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Miss Kolka

PRODUCING IN PARIS

HGW XX/7 | 26 mars 2007

You constantly wonder what other's people lives are like - or compare your own to theirs.

What if someone could watch you all the time - and everything you did would be documented for others to know about?

That is what the film Das leben der anderen is about  - go and see it

amazingly well done - and if you care, it was nominated for an oscar for best foreign film...


Publié par Kolka à 14:06:22 dans Cinema | Commentaires (2) |

Bretagne | 26 mars 2007


Publié par Kolka à 12:07:04 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) |

Men | 21 mars 2007

On france24.com you can watch the channel in english and in french but you can also read blogs by our presenters inside the newsroom . They vary as they are many. Some have an interesting outlook on the news agenda - others just repeat what they have read in the wires.

This was written on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 by one of our key english presenters Francois Picard:

 

"The look on producer Sara Courageux's face when coming off air after reporting on the first face-to-face encounter between the woman who's vying to become France's first-ever female president – Ségolène Royal - and Germany's first-ever female Chancellor – Angela Merkel. “I object to the fact that we talk about what they're wearing, that we call them by their first name “Angela” and “Ségolène” said the hot-under-the-collar Courageux. You should ask the same questions of male politicians that you ask of women politicians. Point taken. However, fact is that women running countries are so scarce that it is an issue and should be mentioned. As our reporter stated, their gender is one of the few things they have in common as Royal's a Socialist and Merkel runs the conservative C.D.U. Also, even more so than Merkel or even Hilary Clinton, Royal's played on the gender issue, showing hinting that a win for her would usher in a clean break with the established order in France. So should we not talk about their gender?"


I feel I need to contextualise. We had a correspondent live in Berlin following the meeting of the two women, Royal and Merkel. And I had said something to Francois about his second question which I found quite leading. The question was something like "The Gender fact is likely to come up, is it not?"
My viewpoint is that just mentioning the fact that the two women are women - which is quite obvious - is like saying its abnormal they got that far, being women and all. Some will probably say now that it is rare that women have these positions so we should mention it. Does it then say that these women are somehow extra-ordinary because they got to where they are? How are we ever to progress with that attitude? There aren't many women in key positions in the political or economic sphere, I will give you that but that s mainly due to attitudes just like these, that they somehow must have done something extra or are really really tough to be where they are. Well no, Why shouldn't they be - women are after all half of the workforce in most western countries.

And so - the answer from the correspondent was just as I expected.. He started saying that yes of course they were both women but that was about the only thing that brought them together.Why should their gender bring them together when they don't even have the same political ideas? The correspondent continued: "Segolene" was much more glamorous then her perhaps-future counterpart and then he started talking about her clothes and stuff. Common. When do we EVER talk about what Tony Blair is wearing or George Bush? And how their hair looks like?

So we just fed the machine - playing into the  "wow-they-are-women-but-they-might-become-head-of-states- kindof amazement. Of course they can. However, as I have said before - it doesn't mean I am going to vote for them JUST because they are women - that would be exactly the same thing.

I know this is not what Francois ment - but how can we - as the women of France 24 - not feel annoyed when all we hear all day long is that there are too many women around the newsroom and sexist comments about how women don't know how to do this or that, or constant references to their sexual attributes. The over-all macho and misogynist athmosphere is constant and it is frustrating to work with men (without naming them) that feel threatened by female presence and always have to proove they have the upper hand by yelling - "I decide - you do just what I tell you - I'm the boss"

We know you are - no need to show your comb.

Publié par Kolka à 13:13:57 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (1) |

What did I tell you? | 20 mars 2007

This was written the 19th of february 2007:  

"Meanwhile Rice, Olmert and Abbas meet for talks in Jerusalem where everyone will agree on a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, except that Hamas will not regognise Israel, the international community will not recognise the Hamas-led government and the fighting will go on "

 
Today we are the 20th of March
And what is going on now in Gaza?
That is exactly why newsreporting of the sort is so frustrating!

Publié par Kolka à 16:38:13 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) |

What do you know? | 20 mars 2007

I have days where I doubt about myself. I KNOW I'm not the only one - I think we all do. Its just a matter of hiding it well enough. Hiding it from those you don't know. Because making friends, good friends is probably another way of saying "I met someone who knows I'm not perfect and accepts my defaults - and I his".

But my doubts are not so much about weird habits that could annoy some - such as dipping bread with butter into my hot chocolate (which is sooo common) or snapping at doormen in clubs- but rather about my intellectual abilities. Which is totally stupid actually. Most people pretend they are more intelligent than they actually are, with few but remarkable exceptions such as Pamela Anderson (a personal hero of mine) and Björk (one of the greatest contemporary artists of the universe and I am not just saying that because I am Icelandic, well ok, maybe I am). They get away with appearing a bit simple - when Pamela has always known how to correctly manage her image and use it for business purposes and Björk maintains her individuality no matter what - always as surprising and original as ever.

I have noticed that in conversations here in France people try to get in as many quotations from famous writers or philosophers as possible - and they all know at least a dozen painters, without forgetting the national name-dropping of course. Something I have already mentioned in previous blogs. In Iceland, people mention as many musical references as possible.. the more obscure and underground the better.. no musical expert with self-respect quotes Mariah Carey or Michael Bolton. That is why we often play games with band names and songs - until the sun comes up. In England you are a complete twat if you dont drink beer and know the name of every player in the national football team (maybe a bit sterotypical). But every culture seems to have something that is considered common knowledge - something that makes people part of the society by knowing these things. I guess in France cultural knowledge in very important - from elementary school and onwards, on the expense of learning other languages perhaps and especially on the expense of independent thinking.

So yes, I might not know the name of some writers or painters but I know other things. I know Norway is not in the European union (only in the european economic area) which came in handy at work yesterday, I know stangetz as well as Chromeo, and I know what I want. (this is not an extensive list of my knowledge...there are a few other things...)

- sometimes I just have to remember that knowledge isn't just science and arts. And that it differs depending on the education you recieved. There is so much more. You can not define it and the only way to learn is to be open to others. Knowing people is the best knowledge.

 

next blog: analysing the men of France24

Publié par Kolka à 16:28:21 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) |

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