Movie Recommendation for Cultural Understanding

The other day, I was exiting the metro (Parisian subway) behind an elderly man. He was probably around 80 or so, and while he was not using a cane, he was clearly not altogether steady on his feet. As soon as the doors opened on our train car, the crowd of people on the platform immediately started to board--as is always the case.

Mind you, I wish I could say "the crowd of people waiting on the platform parted to let us off before starting to board". But such a description would have been misleading as there is no "waiting" whatsoever involved once the train has pulled up.

For inexplicable reasons, no one in Paris waits for the people who are already ON the train to disembark before they all start shoving into the metro car. And if you are one of those rare species of people who opts to exercise a modicum of politeness by waiting for the people on the train to first get off, then you will most decidedly not be rewarded for you Emily Post exhibitionism. Instead, you will likely be shoved from behind as the someones standing in back of you will not tolerate an ounce of hesitancy.

For a city comprised of people who will regularly stand in line for 30-plus minutes at the fromagerie, and then, once at the head of the line, just leisurely chat with the vendeur for another 30 minutes--all to buy a morsel or two of cheese--the whole: "I have to get on NOW" attitude of the metro is a strange juxatpostion indeed.

And, I know; it makes no practical sense. Beyond the obvious rudeness of the scenario, it is simply an inefficient system. Shoving, jostling, and trampling people is a time-consuming business, and the whole enterprise would obviously swim along at a faster clip if a little give and take were incorporated.

But this elderly man, he of the unsteady feet, made a pretty admirable move as soon as the doors opened. He held out both his arms directly in front of him and basically shouted: Arretez! to the crowd that was about to mow him over because they could not wait 15 seconds before boarding the train.

Well, maybe the move was not totally admirable. It may have been an issue of fundamental physical self-preservation.

Because it is really a scary exercise in human survival. Don't I know it: this metro business (coupled with my love of eating copious amounts of chocolate) is a main reason why I am happy I go to the gym on a regular basis. Public transportation Darwinism, I am telling you: best be prepared.

So after the unprecedented traffic-cop move by the senior, the crowd was noticably OFFENDED. I would have guessed I would see some sheepish expressions, some lightbulbs of self-realization showing on the faces of the crowd, and quite a few physical movements of the "backing off" variety.

Nope. Not so. The hordes trampled forward, not to be deterred by the elderly one iota. Some started snickering, some simply ignored him or offered a little outraged "pffft" in his direction, and a few openly glared at him as though he was committing an offensive crime.

Does this scenario seem "off" to you? I mean, only in Paris, right?

So yesterday, I was invited to a lovely lunch at our friends' house who live just outside of Paris. They are French, and we often share a laugh, or seventeen, at every visit while we remark on the discrepancies of French versus American cultural behaviors and expectations. The girl and I often read the same books, like the same movies, etc. Recently we both happened to watch Two Days in Paris with Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg. Before I had a chance to tell her I had seen it, she said something like, "Oh, you have to see this movie! It so perfectly captures some of the differences between French and American culture."

I loved that she brought it up because while I was watching the movie, I was frequently thinking about her, how much she would enjoy the film, and how we would both laugh at all the ways Americans misinterpret or are confused by French cultural "norms"...and vice versa.

I know that the metro situation is not indicative of French people on the whole (at all), and it might just be a "city" thing. Perhaps the same thing would go down in an NYC subway. But I see "happs" like that every day in Paris, and I thus inevitably compare them to my own cultural expectations and assumptions. As you know, if you read this blog at all.

And the movie is really a tremendous and humorous look at the ways we take things for granted and the ways we look at another culture and think: "What the heck is happening here?!?! Why is everyone here NUTS???"

So see it. It won't save you from being trampled by a crowd of impatient Parisian metro travelers, but it might shed some light on Parisian tendencies and/or make you think a bit more objectively about American habits. If nothing else, it will definitely offer a more aesthetically pleasing backdrop (the city of light) than I can on this here picture-less blog. Happy viewing!