'Emily in Paris' lands in hot waters for portrayal of Ukrainians
- By Web Desk -
- Jan 03, 2022
Streaming giant Netflix has landed in trouble for their American hit comedy-drama ‘Emily in Paris’, as the culture minister of Ukraine has blasted the show for its clichéd portrayal of Ukrainians.
Oleksandr Tkachenko, culture minister of Ukraine is mentioned to have complained to the streaming portal for the ‘insulting caricature’ of natives in the romantic comedy.
Ukrainian minister wrote on Telegram, “In Emily in Paris, we have a caricature image of a Ukrainian woman that is unacceptable. It is also insulting”.
“Is that how Ukrainians are seen abroad?” Mr. Tkachenko further added.
‘Emily in Paris’, a successful venture from Netflix, narrates the journey of a young American girl, Emily who lands her dream job at a marketing firm in the French capital, and the further ramifications of cultural clash and succeeding at work, all while searching for love.
Darren Star’s creation, witnessed the introduction of a new character, Petra in its latest released season, a Ukrainian lady who shoplifts during her trip with Emily, is afraid of deportation from the country and is portrayed to have a poor fashion sense as well. The character is being portrayed by Ukrainian actress Daria Panchenko.
A Ukrainian resident in Paris, Yevheniya Havrylko, showed his agreement to the politician’s statement in an Instagram post, as he wrote: “The way you treated the image of Ukrainians in your second season, 4th episode is such a low cost trick, absolute scandal and a shame”. The post has received more than 75000 likes.
Natalka Yakymovych, a Ukrainian film producer however issued a defensive comment for the show, “So in a TV series, negative characters can be anything but Ukrainian? Obviously, we all would like her to be from Moscow, but you don’t always get what you want”.
Earlier when the Netflix series was criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of other nationalities including French people, Darren Star clarified his stance with “I wanted to showcase Paris in a really wonderful way that would encourage people to fall in love with the city in a way that I have”.