Name Your Dream Assignment :: A Socialist Vacation Among Princes and Divinities

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A Socialist Vacation Among Princes and Divinities

Two young American girls explore the land of their father (France), the grandmother they do not know, a culture close, yet so different from their own. With them we look at a society that could inspire America in its quest of solutions.

This assignment will tell a personal, complex and multi faceted story exposing cultural family dynamics on a background of European “socialist” vs. American capitalist model. All in an unconventional fashion far from lofty but ineffective clichés.

I am a professional photographer, French, and have been living in the U.S. for 16 years. My wife is a school teacher, we live a modest life, intellectually satisfying. In 16 years we have only been able to go to France once, 8 years ago. Our two daughters, 8 and 10, have not seen their grandmother since, which means that for all practical matters, they do not know each other.

My dream assignment is to take the girls with me to France and document everything, notably their learning of the language, the building of a relationship with my mother, the discovery of a rather different culture and way of life that they have heard about a lot, and which intrigues them a great deal.

In France we will travel in high speed trains, use energy conscious means of transportation, go to the markets, eat how the French do. We will also camp in one of the nicest spots of the French Riviera, a place where we normally would not be able to go, were it not a benefit from the union of the State Company where my mother worked all her life. This is where this story’s title takes its roots. That union has camping grounds all over France, including in Cavalière maybe the last pearl of the French Riviera, one of the few not damaged by development, and where Carla Bruni, the notorious French First lady has her castle. In essence, us the people, the workers, will be camping within sight of France’s first princess’ castle, which itself is not far from her husband’s castle, the Fort de Brégançon, a vacation residence for French Presidents. We will see the Tour de France, featuring “Lance Armstrong the return,” which starts in Monaco, a place with its own Prince, an official one, not far from where we’ll be.

This story might evoke “A Summer’s Day” from Joel Meyerovitz in that it features children during summer vacation and at least part of the time, a beach. But my photography being more lively, spontaneous, socially and plebeian oriented, this work will be somewhat of a departure from Meyerovitz’s masterpiece. The personalization of the story is meant to multiply the layers of interest and add a very personable charm that might help Americans open their eyes on a way of living that may have some teachings at a time when America is shaken in its core certitudes and seeks solutions.

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