Abstract
Aesthetico-cultural cosmopolitanism takes many different forms of openness to other cultures and in no way signifies a total lack of interest in national products. Cosmopolitan openness is largely governed by the mise en genre process—a concept we propose in this chapter—rather than the overall intensity of youth cultural consumption. It entails the categorization of cultural products according to their national origins and their attributed aesthetic characteristics, a process that sometimes operates based on clichés and stereotypes. Mise en genre is at the heart of appropriation by young people in the context of the contemporary proliferation of cultural goods. Those who consume the greatest amount of cultural products are not necessarily the most open to other cultures. As a result, we are forced to separate consumption patterns from the intentions behind these acts of consumption: it is possible to consume many foreign products without ever thinking about different cultures and countries, just as it is possible to consume few foreign products, but in a specific cultural sector that strongly encourages curiosity about foreign countries and cultures. It is, in fact, intention that defines the cosmopolitan outlook.
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Notes
- 1.
Man, 22 years old, born in France, lives in the Seine Saint-Denis département; both parents are Algerian; pursuing a master’s degree in social psychology.
- 2.
Man, 20 years old, born in a village in the Southwest of France, lives in Saint-Ouen; both parents are French; holds a professional baccalaureate, is training to become a cellar master.
- 3.
French rock group created in 1994 and active from 1997 to 2005 and whose songs are primarily in French.
- 4.
French rock group created by the former members of the punk group Carvin, created in 2008. The group sings in English.
- 5.
Reggae singer-songwriter, originally from Côte d’Ivoire, sings in French and is very politically active (antiglobalization, prodemocracy, against neocolonialism).
- 6.
Let us add here that we let the young people being interviewed determine which products were national and which were foreign. In reality, it is not always easy to determine the national attribution of a collective work such as a film. Is it determined by the director’s nationality? That of the main actors? Of the producers? Of the language used to film? Once again, it is important to emphasize that we are not trying to measure the market penetration of foreign products on the national territory (which would be better measured using economic data), but to understand how young people view both domestic and foreign products.
- 7.
This term refers to Japanese animated films, which constitute their own genre.
- 8.
K-pop is merely one symptom of the vast phenomenon of the exportation of cultural products to Asia (and elsewhere), including television series.
- 9.
The “chanson française ” category (“French song,” literally) is revealing: it cuts across all genres, as its only requirement is that songs in this category are sung in French.
- 10.
Man, 26 years old, born in France, lives with his parents in Suresnes; both parents are Moroccan; holds a master’s degree in business development.
- 11.
French film released in 2011, which tells the story of the improbable friendship between a handicapped man and his caregiver.
- 12.
French film released in 2008 (original title: Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis), which tells the story of a French postman from the South of France relocating to Bergues, a small town in the North.
- 13.
Man, 24 years old, born in France; pursuing a master’s degree in computer science research and working full-time as an educational assistant for elementary school children with disabilities; father is Italian and mother is Indian. He lives with his parents in the Île-de-France region.
- 14.
Man, 24 years old, born in France, works as an AV freelancer in production and editing; lives with his parents in the Île-de-France region; both parents are French.
- 15.
Woman, 24 years old, dental assistant, trained as a medical secretary; lives with her boyfriend in the Île-de-France region; both parents are French.
- 16.
Special issue of the journal Réseaux 2009/1 (153), Passionnés, fans et amateurs.
- 17.
Man, 24 years old, born in France, works as an AV freelancer in production and editing; lives with his parents in the Île-de-France region; both parents are French.
- 18.
Rome launched the historical fiction trend, which has produced heirs such as The Tudors , The Borgias , Wolf Hall , The Mill , The Knick , Boardwalk Empire , and Peaky Blinders .
- 19.
American-British-Italian television series that aired from 2005 to 2007 (in France, starting in 2006 on Canal+, followed by Paris Première in 2007, M6 in 2009, and Arte in 2011) and tells the story of the final years of the Roman Republic through the eyes of two Roman soldiers.
- 20.
American television series that aired between 2007 and 2015 (in France, starting in 2008 on TPS Star and Canal+ and since 2012 on Série Club) that depicts life in one of the country’s most prestigious advertising agencies at the beginning of the 1960s.
- 21.
American television series that aired between 1974 and 1984 (in France, a selection of episodes was released under the name “Les jours heureux” in 1976; the entire series was broadcast starting in 1986 on La Cinq, starting in 1993 on France 2, and starting in 2007 on Série Club et Comédie, and finally, starting in 2007 on Paris Première, and from 2009–2010 on Virgin 17). The show presented an idealized vision of life from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s in the United States.
- 22.
Man, 22 years old, holds a BTS (vocational training diploma) in accounting, works part-time; lives alone in the Île-de-France region; both parents are French.
- 23.
American (CNN and Fox), British (BBC News), and Qatari (Al Jazeera) news outlets, respectively.
- 24.
Man, 26 years old, born in France, lives with his parents in Suresnes (Île-de-France region); both parents are Moroccan; holds a master’s degree in business development.
- 25.
British (Financial Times and The Guardian), American (New York Times), Spanish (El País), and Algerian (El Watan) newspapers, respectively.
- 26.
Man, 26 years old, born in France, lives with his parents in Suresnes; both parents are Moroccan; holds a master’s degree in business development.
- 27.
Man, 21 years old, born in France, nursing student; lives in Saint-Denis with his girlfriend; father is Moroccan, mother is from Brittany.
- 28.
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper, published since its first edition on 22 August 1944. It covers both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs.
- 29.
Le Monde is a French daily afternoon newspaper continuously published in Paris since its first edition on 19 December 1944. It is one of the most important and widely respected newspapers in the world.
- 30.
Man, 23 years old, born in France, holds a master’s degree in social science; lives in Montreuil; both parents are French.
- 31.
A news weekly launched in 1989 that primarily contains articles, in translation, from various international news sources.
- 32.
Monthly supplement to the French newspaper Le Monde, focusing on international culture, politics, and economics.
- 33.
Man, 21 years old, born in France, nursing student, lives in Saint-Denis with his girlfriend; father is Moroccan and mother is from Brittany.
- 34.
Man, 26 years old, born in France, lives with his parents in Suresnes; both parents are Moroccan; holds a master’s degree in business development.
- 35.
Man, 22 years old, born in France, holds a Brevet d’aptitude aux fonctions d’animateur (youth worker qualification), gives guitar lessons; lives with his mother in the Île-de-France region; father is Tunisian and mother is French.
- 36.
News and information website, both independent and participatory, created in 2007 by journalists who had previously worked at Libération , a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968.
- 37.
American news website launched in 2005, which now has many different national versions.
- 38.
Woman, 21 years old, born in Le Mans, pursuing a master’s degree in education, studying for her teacher certification exam and is working as a monitor in a Paris high school located in a priority education zone; lives with her sister in Paris; both parents are French.
- 39.
A public regional news channel for the central region of France.
- 40.
Respectively, singing talent shows (La nouvelle star on channel M6, The Voice on channel TF1, offshoots of Pop Idol, a British show, and of The Voice Holland, a Dutch programme), stunt game shows (Koh Lanta and Fear Factor on TF1, adaptations of Survivor, a British programme, and the American show Fear Factor), cooking competitions (MasterChef on M6, an adaptation of the British show of the same name), and reality television shows (Loft Story on M6, an offshoot of the Dutch programme Big Brother).
- 41.
Man, 22 years old, born in France, holds a Brevet d’aptitude aux fonctions d’animateur (youth worker qualification), gives guitar lessons, lives with his mother in the Île-de-France region; father is Tunisian and mother is French.
- 42.
A large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products.
- 43.
A French commune in the East of the Île-de-France region.
- 44.
Man, 24 years old, born in France, pursuing a master’s degree in computer science research and working full-time as an educational assistant for elementary school children with disabilities; father is Italian and mother is Indian. He lives with his parents in the Île-de-France region.
- 45.
Man, 23 years old, born in Pakistan, pursuing a BTS (associate’s degree) in customer relations and negotiations, working part-time in a renewable power company; lives in Paris with his adoptive French parents.
- 46.
Man, 23 years old, born in France, holds a master’s degree in social science; lives in Montreuil (north of Paris, in the Ile-de-France region); both parents are French.
- 47.
Woman, 25 years old, born in France, works as a nurse in a large paediatric hospital in Paris; lives with her mother in the Ile-de-France region; father was born in Italy and mother was born in France.
- 48.
Man, 22 years old, born in France, has lived and attended high school in Munich, pursuing a master’s degree in political science; lives with his French mother and German stepfather in Paris.
- 49.
Man, 23 years old, born in France, holds a master’s degree in social science; lives in Montreuil (north of Paris, in the Ile-de-France region); both parents are French.
- 50.
American rapper, singer-songwriter, music producer, and designer, Kanye West is one of the most commercially successful stars of the music industry.
- 51.
One of the greatest American soul musicians, Redding died in 1967 at the age of 26, nonetheless making a huge contribution to the African-American musical tradition.
- 52.
British historical drama that aired between 2010 and 2015 (in France, since 2011 on TMC, and rebroadcast since 2013 on TV Breizh and HD1).
- 53.
American crime drama that aired between 2002 and 2008 (in France, since 2004 on Jimmy, and since 2010 on France Ô).
- 54.
American crime drama that aired between 1997 and 2007 (in France, since 1999 on Jimmy, on France 2 since 2000, and on France 4 since 2006).
- 55.
American political drama, available since 2013 on Netflix in the United States and Canada (in France , the first three seasons aired on Canal+ from 2013 to 2015, and are now available on Netflix).
- 56.
American Western drama that aired from 2004 to 2006 (in France from 2012 to 2016 on Canal+ with later rebroadcasts on AB1 and Action).
- 57.
Woman, 25 years old, born in France, lived for one year in Portugal, holds a master’s degree in human resources, works as a human resources executive; lives with her boyfriend in the Île-de-France region; both parents are Portuguese and have returned to Portugal.
- 58.
Woman, 26 years old, holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign language and literature studies and a BTS in commercial management, works as a sales assistant; lives in the Île-de-France region; father is from Ghana, mother is from France.
- 59.
American sitcom that aired between 1994 and 2004 (in France starting in 1996 on Canal Jimmy with subtitles, and then, starting in 1997 on France 2 in a dubbed version) and which depicts the lives of a group of young people in New York.
- 60.
American animated comedy that follows the trials and tribulations of its eponymous middle-class family; it has been on the air since 1989 on Fox (in France since 1990 on Canal+, with rebroadcasts since 2006 on W9).
- 61.
American sitcom that aired from 2005 to 2014 (in France since 2007 on Canal+, and since 2008 on NT1 and Outre-Mer 1 since 2010) and which tells the story of a group of young people in Manhattan, using as a narrative frame the story one of the characters is telling his son, in 2020, about how he met his son’s mother.
- 62.
Animated feature film released by Disney in 1998 that was very loosely based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan.
- 63.
Animated feature film released by Disney in 2013 that was very loosely based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen .
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Cicchelli, V., Octobre, S. (2018). The Morphology of Cultural Consumption Repertoires. In: Aesthetico-Cultural Cosmopolitanism and French Youth. Consumption and Public Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66311-1_2
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