The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Emily in Paris

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

I grew up watching Lily Collins in Mirror Mirror, Mortal Instruments, Love, Rosie and so much more. Anything I watch of her makes me feel nostalgic about my childhood. As a young adult, I was excited to watch her in the first season of Netflix’s Emily in Paris, which took me about 24 hours to finish. 

This is going to be my word vomit of what I thought about the show. Disclaimer: I have nothing against the actors or the creators of the show. These are just my thoughts and opinions as a passionate film major who simply wishes for more diverse storytelling in the film and TV industry. There is a lot to unpack here, so I may not cover everything mentioned in the show.

To start, I need to mention that the show was created by the team from Sex and the City. The first thing you will notice about Emily in Paris and Sex and the City is that they are stories about a white woman taking on a big city by storm. They are also stories of white feminism. It is something to think about before watching the two shows.

Lily Collins’ character, Emily Cooper, works at a marketing firm as a social media consultant. I think her career represents a realistic job choice amongst millennials. However, I thought it was pretty unrealistic for Emily to solve every problem she faced in her job. It seemed like she did not solve much of her issues on her own. She constantly relied on her English-speaking French friends and co-workers, considering she did arrive in France without learning French. It is essential to acknowledge this because many Americans expect people to speak English in every place they visit abroad. This is disrespectful, and I hope Americans do not think that our way of doing things is always acceptable in other countries. 

Furthermore, Emily mentioned repeatedly how lonely she was in Paris, but she did not make an effort to reach out to people besides her co-workers. She could have hopped on Tinder for dates or joined a Facebook group for Americans in Paris. With her 20k followers on Instagram, she could have met at least one person in Paris. It is better to try than to not. 

The next part of the show I want to mention is the extreme lack of diversity. The only two people of color are the supporting characters to the white protagonist, and they seem to always be at Emily’s disposal. Mindy, her English-speaking Chinese friend, was always ready to help out Emily when she had a problem. Mindy has her iconic moments, but I just did not like how she seemed like she was on speed dial for Emily and was not busy being a nanny of two kids. 

Julien, Emily’s French co-worker, did not have the spotlight to share his backstory nor his achievements. He seems to be the token Black employee in the marketing firm and the show. This is extremely disappointing to see, considering how it is a Netflix TV show released in 2020.

On the topic of the lack of diversity, I noticed that only white men are romanticized in both Emily in Paris and Sex and the City. I’m not going to deny the fact that Gabriel of Emily in Paris is an extremely attractive and charming guy, but other attractive men of different ethnicities live in Paris (and in New York). However, I thought it was really cute when Gabriel gave Emily his cooking pan!

I want to also acknowledge the French stereotypes that are constantly mentioned in the show. It was uncomfortable to watch French people continuously be labeled as “rude,” “careless,” or “sexually liberated” people. There is no one way to be French. 

To finish my thoughts and opinions on a positive note, I want to mention my favorite quote from the show. Luc, Emily’s French co-worker, stated that Americans “live to work” and French people “work to live.” As Americans, we regularly talk about work and find it hard to separate personal life from our careers or school. I find it essential to develop a balance in my life in a society where we feed off of hustle culture. 

Even though the ultra-glamourization of life can be toxic for my mental health, the escapism to France in a touristy perspective was actually pretty interesting. I really appreciate how the show was shot on location and that the costumes were really personal to the characters. I would definitely consider watching the second season if it is released!

I hope you enjoyed reading this heavy analysis of a fictional story as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

• emily in paris
• entertainment
• france
• Lily Collins
• Netflix
• paris
• Sex and the City
• tv show