Irma Ona Reyes

May 9th, 2022

Emily Cooper confronting the social stereotypes imposed by the Parisian culture

The popular fashion series "Emily in Paris," starring Lily Collins, appeals to a

predominantly female and young audience, as it is about the adventures of a twenty-

something American girl in Paris, who is fulfilling her dream of working at a renowned

and luxurious marketing agency.

One of the biggest challenges she faces is the confrontation to the social stereotypes

imposed by the Parisian culture. Because of the necessity of coexisting with various

cultures, this continues as an issue to analyze. In this essay, multiple scenes from the first

season of the series will be addressed Emily Cooper confronting social stereotypes

imposed by the Parisian culture.

But this not only happens to her in the workplace but also outside of it, as when she met

Mindy, who, when introduced, told her that she could tell she was “an American at a

glance”, making it clear that Emily is a classic archetype of an American person. In the

same episode, she is criticized for thinking that her happiness is produced by the love of

her work, and that being ignorant in French means being rude and disrespectful to the

people of France.

Throughout the series, you see many more arguments. In episode 2, Sylvie complains to

Emily for talking about “business” at a social party, as that's not what Parisians do. Then

at work, she is belittled and put in charge of a "necessities" brand and not a "luxury"
brand as she should be because of the thinking that “she didn’t know much about Parisian

marketing campaigns”

In episode 3, one of her coworkers judges her for changing the policies of the whole team

at the agency, letting her know that she just wants to break their "French souls". When

filming the campaign for one of the perfume brands, she was judged for not thinking

about the same concept of advertising that is based on the "male gaze", and not on the

empowerment of women, which is what Americans are now looking for because of all the

social conflict that this implies. But all that stereotyping, however, becomes a type of

workplace harassment, as they begin to tease her with sexually offensive drawings that

cause her to fight back against the mockery about her actively sexual life.

At the beginning of episode 4, a florist behaves differently and rudely when Emily wants

to buy a “rose from the South”, assuming that those flowers are not the right ones for her,

because she is not from there. Then, when she invites Gabriel, one of her neighbors, to

breakfast, he stops her when she wants to wash her frying pan, because that is an

“incorrect thing to do” in the French culture. Also, that night she meets a guy who only

approached her with the intention of having sex with an “American vagina”.

Later, she meets Randy Zimmer, who at first was not convinced that “the American girl”

had a marketing strategy for his brand, but later he praises her with "I'd like to know what

proposals you have, Chicago," referring to the well-known city of Chicago.

Sylvie then teases her in front of all the clients present at the agency meeting, when she

asks her to be the one to make the reservation at one of the most renowned and luxurious

restaurants in Paris, which anyone who lives in the city knows that you have to make a
reservation many months in advance in order to have a table for your guests. Also, one of

the agency's favorite clients gave Emily lingerie as a gift, and she thought it was very

daring and out of her limits, or as she called it "out of the container box", to which the

client called her attention to it by telling her that she needed to get out of her comfort

zone and "take a look" at the beautiful things she could find if she ventured out to learn

more about Parisian culture.

In episode 5, Sylvie criticizes Emily’s strategy for the company "Hastens", which sells

beds in Paris and Europe, by pointing out that the proposal of "even a bed under the Eiffel

Tower" for anyone who wanted to sleep, because it is a very materialistic idea that affects

the Parisian cultural heritage, objectifying it.

In episode 6, she is excluded from the social media strategy presentation of Pierre

Cadault's fashion brand, because Sylvie still doesn't believe in her, or in the perspective

she would bring to the agency. However, when Emily's boss gives her a chance in the

meeting with Cadault, he mocks and insults Emily's attire, saying "Ringard" which means

outdated or basic. Then one of the co-workers even criticized Americans for being so

boring and even living in a "prison".

In episode 8, Emily is invited to Camille's parents' country home and is teased by the

mother and Camille when she says she would "like a tour of the house", to which the

mother expresses confusion and Camille states that it is part of "an American tradition".

Then, on a tour of the vineyard, the way of "tasting a wine" is criticized because Emily,

instead of tasting it, she drank it all.

At the end of the series, on the 10 th episode, Emily’s co-workers made fun of her when

she got fired because she looks like “someone had died”, but they told her that it was

“impossible” to fire someone in Paris since that leads to lots of paperwork and discussion

for both parts, so Emily shouldn’t be worried about it anymore. Sylvie never fires Emily,

and she ends up staying in Paris to work for an undetermined time.

In conclusion, Emily lives surrounded by a social circle that has stereotyped not only

Americans but all foreigners, who go as immigrants to another country in search of a

better professional and personal development.

 Additional References

Knolle, Sharon. “'Emily in Paris' Season 2 Premiere Viewership Was 77% Female,

According to Nielsen.” TheWrap, 20 Jan. 2022, https://www.thewrap.com/emily-in-paris-

season-2-premiere-viewers-mostly-female/.