Like many of us around the world, it seems as though Ukraine’s Culture Minister has been binging series two of Netflix’s ‘Emily in Paris’ – and he’s not too happy about one of the characters.
The series follows a young American woman named Emily (played by Lily Collins) around France as she struggles to understand the language and fit in with the French culture.
Emily attends French lessons to help her understand the language, and have a smoother time in the country. During the lessons she befriends a Ukrainian character, Petra played by Daria Panchenko who (unknownst to Emily) convinces her to steal some expensive items from a department store.
The Ukraine Culture Minister, Oleksandr Tkachenko, has slammed how the Petra was depicted in the series. He has said that the reference in the pop culture title could encourage people to view Ukrainians as thieves.
“In ‘Emily in Paris’ we have a caricature of a Ukrainian woman, which is unacceptable. On the other hand, it is also offensive. Will Ukrainians be seen as such abroad? Who steal, want to get everything for free, be afraid of deportation? That should not be the case,” he wrote on his official Telegram channel.
While Tkachenko seemed to enjoy the show itself, saying that Emily in Paris is “a pretty good entertainment series,” he remained concerned about the stereotypes the role may encourage.
“Netflix is well acquainted with Ukraine, suffice to say that most of the streets of Paris in the movie ‘The Last Mercenary’ were filmed in Kiev.”
“In addition, with the popularization of our culture, Europeans and Americans have heard about our artists and beyond. At least about the conductor Oksana Lyniv, tennis player Elina Svitolina, singer Jamala, designer Vita Kin.”
“But this is probably not enough. And we will have to continue to fight stereotypes. Because if in the 90s and 2000s Ukrainian guys were portrayed mostly as gangsters, over time that has changed.”
