Oh that beautiful shot in the photo above… How I wish I could visit Paris now? I have not visited France before. And seeing all these majestic pictures of the streets and the Eiffel Tower has certainly made me desire to go to France. Watching Emily in Paris has just deepened it. Here are 3 reasons why you should add this show to your list of ‘must-watch’ if you haven’t. Also, the same 3 reasons why you are better off without this show. Now let’s get going!
TOP 2 + 1
1. Emily
Why you should watch this show for Emily:
Emily, the protagonist of this show, is extremely independent. She wanders around Paris alone a lot in the beginning as she does not have any colleagues who are willing to hang out with her or any neighbors whom she knows well. Though she looks forward to spending time with her American beau in romantic Paris, she does not fail to immerse herself in the city’s beauty meanwhile.
When she gets into an argument with her boyfriend, she does not shy away from standing her ground and does not feel ashamed for what she wants in the relationship. Oftentimes, a lot of us give up many of our dreams to keep giving life to strained relationships. But we can learn from Emily to appreciate our dreams and wishes, and go forward without hesitating to lose non-deserving candidates in our lives.
In many instances, Emily is faced with sets of challenges. No matter how hard the going gets, she wills to put aside her inhibitions and take risks to achieve goals, especially the ones of superior(s) and client(s) at work. This was something that I really admired about this character. She literally has no fears guys! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating.
She does get scared at times when things don’t seem to go well. Yet, she manages to remain optimistic and go crazy about the whole ordeal, making the ordeal shy away from her as a result. If you would like to learn how to make ordeals run away from you, do watch Emily in Paris, for Emily will show you.
However… just like the rest of us, Emily does have her moments where you could feel like, why am I wasting my time on this character? So presenting…
Why Emily could be a reason that you’re better off without the show:
Ignorance is bliss. To the individual concerned, it is definitely bliss. However, to others around him or her, it’s mostly the antonym.
Emily is the definition of ignorance. My goodness, sometimes, I was so irritated and quite taken aback as to how ignorant the character was.
Take this scenario for instance: This American (substitute aka Emily) employee communicates with her French colleagues in English. She does not speak French. Makes an effort to get enrolled in a French language class. Tries to learn the language. Yet, somehow, fails miserably. Thus, her French colleagues despise both Emily and her lack of knowledge of their language.
Honestly, I felt that the character is simply refusing to learn the language as she finds it a hurdle. It is understandable and fair that she considers it a tough task. But many at times, she just doesn’t try enough to make her colleagues feel more comfortable around her. Yet, she seems to think that her French co-workers are just ridiculous to get upset with her way of communication. This is just an aspect of her list of ignorance-filled sections in her Paris life. If you are willing to know the rest, head over to the show.
2. The social media – filled atmosphere in the show
Why you should watch this show for its social media content:
The main reason why Emily gets sent to Paris is to help the French company there. And she does her job well. But she also uses the opportunity to become a social media influencer, through her ‘Emily in Paris’ Instagram account. The account boasts of a booming following, right from the word go. Yes, it is tough to interpret how the algorithm worked so well in Emily’s favor, without her being a well-known public figure.
And that is why it is so fun to watch her Instagram following becoming stronger. I felt like I was living in a fantasy world where anything seemed possible, even becoming a popular sensation on Instagram at an adolescent point, in a day where there is stiff competition (both intended and unintended) within content creators to produce worthwhile content and get noticed.
But there was something which really bothered me about the way Emily handles her account, which is also…
Why the social-media content in Emily in Paris could be offending to watch:
I have always been curious on how people get away with photographing strangers for their content. It is fine when their faces are not deliberately shown. But to go out of your way to capture someone’s face (when they’re not being a nuisance), or to simply not stop and think if it is alright to take their photos without their permissions, really makes me question the concept of privacy and the availability to have it…
That is what Emily keeps doing for her Instagram page. The two distinct scenarios will be her taking photos of the children Mindy was babysitting at a park (at that point, they hadn’t even gotten to know each other well) to post a feel-good photo, and posting a photo of women smoking outside a gym (probably after their workout sessions) to express her disbelief at their behavior.
All I hope is that, while the writers were crafting out this trait of Emily’s, they were aware how problematic a real person behaving like this could be.
A thought
Emily in Paris introduced me to Lily Collins acting. Lily played Emily as a slightly obnoxious, a little clueless, sometimes endearing millenial to near perfection. But there was also a sense of detachment in her portrayal. I am not sure if this is her regular style of acting, so I will not judge her acting chops based on this factor.
My favorite characters like Elle Woods, Cher, Regina George have their fair share of flaws, but they own all their flaws like nobody else’s business, which made me really invested in their respective character developments. Something these three have in common:
They appear in movies.
Emily appears in a show, a space where greater duration could be dedicated to her character development and personal connection.
Buzz around the Emily in Paris-Season 2 has ignited heaps of excitement in me to escape reality for awhile, but also raised a slight sense of hope in me that maybe, just maybe, Emily would have a more well-rounded persona, as well as stop taking photos of strangers without their knowledge.
Shayini Ventures 