Speak the Culture: France: Be Fluent in French Life and Culture

308 Pages·2008·30.64 MB·English

by  Andrew Whittaker

Speak the Culture France
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Speak the Culture France
F
BE FLUENT IN FRENCH LIFE AND CULTURE
HISTORY, SOCIETY AND LIFESTYLE (cid:115) LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY
ART AND ARCHITECTURE (cid:115) CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND FASHION
MUSIC AND DRAMA (cid:115) FOOD AND DRINK (cid:115) MEDIA AND SPORT
www.thorogoodpublishing.co.uk www.speaktheculture.co.uk
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upon the subsequent ISBN: 1-85418-493-8 / Thorogood Publishing Ltd
purchaser. 978-185418493-1
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Publisher/ Design and
Editor in chief Acknowledgements
‘Le Grand Fromage’* illustration
Neil Thomas Andrew Whittaker Nial Harrington Special thanks go to
Harrington Moncrieff Aurélie Guyomarc’h
Editorial Director Editorial contributors
www.hmdesignco.com (Institut Français d’Ecosse),
Angela Spall Sam Bloomfield and
and Marie-Camille Mainy,
Richard Ginger
* actually ‘grosse legume’, Ed. Johnny Bull Aurélien Mainy and
plumpState www. Catherine Delanoe
plumpstate.com (Maison de la France)
for their insights into
Printed in the UK by French life.
Henry Ling Ltd
www.henryling.co.uk Thanks to Marcus Titley
(www.seckfordwines.
co.uk) for his food and drink
expertise.
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Contents
Introduction p1 3. Art,
architecture
and design p87
3.1. Art p89
2. Literature and 3.1.1. Master strokes:
philosophy p49
the tradition of French
art p90
2.1. Literature
and poetry p51 3.1.2. The first French
masters p91
2.1.1. Reading habits
and the lionised author 3.1.3. Light fantastic:
p52 the Impressionists p94
1. Identity: the
foundations of 2.1.2. A taste for 3.1.4. Maintaining
French culture p3 the epic: early French the momentum: post- 4. Performing arts
literature p53 Impressionism p98 p125
1.1. Geography p5 2.1.3. Taking the 3.1.5. Seeing the world
1.1.1. Natural borders: initiative: French afresh: from prophets 4.1. Music p127
the Hexagon takes Renaissance writing p55 and wild beasts to Cubists 4.1.1. France on song:
shape p6 2.1.4. Height of good p101 the chanson p128
1.1.2. Local colour: taste: writing in the age 3.1.6. Identity 4.1.2. French
the regions of France p8 of Classicism p58 crisis: post-war and classical music p130
contemporary art p105
1.2. History p23 2.1.5. A revolution of 4.1.3. France
words: from Romanticism 3.1.7 Form and adopts jazz p136
1.2.1. An emergent
state: from cavemen to Modernism p60 function: French design 4.1.4. Modern music:
to Emperors p24 2.1.6. The modern p108 the growth of home-
1.2.2. Heroes and way: 20th century and 3.2. Architecture p111 grown talent p138
contemporary writers p68
villains: how Jeanne, 3.2.1. Classical 4.2. Theatre p145
Louis and Napoleon 2.1.7. The outsiders: remains: Gallo-Roman 4.2.1. Setting the scene:
shaped France p27 foreign authors inspired architecture p112 from miracles to Molière
by France p74
1.2.3. Beauty and the 3.2.2. Heaven sent: p146
beast: modern France 2.2. Philosophy p77 French medieval 4.2.2. Theatre for the
emerges from the belle 2.2.1. Thinking man’s architecture p113 masses: Romanticism
époque and war p33
game: the French and 3.2.3. Grand designs: to Realism p150
1.3. Language and their intellectuals p78 the unstoppable rise 4.2.3. State of play:
belonging p39 2.2.2. Founding father: of the chateaux p115 modern French theatre
1.3.1. Tongue twisting: Descartes and the age 3.2.4. Capital ideas: p155
how language evolved of reason p79 the streets and buildings 4.2.4. Lingua Franca:
in France p40 2.2.3. Thought of Paris p117 French opera p160
1.3.2. Language processes: philosophy 3.2.5. Making concrete 4.2.5. Keeping in step:
barriers: protecting in the Enlightenment p81 plans: modern French dance p165
the mother tongue p42 2.2.4. Sartre to Derrida: architecture p120 4.2.6. Bonne humeur:
1.3.3. Being French: philosophy in modern 3.2.6. Closer to home: modern French comedy
the national psyche p44 France p83 domestic architecture p169
p122
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5. Arbiters of
style: cinema,
photography
and fashion p175
5.1. Cinema p177
5.1.1. The seventh art:
the importance of
French cinema p178
5.1.2. Birth of film:
the Lumière brothers
get things moving p179
5.1.3. Golden age: 7. Consuming
the historical epics p180 culture: food
and drink p229
5.1.4. Capturing the
mood: New Wave p182
6. Media and 7.1. Food p231
5.1.5. Mixing it up: communications 7.1.1. A national
French film in the late p207
obsession: the French
20th century p184 8. Living culture:
love of food p232
5.1.6. Individual 6.1. Media p209 the state of the
7.1.2. Regional nation p271
flourishes: contemporary 6.1.1. Pressing matters:
specialities: truly local
French cinema p186 national and regional tastes p234 8.1. Reading between
5.1.7. Outside looking newspapers p210 the layers: class, family,
7.1.3. Staple diet: bread,
in: global interest in 6.1.2. Magazine rack: sex and race p272
charcuterie and cheese
French film and France from Paris Match to p239 8.2. Belief systems:
as a location p188 Marie Claire p212 religion and values p275
7.1.4. Eating habits: in
5.1.8. Celebrating 6.1.3. Viewing habits: the home and going out 8.3. Politics, the French
the movie: French film French television p214 p243 state and green issues
festivals p190 6.1.4. Home advantage: p277
7.1.5. Buying food:
5.2. Photography p193 French radio p216 markets, shops and 8.4. Money matters:
5.2.1. Image conscious: 6.1.5. Overexposure: supermarkets p245 the economy, employment
the dawn of photography the cult of celebrity p218 and social security p280
7.2. Drink p247
p194 6.1.6. New media: 8.5. Law of the land:
5.2.2. On a roll: modern emailing and the Internet 7.2.1. More than just rules and regulations
and contemporary p219 a drink: the culture of p283
French wine p248
photography p195 6.2. Communications 8.6. French lessons:
5.3. Fashion p199 p223 7Fr.2e.n2c.h V witiin-ce ureltguioren:s t hpe2 51 education p286
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Publisher’s Note There is currently much Our focus is on increasing I would like to thank
This series of books and to-ing and fro-ing in the cultural knowledge Andrew Whittaker
this book are designed travel, both for leisure and appreciation of a as Editor-in-Chief for
to look at the culture of a and work purposes, country – to enrich and producing this book and
country – to give readers between countries and nourish the minds of others in the series, and
a real grasp of it and to a great deal of second- the readers and to give making flesh what was
help them to develop and home ownership as them a real cultural once only a twinkle in
explore the culture of that well as more permanent understanding. my eye.
chosen country. At a time changes in residence.
of supposed blurring of This has heightened the This will enhance their It is also a book to sit
national identity, there interest in the cultural enjoyment of a country alongside guidebooks
is celebration of cultural context in which daily life and will certainly help and language courses –
diversity and also a is lived. There are even their communication they will go together like
quest for ancestry, roots, citizenship courses for skills (even in their own bread, cheese and a
heritage and belonging. new residents in many language) with the glass of wine.
countries. Inevitably ‘locals’, making it more
all of this has brought fun all round. Neil Thomas
a fascination in the St Remy-de-Provence,
cultures and lifestyles France
of different countries,
which are the envy of
some and the pride
of others.
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