[Compiled by Zhang Wen, a special correspondent of the European Times] A reality show "Welfare Street" with the content of recording the lives of poor people has caught fire in Britain. France's M6 followed suit, launching a reality show of the same concept in the summer evening prime time, but it encountered Waterloo, and only two episodes were broadcast before it attracted a lot of scolding. Shows may be in danger of being discontinued.
The reality show "Welfare Street", which records the lives of the poor, became a popularity in britain. (Image source: The pictures in this article are all screenshots from the video "la Rue des Allocs")
"La Rue des Allocs" (the neighborhood where social assistance receives social assistance) was criticized before it was officially broadcast. After its premiere last Wednesday night, the controversy intensified. The new M6 show chronicles everyday life in the slum of Saint-leu, the old industrial city of Amiens in northern France. The San Lu district was classified as a sensitive district in 2014, and the unemployment rate was close to 40% at one point (compared to 19% in Amiens). The camera followed the local residents in depth for six months. However, the effort is not necessarily flattering, and the harsh headline, coupled with the indifferent narration, makes the audience watch the show scold the poor and unscrupulously "peek" into their lives.
British success was unpopular in France
The show was originally titled "Zone Prioritaire" (meaning to be cared for), which was a far cry from the later use of "Relief Street", and the interviewee was not informed of the name change. The show follows the name and concept of the British version of Welfare Street, which aired in 2014 and chronicles the daily life of a poor street in Birmingham, which, despite much controversy, was well received by more than five million viewers. "Relief Street" also triggered a lot of public opinion, but the thunder and rain were small, and finally only gained 1.8 million viewers, with a rating of 9.5%.
"Relief Street" has aroused a lot of public opinion, but the thunder and rain are small.
"Insults and smears against the poor"
The National Federation of Associations for Shelter and Social Resettlement (FNARS) has asked the French Higher Audiovisual Commission (CSA) to intervene in the continued broadcast of the programme, "which is an insult and smear to the eight million French people living in poverty throughout France." In an interview with Agence France-Presse, the French High Audiovisual Commission said that "there is no way to intervene before the program is broadcast."
Although it was one of the few television programs in France that focused on the poor, leftist newspapers did not appreciate it. The Humane newspaper used two pages on Wednesday to call the self-style "documentary-style reality show" a "TV junk" with cameras "dedicated to photographing drunk people." The poor don't just drink alcohol, but also drink very poor quality beer. The Liberation newspaper satirized that the program only repeated stereotypes of the poor, with the headline: "Poor people love to drink and love to modify their old cars."
In fact, most of the subjects who appear in the first episode have canned beer in their hands, basically showing a drunken state.
The Liberation newspaper's satire only repeats stereotypes of poor people, such as drinking.
The mayor is unhappy: it's a "selective show"
Amiens Mayor Brigitte Fouré said in a morning telephone interview on Euro 1 on the 19th that the show "reflects a certain reality" and that "poverty does exist in some neighborhoods of some French cities, and my towns are no exception." But while showing life here, there are quite a few shots that seem to me to consider human dignity at all. I was shocked. The "way it is presented," she says, is also "artificial," "selectively showing the lives of some of those who have some special dilemma." Such a performance is a certain distance from reality. ”
Philippe, a disabled person with dyslexia who was ordered to deport after two years in arrears of rent, cried bitterly after asking for help. Morris, who lives with him and can't take care of himself, watches him from the sidelines, with mixed feelings.
Mayor Fu He also expressed his satisfaction with the good appearance of the city and the solidarity between neighbors shown in the program. She thinks the show may be trying to get the public to pay more attention to poor communities: "What is more important to me than the image of Amiens is the work done to improve these poor communities. But she said she would not ask for the show to be suspended.
The director's original intention: to explain the unemployment numbers with stories
The show's director, Stéphane Munka, has previously filmed Canal+ channel's Special Investigations and France's Radio 2's Infrared. He understands the voices of these doubts, but also counters that "most" residents "survive on relief, often running out of money before the end of the month." "Eighty percent of the people are drinking, what can I do?" Do I have to check beforehand? "What really should be discussed," he adds, is the blow of unemployment, and these "trivial images" record nothing more than the "despair" of those who have been marginalized and deprived of their jobs.
For marie-jo, the protagonist who lost her husband and raised five children independently, the director commented: "She does not give up, tries not to be disconnected from society, she is very sunny, and she does not drink." "Marie Jo's husband, a worker, was once killed in a bar for disagreement with people.
The picture shows Mary Joe receiving food. She prepares lunch for her son, who goes to school, and sometimes asks his classmates to come to the house to eat because the school cafeteria is "too expensive."
The director said his aim was to see "how can I live on an income of less than 1,000 euros a month?" "Then use concrete stories to explain the cold unemployment figures."
The media questioned: There must be something hateful about the poor
However, the judgment of the media is different from the "original intention" of the director. AFP relayed a comment in The Humane newspaper, questioning whether the choice of the show's characters was "to convince the masses that the shortcomings of these poor people themselves are what have brought them to such an extent".
In the final episode of "Relief Street", the program team interviewed several protagonists again six months after filming.
On the door of Philip's house, there was a notice of eviction.
On the door of Philip's house, there was a notice of eviction. Philip, 46, has been driven into the street, and several say they have seen him occasionally. His simple homes had a three-month hold period, after which the government had the right to auction them.
One of the protagonists, Cindy Cindy, a 20-year-old unemployed young woman, said: "I just hope that the show can show the footage they have taken realistically, and don't cut us into social unrest." ”
According to Agence France-Presse, M6 has not yet been able to respond to these criticisms, and they have not announced when the sequel will be broadcast.
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