Sweet intoxication

 

I confess: I’m a compulsive zapper. When I bought my satellite receiver 18 years ago I wanted to get rid of the crappy French channels and have a chance to monitor foreign TVs. Since then I’ve seen the American flag about several times a day just by zapping along. No need to watch an entire program, I don’t have to wait more than a few minutes before the flag is shown somewhere in the setting. And since I see it at any given moment, it is fair to assume the flag is shown numerous times during the entire duration of said programs.

Be it on German channels (outstanding!) Italian, Spanish, Polish, and even some Arabic ones, the world dominance of American movies and serials being what it is, one cannot miss to see the Old Glory in about every flick that is coming from the US. Not to mention American news programs (CNN, CNBC) and general reports on French TVs. where we witness how omnipresent the American flag is in any place of the country. From the largest cities (millions times) to the most remote hamlets (by the dozens)., even in the middle of the Arizonian desert, the flag will be carved on the rocks or painted on the sand…

Any neutral spectator with no preconceived idea or prejudice can only conclude that the American people are immersed in a permanent state of adulation toward the national symbol of its identity and uniqueness. One may also wonder if that is the best way to open one’s mind on foreign cultures and peoples. But this is another story…

The American film industry’s first market is the domestic one so it may make sense that the producers of all these products think it is mandatory to provide the American audience with what they’ve been used to for decades. Why is there such an apparent vital need to be given one’s national flag to see at every hour of the day is also worth asking. But this is another story…

Of course the domestic market isn’t the only available one. These products are seen the world over by hundreds of million people whose mental universe, like it or not, is fed with the image of a national symbol that isn’t theirs. No matter if they don’t want to see the American flag, they can zap as long and as often as I do, there’s no way they can avoid it. One may wonder if the natural reaction to an over exposure to any foreign symbol isn’t an equally over inflated need to enhance one’s own national feeling. But this is another story…

Many Americans I guess feel comfortable with this situation and would fail to understand what’s wrong with displaying their national symbol as long and as often as they want. Well, let’s turn the table for a second and let’s imagine it’s not the American film industry which is prevalent the world over but the Chinese one. How would they feel should they be given 5, 10 times a day the opportunity to see the red Chinese flag, every single day of their lives? Should they prefer any Arabic flag? Or closer to them, what about admiring the Blue, White, Red French flag?

Rest assured, the French film industry isn’t about to surpass the American one and, besides, you will have a hard time before you can spot the French flag in any French film…

Note: The painting is “American Express Card Flag” by Andy Warhol