Trevor Noah vs. the French

[Jayjay]

So, Trevor Noah got himself into trouble by referring to French footballers "African" instead of French. Here is him responding and calling out the French ambassador's hypocrisy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COD9hcTpGWQ

 

[repoman]

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

I stopped watching the Daily Show when Jon Stewart left. I did try to watch Noah a few times but just found him to be more mean spirited and less funny than Stewart. Stewart had his political battles but didn't forget to add the funny. Samantha Bee took it even further to aggressive and unfunny. Colbert was great on the Colbert Report with his mock character, but isn't so great now that he's on the bigger show. I miss Stewart. I enjoy his occasional appearances on Colbert's new show.

 

[bleubird]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COD9hcTpGWQ
Jolly,I thought Canadians had a great sense of humor.

 

[marc]

I stopped watching the Daily Show when Jon Stewart left. I did try to watch Noah a few times but just found him to be more mean spirited and less funny than Stewart. Stewart had his political battles but didn't forget to add the funny. Samantha Bee took it even further to aggressive and unfunny. Colbert was great on the Colbert Report with his mock character, but isn't so great now that he's on the bigger show. I miss Stewart. I enjoy his occasional appearances on Colbert's new show.

What about John Oliver's show?

I haven't watched Daily Show regularly for years. Noah isn't as good as Stewart, but he is all right. Saw Noah's stand up and liked it. I like Samantha Bee, but agree Colbert Report was a lot better than his standard late night show.

 

[dismal]

So, Trevor Noah got himself into trouble by referring to French footballers "African" instead of French. Here is him responding and calling out the French ambassador's hypocrisy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COD9hcTpGWQ

It seems about on the same level of stupidness as saying a bunch of Africans won the NBA title. Which is pretty stupid. I'm sure his intent was not to imply they are not *real* Frenchmen, but that's more or less the effect.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COD9hcTpGWQ
Jolly,I thought Canadians had a great sense of humor.

I went and watched Noah's most recent episode. He has improved a lot. I got a couple of laughs this time. As to Canadians and humor, some do. I am not a fan of whiny Seth Meyers (he is Canadian) but Michael Meyers (Canadian) used to crack me up.

Oliver can be great, though he sometimes doesn't do his research well. I definitely get laughs out of him.

 

[southernhybrid]

Trevor was right to say what he did. I've come to like him better than Stewart. Jon was good, but after he left, it was obvious to me that it was the show and its writers that brought out the best in Stewart. I've seen Jon several times since he left. He was kind of pitiful. Trevor's standup is better than Jon's imo. But again, the show is more than its host. The host doesn't write all of the skits and jokes. Let's not forget that. I would agree that Cobert is the best late night host, but there are a few others that I also like to watch.

It's also sad that some of the French didn't get the message behind the Trevor's humor. Being able to laugh at yourself is a admirable quality, imo.

 

[dismal]

Trevor was right to say what he did. I've come to like him better than Stewart. Jon was good, but after he left, it was obvious to me that it was the show and its writers that brought out the best in Stewart. I've seen Jon several times since he left. He was kind of pitiful. Trevor's standup is better than Jon's imo. But again, the show is more than its host. The host doesn't write all of the skits and jokes. Let's not forget that. I would agree that Cobert is the best late night host, but there are a few others that I also like to watch.

It's also sad that some of the French didn't get the message behind the Trevor's humor. Being able to laugh at yourself is a admirable quality, imo.

So, if being born and raised in France is not enough, how many generations do you think someone's ancestors have to be in France before they become French?

 

[whollygoats]

Trevor was right to say what he did. I've come to like him better than Stewart. Jon was good, but after he left, it was obvious to me that it was the show and its writers that brought out the best in Stewart. I've seen Jon several times since he left. He was kind of pitiful. Trevor's standup is better than Jon's imo. But again, the show is more than its host. The host doesn't write all of the skits and jokes. Let's not forget that. I would agree that Cobert is the best late night host, but there are a few others that I also like to watch.

It's also sad that some of the French didn't get the message behind the Trevor's humor. Being able to laugh at yourself is a admirable quality, imo.

So, if being born and raised in France is not enough, how many generations do you think someone's ancestors have to be in France before they become French?

A helluva lot less time than it might take some poor sucker who was born and raised in New England to become a 'Texan', or vice versa. Particularly if their skin is not the 'right' color. Shit, we still have people in places in the US who cannot vote, despite their families having lived in the location for multiple generations.

 

[dismal]

Trevor was right to say what he did. I've come to like him better than Stewart. Jon was good, but after he left, it was obvious to me that it was the show and its writers that brought out the best in Stewart. I've seen Jon several times since he left. He was kind of pitiful. Trevor's standup is better than Jon's imo. But again, the show is more than its host. The host doesn't write all of the skits and jokes. Let's not forget that. I would agree that Cobert is the best late night host, but there are a few others that I also like to watch.

It's also sad that some of the French didn't get the message behind the Trevor's humor. Being able to laugh at yourself is a admirable quality, imo.

So, if being born and raised in France is not enough, how many generations do you think someone's ancestors have to be in France before they become French?

A helluva lot less time than it might take some poor sucker who was born and raised in New England to become a 'Texan', or vice versa. Particularly if their skin is not the 'right' color. Shit, we still have people in places in the US who cannot vote, despite their families having lived in the location for multiple generations.

So, you're also on board with these guys not being French? It's kind of hard to tell if that's your position or if that was just an unrelated vague emotional anti-American rant.

 

[Horatio Parker]

A helluva lot less time than it might take some poor sucker who was born and raised in New England to become a 'Texan', or vice versa. Particularly if their skin is not the 'right' color. Shit, we still have people in places in the US who cannot vote, despite their families having lived in the location for multiple generations.

So, you're also on board with these guys not being French? It's kind of hard to tell if that's your position or if that was just an unrelated vague emotional anti-American rant.

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

As a black South African living in the US, is he permitted in any way to appreciate the Africaness of the French team? Or does celebrating that fact somehow denigrate other races?

 

[dismal]

A helluva lot less time than it might take some poor sucker who was born and raised in New England to become a 'Texan', or vice versa. Particularly if their skin is not the 'right' color. Shit, we still have people in places in the US who cannot vote, despite their families having lived in the location for multiple generations.

So, you're also on board with these guys not being French? It's kind of hard to tell if that's your position or if that was just an unrelated vague emotional anti-American rant.

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

France, last I checked, is not in Africa. It's in Europe. So, no.

What are you imagining makes someone born and raised in France "African"?

 

[whollygoats]

To be pedantic, Africa is a continent, while France is a nation. France is not on the African continent, but it did colonize and occupy sizable geographic areas on the African continent.

I would think that anyone who came to France to live and work, obtained citizenship and all, would be considered 'French', no matter where they, or their ancestors had originated.

I understand that the Russian team had a member who was originally born, raised and trained in to futbol in Brazil, but he moved to Russia. Is he Russian? Or a South American Russian? Or, somehow, still a Brazilian?

 

[whollygoats]

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

France, last I checked, is not in Africa. It's in Europe. So, no.

What are you imagining makes someone born and raised in France "African"?

Yeah...What part of France do the names Mbappe, or N'Golo, or Umtiti originate? Do you know?

 

[J842P]

Trevor was right to say what he did. I've come to like him better than Stewart. Jon was good, but after he left, it was obvious to me that it was the show and its writers that brought out the best in Stewart. I've seen Jon several times since he left. He was kind of pitiful. Trevor's standup is better than Jon's imo. But again, the show is more than its host. The host doesn't write all of the skits and jokes. Let's not forget that. I would agree that Cobert is the best late night host, but there are a few others that I also like to watch.

It's also sad that some of the French didn't get the message behind the Trevor's humor. Being able to laugh at yourself is a admirable quality, imo.

So, if being born and raised in France is not enough, how many generations do you think someone's ancestors have to be in France before they become French?

A helluva lot less time than it might take some poor sucker who was born and raised in New England to become a 'Texan', or vice versa. Particularly if their skin is not the 'right' color. Shit, we still have people in places in the US who cannot vote, despite their families having lived in the location for multiple generations.

You realize, that the whole point of Noah's talk was that it is *easier* to assimilate and become American than it is to do that in France?

And yes, that counts going from one region in the US to another.

 

[J842P]

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

France, last I checked, is not in Africa. It's in Europe. So, no.

What are you imagining makes someone born and raised in France "African"?

In this specific case, the fact that their parents were born and raised in French-colonial African nations, they have their African names, and generally maintain a lot of their African cultural identity.


The same thing that makes an Irish-American "Irish", and an African American "African," although in these cases, the heritage is much further removed. But in the US, there has always been greater comfort with dual national/ethnic identities. At least, significantly more comfortable than Europeans, who are generally much more culturally insular, and have a lot of weird ethno-national chauvinism and exaggerate the petty differences between the various national/ethnic identities inside Europe.

Americans have their own chauvinism, but it is more national than ethno-national.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

France, last I checked, is not in Africa. It's in Europe. So, no.

What are you imagining makes someone born and raised in France "African"?

Their ancestry and heritage, same as people do here. You may not be aware of it, but people are allowed to continue and identify with the culture that they were born into. They're French, and they're African. Sorry if that's too complicated for you.

Or is it too much for you to understand that an African can take pride in another African becoming a Frenchman and representing them in the World Cup?

Here in the USA you can be Irish (or another) American and take pride in Irish accomplishments without "real" Americans taking umbrage.

Time to cancel the St. Patrick's Day parade as unAmerican?

 

[dismal]

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

France, last I checked, is not in Africa. It's in Europe. So, no.

What are you imagining makes someone born and raised in France "African"?

Yeah...What part of France do the names Mbappe, or N'Golo, or Umtiti originate? Do you know?

Mbappe and Kante were born in Paris, Pogba was born in Lagny-sur-Marne, Matuidi was born in Toulose, Giroud was born in Chambery, Griezmann was born in Macon, Lloris was born in Nice.

Those are places in France.

 

[dismal]

Noah didn't say they weren't French. He said they were African. You can't be both?

France, last I checked, is not in Africa. It's in Europe. So, no.

What are you imagining makes someone born and raised in France "African"?

In this specific case, the fact that their parents were born and raised in French-colonial African nations, they have their African names, and generally maintain a lot of their African cultural identity.


The same thing that makes an Irish-American "Irish", and an African American "African," although in these cases, the heritage is much further removed. But in the US, there has always been greater comfort with dual national/ethnic identities. At least, significantly more comfortable than Europeans, who are generally much more culturally insular, and have a lot of weird ethno-national chauvinism and exaggerate the petty differences between the various national/ethnic identities inside Europe.

Americans have their own chauvinism, but it is more national than ethno-national.

So, some of the French team had African Ancestry. So do many of the Golden State Warriors. If the Lakers win the next NBA title should we all go around saying "Africa wins" because LeBron has African ancestry? How would you feel if Trump or Rush Limbaugh started saying "Africa Wins!" every time a team that had some people with African ancestry won something?