Paul Scott
The 7 Lives of Léa
Alluring but Potentially Deadly
The 7 Lives of Léa, a difficult-to-categorize French TV series recently released on Netflix, deals uncompromisingly with racism, sexism, ageism, domestic violence, body-shaming and sexuality. The heroine, Léa, wakes up on seven consecutive mornings in the body of a different … Read More
Into the Night
Timely Apocalyptic Drama
Flying has never been the same since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. That, together with decreasing seat sizes and the multiplication of extra fees, has taken the romance out of traveling. Like all thrillers, the TV series Into the Night … Read More
French Science Fiction: Valérian and Laureline
Sci-fi James Bond, Without the Sexism
Valérian and Laureline are the eponymous heroes of a sci-fi graphic series like no other. For one thing, the 24 tales, which appeared over a span of over four decades, between 1967 and 2010, echoed societal changes during a period … Read More
Mythomaniac
Madame Giannini, C’est Moi!
In the 2019 French Netflix show Mythomaniac (Mytho in the original French), creator Fabrice Gobert, who brought us the neo-zombies of Les Revenants, focuses on the zombification of contemporary suburban lifestyles. Most horror takes place in suburbia, as if to … Read More
French Science Fiction: Arzach
The Intriguing World of Arzach and Its Influence on Star Wars
There are many affinities between science fiction and detective mysteries/crime drama. When faced with an unknown planet, future or world, or with beings very different from what we have known, we are forced to work out the lay of this … Read More
French-language Science Fiction
Tintin Goes to the Moon
The French revere bandes dessinées (graphic novels) and consider them the “ninth art,” building on a classification of the arts that originated with Hegel and has been updated over the past 50 years. The ninth art is ranked after architecture, … Read More
Science Fiction: Fantastic Planet
Brave New World?
One of the main functions – and values – of science fiction is its ability to critique today’s society. Although a story may deal with vastly different cultures and be set in the future, an alien world or an alternate-history … Read More
Ad Vitam
Happily Ever After?
In the 1980s, a chance discovery revealed that a species of small jellyfish, Turritopsis dohrnii, which self-regenerates and never reaches maturity, is biologically immortal. This process is currently being studied by many groups of scientists around the world with a … Read More
The Returned (Les Revenants)
Revitalizing the Undead, French Style
The zombie – once the domain of cult-movie fans – has only recently become a mainstay of popular culture. In the past decade, much has changed thanks to TV shows that garner record ratings, offering everything from the apocalyptic scenario … Read More
The French Origins of Planet of the Apes
Monkeying Around with the Original
Planet of the Apes, probably the most successful sci-fi franchise after Star Wars, has permeated our culture with parodies and allusions, seen on everything from The Simpsons to the animated sci-fi film Rick and Morty. In 2018, Roseanne Barr infamously … Read More