Being a small country, Belgium is not very famous for its sports player abroad, except maybe in tennis where Kim Clijsters (a Flemish sportswoman) and Justine Henin (a Walloon one) did great scores. However, we can find a nice example of how Belgians can express their quirkiness and humour in their everyday life, including a ping-pong match!
Here's a video of probably the funniest match ever. It was played by Belgian player Jean-Michel Saive and Chinese player C.Y. Chuang. The audience as well as the commentator can't refrain from laughing constantly at their jokes. It actually doesn't look like a competition, but a big comedy. Enjoy!
If you have any other funny sports anecdote or video, don't hesitate to post a comment!
Today I came across a TV-show that really reflects Flemish pride and proficiency in English. The project I'm going to talk about is quite similar to this blog, but it only focuses on Flanders, rather than the whole country.
In September 2012, the Flemish public broadcaster VRT decided to create a TV-show intended for expats in Flanders. Being aware that not that many expats could speak Dutch, they created for the first time in history a TV-show entirely in English (with subtitles in both Dutch and English).
Fans of Flanders is a weekly programme with presenters who all speak an excellent English. The goal is to make people (expats or Belgian people themselves) learn more about Flanders and the most quirky things going on in there. The show focuses on Flanders but also includes Brussels, although the city has a majority of French speakers, because it is often the place expats choose to settle in and probably also because the VRT premises are located in Brussels. The French-speaking community is left out for once.
The programme mainly describes how quirky Flemish people can be, but also tells you about interesting places to visit and provides interviews of expats on what they think of Flanders (in the sequence 'Expat of the week'). All of this is made with a lot of (Flemish!) humour and may also depict the weirdest sides of the region (e.g. the irrationality of the garbage bag system). Also, typical Flemish expressions and words are presented by a journalist.
Actually, Fans of Flanders is primarily a website with 'funny' videos and all the content is first published on the internet before being broadcasted as a full-shaped TV-show. The VRT makes use of social networks, polls and blogs a lot. As a less recent project, the same broadcaster launched a Flemish online magazine all in English called Flandersnews.be.
Hopefully one day the French-speaking community will do the same... or the same will be done to introduce the whole country to the world...
A rough but moving humour, surrealism and royalty, those are some features that probably build Belgian culture and may be reflected in the national cinema. Yet, if you don't know about it, you will have a hard time trying to find common features between all films produced in this country. This intricacy is due to a cultural difference between Flemish and French-speakers, once again! In fact, each linguistic community's vision of itself is reflected on how they make and watch films.
Flemish people tend to watch less often Dutch channels, favouring their own Flemish ones, which promote local films and make them proud of their community. An example of the way Flemish film-makers tell the world about their own history is 1992 film Daens, which deals with the misery side of Flanders during industrialisation time and the hand given by local bishop Daens, who created the Christian Socialist party.
Also, Flemish film-makers try to make films that can be easily exported. As a consequence, their cinema seems to be closer to English-language cinema and American remakes of them often come as a reward for their success. An example is Ben X (2007), in which a bullied teenager tries to escape real life through online games. Other significant Flemish films include The Misfortunates (2009), which is about drugs, crimes and... riding a bike naked(!), and Bullhead (2011), which deals with a Limburg farm and a murder case...
In comparison, French-speakers in Belgium identify themselves to their country as a whole and less often to their linguistic community. French-language Belgian films lack means and money, and are less valorised. Being often documentaries or auteur films with a social side, they appear less "exotic" to Belgians (but maybe culturally enriching to foreigners). Some were made by the Dardenne brothers and received awards (e.g. The Child), but they may be depressing because they show the 'sad' side of Belgium.
Very clearly, over Belgian TV-channels people prefer French ones, which only promote French films. Yet, it is often the case that Belgian actors play in French films or that these films are co-produced by Belgium and shot in this country, for instance Nothing to Declare (2010), a comedy about a French and a Belgian custom man having a fight.
It is not true, however, that French-language Belgian films cannot leave their mark on the history of cinema. For example, an alien, Man Bites Dog (1992) is a disturbing comedy shot as a fake documentary depicting a serial killer who explains the art of killing people. Another one, The Eighth Day (1996) has as main character a man with Down's syndrome (some people may find similarities with Forest Gump...).
Now I suggest you go to the DVD store and order some nice Belgian film!
If you rent a room or a flat alone in a Belgian city, you will notice that most young people go back home in the weekend, because they have their weekend off, leaving the cities in an unusual stillness. Especially in the winter, lonely weekends in Belgium can be boring, or even depressing, because it's the time Belgian guys chill out or meet relatives. Saturday is crowded in most places though, because shops are still open and people rush to buy things they can't buy during the week. Yet, don't be mistaken and go out for shopping the wrong day, because all shops are usually closed on Sunday. As a result, most Belgian cities become deserted dull places that day, where almost the only people you'll meet down the streets are beggars. As a general advice for those who live in Belgium: if you don't want to starve on Sunday, always do your grocery shopping before!
First world problem in Belgium.
In other European countries, including England, shops are free open the day they want, which is not the case in Belgium. During the week, shops usually stay open until 6pm, except in some commercial centers (and in night shops, which are open from 6pm to 7am), but they can't open on Sunday, because they have to keep a weekly rest day. The only time they can open on Sunday is six times a year, usually before Christmas or the first day of sales. Also, it is possible for shops to open on Sunday morning if they stay closed the morning after, or even to choose another weekly rest day (but I don't really know any shop that does it). As a consequence, some people take the train and go shopping in, for instance, the Netherlands, where this law doesn't apply (e.g. people in the Walloon province of Liège often go shopping in the bordering city of Maastricht on Sunday).
A whole debate now takes place in France about the opening of shops on Sunday, and the issue is often discussed in Belgium without making any change. Some say that opening shops on Sunday would lead to an increase in sale and in the number of job opportunities. Others, including representatives of small shops, are against the idea, because they demand a day-off every week for their private life and believe large retailers would take advantage of such regulation by attracting more people on Sunday and reduce the turnover of smaller shops.
Yet, Belgian law leaves possibility for shops to stay open without restriction on Sunday in so-called 'touristic zones' (mostly city centers). In practice, the shops in most cities refuse to remain open on Sunday for the reasons I cited. The idea is still in discussion with representatives of some shops. The other effort made by municipalities in Belgium is to try making locals go outside anyway. This means making the city life more interesting in the weekend by organising leasure activities, such as plays, concerts, films or expositions... This should be a way to bring a little sparkle to our Belgian cities on Sunday, the day of sun, not that of the dark...
Don't hesitate to share this post and comment it! The debate goes on...
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