“Suite n°3 – Europe” by Encyclopédie de la parole / Joris Lacoste / Pierre-Yves Macé (Kunstenfestivaldesarts)

As the title suggest, “Suite n°3 – Europe” is the third release, so if you've seen the previous ones you'll know how it is a sort of a language-cabaret: texts in different languages declamated or sung with a somewhat warm irony. This one is about the state of things in Europe and the 24 official languages spoken in the EU. It's a nice concept but “Suite n°3 – Europe” does raise some questions regarding the type of texts chosen. The texts used could be divided into two: threats on Europe by Muslims (and government's guidelines to survive them) mixed with excerpts from self-help ads and videos of youtubers. It does feel like an accurate overview of Europe today but at the same time these choices, this binary opposition presented – Europeans are too self-obsessed to react or even notice the cultural shifts in Europe – simplifies the politics of today so much that it feels almost criminal. Add to this the texts chosen for each language that not only follow stereotypes but set them in stone (Eastern-Europeans are poor and stupid, Westerners are crazy consumers), and you'll get why “Suite n°3 – Europe” pissed me off.