Of the many things I have noticed about the Parisians in my two weeks here, one that stands out the most is the very clear differences between the generations. The way different age groups dress, the way they interact with each other, their interests, and the way that they view and treat me as an American tourist. I have been to a few clubs and cafes with teenagers, and a few with people in their late 20s and early 30s, and the differences in the interactions were surprising!
The younger people, around 13-20 years old, seem to be the most similar culturally to Americans. I suppose this has to do with their use of the internet and the global markets in things like clothes and music more than anything else. Many of the brands they wear, the music they listen to, and the way I see them interacting with their friends is very similar to what I see back home. Texting, flirting, listening to iPods, even trying to get older people to buy them alcohol outside stores (such a common site back home!). Teenagers also seem the most interested in me as soon as I open my mouth and attempt to speak french. They immediately get excited, speak to me in english, and want to know where I am from and what it is like. I went to a concert a few nights ago at a club near the Moulin Rouge, and was approached by several teenagers while standing in line that wanted to hear all about Colorado. It is so strange to me that you could live in a place like Paris all your life, and want nothing more then to see good old Denver! I suspect life in America is equally as glamorized for them here in France as Paris is to American teenagers.
The second age group, around 25-35, is much more restrained, sophisticated, and....French. No loud drunken nights and leopard print skirts for them, they seem to embrace being Parisian in every sense of the word. This generation seems intellectual, stylish, and not at ALL impressed or enamored with American culture the way that their younger countrymen are. The only people that have been rude to me or made fun of my attempts at french since I arrived in Paris are around this age group, and I wonder what caused this extreme difference in attitude between them and other Parisians just a few years younger. The few times someone from this generation have approached me, it has been a confusing and somewhat humiliating display of me stumbling to be polite and say the right things in French, and being somewhat coldly rejected. Although it is slightly off putting (and I do not deny the sting of rejection!), I respect their devotion to their own culture, and I understand their need to preserve it.
I can see how this glamorization of American culture could worry the older generations in France. This is a beautiful and old city with custom and traditions that have been around longer then America has been a country. However, I think that the global exchange of popular culture and customs is something that is felt all over the world, and it is unfortunate that it seems to be such a dividing issue for the French people.
Thnaks for sharing Rose. Not sure there is the gap you perceive. The younger people are, the more open to sharing and global culture they are. As one ages, one tends to settle a little, into what one knows in order to deepen that knowledge. I have come here for years and years and seen the spontaneous enthusiasm for global culture that later becomes tempered by a greater awareness of global political issues and their consequences that none of us can afford to deny or avoid.
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