(No spoilers throughout the article)
The first episode was unbearable.
By the end of the first episode, I promised myself that I wouldn’t be continuing with the show.
The next thing I know — I finished the 10-episode series, ate it up like cotton candy.
Taking place in Paris, “Emily in Paris” follows a young marketing professional from Chicago, Emily Cooper (Lily Collins), on an eye-opening and life-changing journey after getting transferred to work at a Parisian marketing firm.
Created by “Sex and the City” creator, Darren Star, this Netflix series is filled with the irresistible Parisian charm, luxury glamour, haute couture and romantic allure. Every episode ends with intrigue, leaving viewers wanting more.
A binge series is exactly what the world needed during these difficult times.
The new series received overwhelming media attention even before the show was released on Netflix. Once the show was out, people were talking about the show all over the Internet, sparking debates with a mix of positives and negatives. However, at the end of the day, as Emily Cooper said, any publicity is publicity. The show got people talking.
Despite the fact that this show has all the ingredients of what makes a good story, the show isn’t perfect.
The script, especially during the early episodes, is not the most natural and sometimes consists of some incredibly awkward and unrealistic scenes that are unbearable to watch. If you’ve seen the first few episodes, you know what I’m talking about.
Emily Cooper’s ignorance and cultural insensitivity also add another layer of awkwardness that makes viewers cringe. Some of those might be intentional, but it was overdone.
At the beginning of the series, the French were portrayed to be extremely rude and prejudiced towards Americans. For some parts, they were realistic and reflected reality. However, French viewers thought otherwise.
Even though the show was created by someone who had first-hand experience living in Paris as an American a few years ago, the French expressed the inaccuracy of the depiction on the show and argued that the French portrayal was outdated stereotypes and clichés.
One of the stereotypes as shown in the series was how the French sort of glamorizes unfaithfulness. In an interview People Magazine conducted, a few French viewers expressed frustration towards the show’s depiction of French’s practice on open relationships and extramarital relationships and their lack of work ethic. Unlike the show, in reality, they don’t promote unfaithfulness and dislike monogamy, and they are hardworking.
Additionally, while France does have a high smoking population compared to the rest of the world, the scenes with the French smoking in the office are, again, outdated, as France banned indoor smoking back in 2007.
The French audience was frustrated, and many were curious how the French cast was able to follow through.
Despite the many negative views on the show, the series trended on Netflix and was enjoyed by many.
Even though like many people, I have my issues with the show, at the end of the day, “Emily in Paris” was entertaining and spoke to me in so many ways.
Emily was living the ultimate dream of many people — with a successful career and life-changing opportunity to live in the city of love. Overlooking Emily’s ignorance, she taught me valuable lessons about going after your goals and not letting others discourage you.
Emily faced much resistance when she was trying to share and implement her ideas and point of view to the rest of the marketing firm, Savoir. The team repeatedly dismissed her ideas and deemed her useless, but that didn’t stop Emily from trying. Instead of backing up, she found ways to prove her point and convince others. She showed persistence and determination — something very inspiring to young women in this day and age.
As an aspiring public relations and marketing professional, I admired the show’s focus on the marketing field. They highlighted the rewarding feeling of doing marketing work and the creative and hard work that went into successful marketing campaigns. The series was only 10-episode long, nonetheless, they were able to follow marketing ideas from start to finish, from the incubation of the idea to executing the idea to reality for a client. The series also showed the importance and impact of social media’s role in marketing, and how to do it right and use it to its fullest potential.
Together with the Parisian charm, glamour and romance, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the show and the characters.
“Emily in Paris” was the perfect escape despite its flaws.
While the show has not been confirmed for a second season yet, viewers from all over the globe are anticipating it.
Collegiettes, have you seen the show yet? What are your thoughts?