So, to the rest of Granta 101. It’s packed as usual with thought-provoking stuff, with a lot of variety, and, what for me makes it one of my most essential reads, the kind of things that I don’t think I’d pick up or come across if it wasn’t for Granta.
The highlight from this issue:
Andrew Hussey’s look into the Paris banlieue provides a look into the anti-French mentality of those who live in the banlieue, everything from their names - “Steve, Marky, Jenyfer, Britney, even Kevin” - to their obsession with English football proclaim and their graffiti emphatically proclaim their position on the outskirts on French society, and their philosophy: “Nique la France!” (“Fuck France!”).
As the word “banlieue” triggered memories of GCSE French for me (“J’habite dans le banlieue de Birmingham”), I was tickled somewhat by Hussey’s observation that “banlieue”, while translated into English as suburb, is in fact a word that strikes fear into the French middle-class – a word close to “hood” or “ghetto” perhaps for English/American ears, and that probably made me sound like a hard nut when I went on a French exchange all those years ago. Beyond the mild humour, it’s intriguing that the Anglomania shown by the young inhabitants of the banlieue today was also shown by the areas first inhabitants around 100 years ago, as they looked to get themselves “houses with gardens on the English model”.
In today’s climate of 24 hour news, I think we are seeing more and more of a tendency for stories to be forgotten very quickly once the initial impact and rush of the new story has passed. Pieces like Hussey’s show us that places and issues still exist, even when newspapers stop writing about them, and I think we need more responsible editors who are prepared to devote column inches to following up news stories after the main events have passed. As Hussey tells us here, the problems in the banlieue are far from gone, even though the huge riots of November 2005 are a fading memory in the minds of many.
What ever happened to Ariel Sharon? Despite the fairly regular presence of Israel in the news, we now hear nothing of this controversial figurehead, whose demise as Prime Minister was completely out of his hands. Is he still alive? A quick google search shows that yes, he is, and is still in a permanently vegetative state, but we’ll probably hear nothing more about him until he finally passes on.
This time next month, how much will we hear about Russia and Georgia?
The highlight from this issue:
Andrew Hussey’s look into the Paris banlieue provides a look into the anti-French mentality of those who live in the banlieue, everything from their names - “Steve, Marky, Jenyfer, Britney, even Kevin” - to their obsession with English football proclaim and their graffiti emphatically proclaim their position on the outskirts on French society, and their philosophy: “Nique la France!” (“Fuck France!”).
As the word “banlieue” triggered memories of GCSE French for me (“J’habite dans le banlieue de Birmingham”), I was tickled somewhat by Hussey’s observation that “banlieue”, while translated into English as suburb, is in fact a word that strikes fear into the French middle-class – a word close to “hood” or “ghetto” perhaps for English/American ears, and that probably made me sound like a hard nut when I went on a French exchange all those years ago. Beyond the mild humour, it’s intriguing that the Anglomania shown by the young inhabitants of the banlieue today was also shown by the areas first inhabitants around 100 years ago, as they looked to get themselves “houses with gardens on the English model”.
In today’s climate of 24 hour news, I think we are seeing more and more of a tendency for stories to be forgotten very quickly once the initial impact and rush of the new story has passed. Pieces like Hussey’s show us that places and issues still exist, even when newspapers stop writing about them, and I think we need more responsible editors who are prepared to devote column inches to following up news stories after the main events have passed. As Hussey tells us here, the problems in the banlieue are far from gone, even though the huge riots of November 2005 are a fading memory in the minds of many.
What ever happened to Ariel Sharon? Despite the fairly regular presence of Israel in the news, we now hear nothing of this controversial figurehead, whose demise as Prime Minister was completely out of his hands. Is he still alive? A quick google search shows that yes, he is, and is still in a permanently vegetative state, but we’ll probably hear nothing more about him until he finally passes on.
This time next month, how much will we hear about Russia and Georgia?
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