I know there are Asians and Africans, S Americanism Caribbeans and more in France, I've seen them and eaten in their cafes etc. Sad to see a really good show ruined by its monochrome - and very good - cast.
I love French cinema and theater, often visit the country but after so much cinema that attacks racism, sexism etc, the lack of non whites is a big let down.
Shame on Canal+
I noticed that Thomas is played by a man named Samir. I assume his background includes something other than French white.
Rachel
France is not as ethnically diverse as you think. The big towns are diverse but not rural France, and even less the Alps regions.
its a smaller french town.. i'm sure if it was in paris there would be diversity.. i did see one black kid.. but seems like the town barely has people to begin with
shareAny filmmaker, writer, poet, painter or songwriter would tell you that the end product will always be filtered through the experiences of the viewer/listener. Not everyone has as negative experiences with race. Is it at all possible you may be hyper-analyzing this movie through your own filter?
I live in a very ethnically diverse area yet I did not expect to see ethnic diversity in a small French town in the middle of the alps. It's like going to small town Mexico and asking why there aren't any Arabs. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone but Mexicans outside of the tourist areas. But perhaps my filter is to blame, so let's try a more fair way to measure.
As the location is said to be here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haute-Savoie
I suggest you have a look at their history and population demographic to see if your comment is fair or not. If you break it down mathematically you simply estimate the amount of characters that were in the film, and compare the amount of ethnic minorities you saw against their census information. So if the population is 100,000 and the census says there are 300 minorities, you'll know that you should have seen say... 3 minorities in a cast of 100. As "minority" can mean anything from Algerian to Mexican to African, then look for some minorities to be non-black. I saw one for sure - the character of Thomas. He looked Algerian to me.
When you are convinced that the filmmaker has been unfair based on mathematical averages rather than unrealistic expectations based on your hyper-awareness of racism in your world, then your comment would be taken more seriously by those who think you are engaging in politically-correct nit-picking.
Back in 2003 the Iraqi foreign minister was visiting George Bush at the White House. They got into a conversation about other interests, and at one point the minister mentioned that he really liked the TV show Star Trek, but was curious why he never saw any arab characters. W looked at him and said, "because it takes place in the future."
Isn't 300/100,000 = 3 in a 1000?
I wonder if Portlandia will be their next target.
"I think my percentage of Chimp DNA is higher than others" Cleaver Greene
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I find this thread laughable.
Anybody who knows these parts of France or any similar small community in the French/Italian/Swiss Alps would find a larger ethnic presence in this series unrealistic and fake. On my part, I think they made and excellent job. At this time at least, most places around there have little ethnic variety. That is just a fact.
Should the writers care more about catering to an international "touchy" audience that may find this strange or about making the series believable to the French/European audiences and hope everyone else has common sense?
Unrealistic? No. Ethnic minorities can be anywhere, but it's definitely not necessary to show them in this show since it takes place in a remote area of France where they are EXTREMELY RAAAAARE.
can't outrun your own shadow
Who cares?
I am black, and I have watched the entire season, twice. I never noticed if there were any other races (or lack thereof), nor was the racial composition of the cast even enter my mind, as I was too engrossed in the stories.
Also, isolated and remote mountain towns in ANY part of the world tend to have a homogenous population.
Just because TV show or film features only one ethnicity of people, or doesn't have a "diverse" ensemble, isn't racism. Racism would be if the picture made fun of, demeaned, insulted another race.
Trust me. I wasn't offended at all by the casting of the show.
People need to look at the shows and not look for who is or is not in it.
Go back under your bridge.
Thanks, czarina!
I also thank the rational post about statistics. I was not surprised at all by the lack of diversity, I thought it was realistic.
jesus I am so sick and tired of people whining about tv shows where everyone is white, especially when it is set in a place where it is very plausible that everyone is white
not every piece of art needs to be a cross section of our complete culture, just the sum of all the art
Thomas is Algerian. Anyhow, isn't having DEAD people enough diversity?
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