The Césars are the French equivalent to the Oscars. I used to watch the ceremony quite a lot in the past but found it curiously cold and at times embarassing. After a gap of several years I watched it again and, despite some good moments, was left with the impression of something rather unsatisfactory.
I don't mean to imply that it was all negative; the event was professionally and slickly staged and I thought Antoine de Caunes was a good master of ceremonies. I liked in particular when he lowered his voice and said "The time has now come to mourn the passing of a giant of the cinema - Megaupload". He also said he was getting a bit fed up with winners thanking their parents. "If they had had any love or respect for their parents, they wouldn't have become actors in the first place".
However, on the whole the evening didn't work and I thought it might be interesting to try and analyse why the Césars are so much less successful than their American counterpart. I think that much of the trouble stems from the fact that an awards ceremony is first and foremost to be considered as entertainment, the epitome of show business. This sits uneasily with French actors' image of their profession as an art form and of themselves as tortured souls or even philosopher-kings. This goes some way towards explaining why the audience on such occasions comes across as rather cold and somewhat embarrassed. "We don't really want to be here" is the impression conveyed.
The "default mode" of the American actor, by way of contrast, is that of the "regular guy", the sort of person who likes nothing better than to drink a glass of beer with friends or to prepare a barbecue in the back yard. Americans are by nature a friendly lot and this becomes clear in a ceremony like the Oscars which is largely devoid of tension.
Of course, it helps that we have actually heard of some of these people!
I don't mean to imply that it was all negative; the event was professionally and slickly staged and I thought Antoine de Caunes was a good master of ceremonies. I liked in particular when he lowered his voice and said "The time has now come to mourn the passing of a giant of the cinema - Megaupload". He also said he was getting a bit fed up with winners thanking their parents. "If they had had any love or respect for their parents, they wouldn't have become actors in the first place".
However, on the whole the evening didn't work and I thought it might be interesting to try and analyse why the Césars are so much less successful than their American counterpart. I think that much of the trouble stems from the fact that an awards ceremony is first and foremost to be considered as entertainment, the epitome of show business. This sits uneasily with French actors' image of their profession as an art form and of themselves as tortured souls or even philosopher-kings. This goes some way towards explaining why the audience on such occasions comes across as rather cold and somewhat embarrassed. "We don't really want to be here" is the impression conveyed.
The "default mode" of the American actor, by way of contrast, is that of the "regular guy", the sort of person who likes nothing better than to drink a glass of beer with friends or to prepare a barbecue in the back yard. Americans are by nature a friendly lot and this becomes clear in a ceremony like the Oscars which is largely devoid of tension.
Of course, it helps that we have actually heard of some of these people!
Our American cousins are easily amazed. If one were to quote Latin to an American they might answer in astonishment "how did you learn Latin? I've always wanted to do that."
ReplyDeleteresponding from Wangaratta Australia!
I always remember a Texan congratulating me on my English and asking me where I came from. "From England", I said. "Oh, do they speak English there, too?"
DeleteIt's always good and safe ground to talk about American Presidents of the past when confronted by an American that you cannot immediately flee from.
DeleteWhen we lived in Houston, a guy came to try and sell me an alarm system -- he failed. Learning that I came from France, he said: "oh yes, I know France: it is close to Europe, right?" (I swear this is true!!!)
ReplyDeleteAnd also my South African friend in Houston was routinely asked: "but which country in South Africa?". We certainly had good laughs!
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I met a man from East London who said he had lived in South Africa, I asked him where... there. He said "East London." True as Harold Wislon's self belief.
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