Thursday, July 03, 2008

France's Counter-Culture At Work

Truepeers' post earlier today on the undercover che guevara rescue squad reminded me of a heartening video I had originally linked to way back in November of 2006: "spooking France's che guevara fans".

This hilarious 2-part outing features France's true counter-culture movement, the satirists of LaBAf ["La Brigade de l'Argent des Français", "the Brigade of the money of the french"], who stand up to their nation's moral and cultural decline with courage and a sense of humor.

(Speaking of courage, you may have already seen their work through the famous February 2006 video they made during the Danish mohammed cartoon madness, facing down a veritable army of homophobic islamists marching down the streets of Paris, and being secreted away by undercover french police before they could be lynched by the frenzied mob.)

Back in late October 2006, the freedom fighters of LaBAF confronted che guevara's cult of true believers on the streets of Paris, dropping a few historical facts about the icon of amnesiac leftists, all of which were news to his devoted groupies. The result of this crash course education was chronicled in a fun two-part video.

Will che's followers see the light, convert, and accept to wear LaBAF's anti-che t-shirts instead? Watch the videos and see!

The suspense, like che guevara himself, will kill you...

(French video but with english subtitles provided by LaBaf)

Part 1:



Part 2:

5 comments:

Blazingcatfur said...

There is hope for the French;)

Findalis said...

LOL. I haven't studied or spoken French in 30 years, but I understood every word they said.

Merci!

zazie said...

Judging from the sheer stupidity of those who explain they wear such t shirts "because they are pretty" or "because it is a gift" and are perfectly unable to say who and what the Che or CCCP stand for, I can't agree with blazing cat fur that there is some hope for the French...
Yet the mere fact there is a counter culture able to conduct those interviews, and courageous enough to do so, is like a sunray on a foggy day! It is important for me of course since as a French I'd like to retain "some hope"!

Charles Henry said...

Zazie, when I watch the che fan club become so easily talked out of their t-shirts, I guess I see a "mind half-full" instead of a "mind half-empty"... so many times all it takes is a good example, or a good argument, to get someone to change, for the better. (Not always, of course... but often.)

It shows that when we act, **if** we act, we can make a difference. Even when we feel there's only "one" of us. Because there's never only one, it's just that we haven't found the others yet.

When I was learning French by talking with my French friends in my neighborhood, before I was old enough to go to school, I used to believe that the French word for hope, "espoir", was derived from the French word for breath, "respirer", probably because I wasn't pronouncing it right as it came out of my four or five-year old mouth... anyway, even if it's not, it should be, because such a connection would show that hope is something that's induced, we make it happen, and that we need to make it happen.. it's an essential part of life.

You do much good for your country's future, as you write here and there at English blogs, because the kindness, wisdom and gratitude behind your words all declare for the world to see that France is not a lost cause... there are still good people there, even if they don't make the news headlines nearly as often as the bad.

And that's the kind of news that we all need to hear.

Anonymous said...

Humourists and satirists are absolutely essential in order to have a free society. Tyrants can't stand them!
How many stand-up comedians are there in North Korea, or Zimbabwe? And how may will there be in Canada if the current BC HRT case goes against the poor Toronto comedian?