic when we take for a general truth a caricature whose basic function is not to establish the true picture of a social group but its most common shortcut... as is the case with the perception of French people

Stereotypes are perfect to tell a story: hence its huge use in films.

For the narrator, the

stereotypes attached to a

group of people complete

their portrait without the need

to him to give more

explanations in his story

Toward the viewer, stereotypes

helps understand "who's who"

among the characters that

appear on the screen

Achieve a dual economy: An

economy of discourse, for director

and an economic understanding of

his speech, for the viewer

Did you say Stereotypes??

French are...cowardFrench appearance

French…are not clean

French… are snob

Broadcast media such as film and television

have a strong power of suggestion as they tend

to maintain the illusion that they represent

"reality"

Shaping hostile stereotypes, cinema can help maintain or

develop the rejection of a social group by another.

Although it is common to hear about a "realistic" film or

story, it is important to keep in mind that that work is

inevitably a subjective shot.