"We'll always have Paris."
So says the hero of Casablanca, one of the many, many, cultural influences that over-romanticize the city of lights. Maybe it is deserving of all its hype, but you cannot deny that it is widely considered the end-all be-all of romantic hotspots. People call it the city of love, describing l'amor as something physical, floating through the city. The drifting cigarette smoke, the bohemians sipping cappachinos at a nearby cafe, the artists painting the surrounding city; it does have an air of romance. But what makes Paris so different from London or Madrid or Barcelona or heck, even Chicago? We've hyped up an otherwise normal european city to be the Mecca of love. I've personally never been to Paris, and I bet it's really great, but I find it hard to believe that it will the incredibly mysterious romantic city that it's built up to be.
In an article from away.com (see link at bottom), author Elina Furman writes lovingly about the beauty of the city and the many locations that are ideal for romance. "Everything about the City of Light... acts as a kind of elixir to the soul," she gushes shamelessly. I don't doubt that Paris is a beautiful city that I would one day love to visit, but it is so heavily romanticized that I feel almost suffocated by the idea of it. It's made out to be so unimaginably astounding that I'm worried the novelty will wear off before I even get to visit it.
If I ever get to visit Paris, I hopefully can get past my reserves concerning the over-romatic antics the city seems to be made from and just enjoy the city. There has to be something to the stories, right?
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1 comment:
Michael: Omaha, Nebraska is my "elixir of the soul."
Nice job analyzing the author's language. It's also interesting to consider who's perpetuating the narrative of "lovely Paris." Would the people who rioted over discrimination there a few years ago see it the same way as the author? I zhink no...hu, hu, hu (sorry -- lame attempt at an on-line French accent).
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