Having shaken off nationalism, Europe risks civilisationalism.
It is possible to be black and Dutch, or for a person of Moroccan descent to be unequivocally French. But is it possible to be non-white and to think of oneself as “European”?
Might eight decades of EU integration accidentally foment a form of ugly, pan-continental bigotry?
A new book decries the continent’s subtler form of chauvinism.
@TheEuropeanNetwork I write about European topics and people. Eurowhitness is now on my reading list.
I think Europe has to go much further than its motto "United in diversity" (a good start?) It can't just be "many shades of white and blonde".
When choosing to portray European people in the newsletter, I think the way to go is to actively look for non-white Europeans. Not that I manage every time, but here's 4 black European actresses playing #EuropeanSeries
Both based in European setups and written by European authors.
I'm currently watching "Hot Skull" which is a Turkish story about a disease transmitted by speaking. In a dystopian Istambul everyone wears headphones for protection.
Standing Up: Mariama Gueye is a comedian raising to stardom after posting her latest sketch. She struggles between being true to her values and following the needs of fame.
Queen: Sylwester, a Polish old man working in France as a tailor for a drag queen cabaret, travels back to Poland to meet his daughter for the first time
In Dark, children start vanishing from a German town. Families become aware of a wormhole near the local nuclear plant, connecting 5 different time lines.
What if Communist Poland had not fallen? In 1983 a terrorist attack changes the course of history. Forward to 2003, when the protagonists start to discover a resistance movement.
GAME 5 REMATCH:
The Girls at the Back 🇪🇸 vs. Dark 🇩🇪
#TheGirlsAtTheBack take the last trip togher before one of them starts chemotherapy, but which one? They have known each other for a long time, but this period together will bring much more out.
#Dark is a time travel conundrum. In the 1st season we visist 1953, 1986 and 2019. Four families are involved in this ambitious narrative.
GAME 2 REMATCH: NEW TIE. Dirty Lines and Kleo tie again. The jury has decided to let Dirty Lines go head, because it's the one we have watched more recently :)
GAME 5 REMATCH: The Girls at the Back go through to the next round!
Both last 1 season. In "The Girls", it's the natural ending of the story. But 1899 ends in a cliffhanger with no news of season 2 despite the requests.
"The Girls" is a Spanish story, takes place mostly by the sea, in holidays. While 1899 takes place IN the sea, and many languages are spoken, up to 10!
Lea will jump timeline up to 7 times, one per chapter, each time living a different live, getting to know first-hand different angles about the same story
Katla, the vulcano, spits out people that have disappeared years before. Some of them were even dead. Are they the same people?
Welcome to the semi-finals of #EuropeanSeries! We're reaching the end and we have contenders from Spain, Turkey, Germany and Iceland! Who is the favourite of our audience?
Which one is your favourite in the 1st semi-final of #EuropeanSeries?
🇪🇸 Sky Rojo
vs
🇹🇷 Hot Skull
#SkyRojo is named after a sofa. It doesn't mean "red sky", but "red leatherette sofa". It's the one where the progatonists sit in the brothel. An original story from the screenwriters.
#HotSkull is named after the effects of the epidemic. Those sick words will make your head heat up, but the lead character seems to be immune. Based on a book by Turkish author Afşin Kum
Which one is your favourite in the 2nd and dystopic semi-final of #EuropeanSeries?
🇩🇪 1899
vs
🇮🇸 Katla
1899: a story of European migrants on a boat to the US. That's why there's so many languages and people in the main cast (20 characters!) The screenwriters (Jantje Friese, Baran bo Odar) also wrote "Dark"
Katla is also quite dark. People who reappear are covered in ash. They confront their loved ones, but also other versions of themselves.
A German story by the screenwriters of Dark.
A European endeavour in the production, and a Babel tower with 8 languages spoken in the series.
A coral story with 20 main voices.
A polemic cancellation by #Netflix after season 1, when more episodes were planned, with viewers asking for the continuation through change.org