NThe Christmas world of etflix is an inevitable world, and its two most successful franchises are Princess switch -Recently released the third movie in the series-and The Christmas Prince. Both series take place in a particularly interesting non-place: their American heroine travels to a fictional country, which is a perfect synthesis of a certain Europe seen through certain eyes. This territory—whether it is named Belgravia, Montanello, or Aldovia—does not exist on the map, but it is built again and again. It is a strange hodgepodge of Romania, Switzerland, Italy and everything in between, plus a healthy British accent.
What are the characteristics of this strange enclave? Does it have national ambitions, and if so, what is its nature? Can we understand its people? When investigating this smorgasbord of continental Europe, it’s best to move from Netflix to another blockbuster franchise, Princess DiariesBased on the YA series of books, two “Princess Diaries” movies introduce us to Genovia and its capital Pirus. Anne Hathaway plays the American civilian Mia Thermopolis. In European dialects, she will become Princess Amelia Minionet Thermopolis Renaldi. The name itself blends the fashionable atmosphere of France, Greece and Monaco. “Anyway, this is Europe!”-We can almost hear Hollywood executives roaring from behind.
From the very beginning, Genovia presented herself as esoteric. “You have pears in your flowers,” the young Hathaway said when she first entered the Genovian consulate in her hometown. “Genoa pears, we are famous for them,” the Genoese military attache replied. Later in the film, more general European characteristics emerged: it seems that the Genoese are known for their cheese and outstanding artistic taste. When Mia was learning the traditional Genovian dance, her tutor clearly explained that the dance was “between waltz and tango”. Hathaway replied, “So, this is a wango?” Julie Andrews played the role of Queen Genovia and made a desperate look. But what is going on, Mia is right! It is indeed called “wango”.
When a reporter waiting for the princess asked his peers if anyone knew where Genoa was actually, he said briefly, “This is a country between France and Spain. This is a question of danger.” This kind of centrism is a skill that the continent provides to Hollywood because it rolls its eyes and admits: Well, you won’t be interested in us as a separate entity, even if we invented the concept of a separate entity-namely Ethnicity-first, but as a general “foreign” buffet, we may still be able to temporarily attract your attention-and the production staff.
Of course, Europe is not the only mixed foreign buffet offered to the US market. The same goes for Russia, the Middle East, and other places. But Europelandia is familiar or attractive enough for Americans to be regarded as the mainstream of Christmas.
These Netflix However, Disney’s franchise will find it difficult to compete with one of the most fashionable European films of all time, “The Beautician and the Beast” (1997), which starred Fran Drescher. Likewise, the names of the constituent countries tell us a lot about what we need to know. This time, we are going to Slovenia. Definitely Eastern Europe-therefore not so mainstream and not so popular-Slovenia does not have the sunny beach in the princess diary, nor a drop of magical snow, it adorns all three princess switch movies gorgeously. In addition, unlike others, the beautician and the beast showed us a “actual” map. The borders of Slovenia are squeezed by the borders of Hungary, Romania and Ukraine. Dresher played a flashy New York beautician who was accidentally hired as a science teacher by the children of the ruler of Slovenia, with the task of “making them exposed to Western ideas.”
Does any child in an elite family in Genovia or Belgravia need such a course? This is extremely unlikely. Even in non-locations, like real locations, hierarchy is the basic element of power just like gravity itself.
