Tonight I find myself watching De Ideale Wereld (The Ideal World), a Flemish TV program where a presenter satirises the news. From tomorrow onward, most businesses and shops will be opened again in Belgium. So they show a man’s street interview, that was aired on national news earlier this week. A shop owner himself, he is excited about the new regulations, and states that “we will have to do safe shopping, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be fun — after all safe sex is fun too!”. Oh dear.
They also hone in on a clip of the Belgian prime minister, Sophie Wilmès, saying in a vulnerable moment during her last press conference “that she understands everyone must be very tired at this point… I have been talking a while.” Keep in mind that only last week, she was ridiculed by the media for an overly wordy power point presentation, which had gone on for over an hour.
I enjoy watching the occasional Flemish TV program, especially news related, as I get the chance to hear all the different accents of my mother tongue. The news also often has spokespeople on for a certain company or division, and they always have a “news-presenter-voice”. I aspire to that level of timbre-control.
But mostly I enjoy the silly humour that is an integral part of Belgian culture. For example, The Ideal World-cast put on a sketch of an amateur orchestra. They are hired by the government to record lighthearted tunes, accompanying the reports of awkward moments and fumbles of politicians during this crisis — of course, the band ends up regretting the gig as they now have to play for hours on end and never get to go home or have a rest.
Another Flemish staple is the constant, curious play on words. Like when the presenter talks with an actress about the effect of the corona-crisis on the cultural sector. They don’t diminish the severity of the situation, but come up with delightful sentences such as — “the question mark of when we might be able to start performing again, is slowly becoming a frustration mark”.
Or when the actress compares the current situation to knowing you will go on a holiday in the foreseeable future, but you don’t yet know where you’ll go. You can’t pack anything, because you might not need any socks if you are going somewhere warm, but packing bikini’s wouldn’t make sense if you are going somewhere cold.
Even if these these ramblings don’t make much sense, I hope I have been able to translate how endearing the whole interview feels. At the end, they talk about how great it is that artists can stream their shows. A lot of people are finding solace in watching these pre-taped gigs, concerts and plays. But as the actress and presenter agree that it is just not the same as performing in front of a life audience that can interact with you, they are sitting two metres apart, in an empty studio, with a digitally animated band.
