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Paris is Burning

Citroén DS, Paris, 1960s

If you’ve seen the movie 2012, don’t. I don’t expect a movie about the entire world collapsing due to crustal displacement to be very realistic, but this one pushed it beyond the limit. I spent the entire movie saying, “Yeah, right,” or “You have got to be joking.” The biggest tragedy is when a Citroén DS is destroyed. Of course, the director of the Louvre drives a vintage Citroen DS. Don’t all French people? And the British only drive Jaguars. See, “Yeah, right.”

The Citroén DS is a sublime piece of sculpture. The first model was released in 1955. Production ceased in 1975. For those who appreciate an intellectual, rather than aesthetic, point of view, Roland Barthes wrote about the Citroén in 1957. In response to its showing at the Paris Auto Show, Barthes writes, “The object here is totally prostituted, appropriated: originating from the heaven of Metropolis, the Goddess is in a quarter of an hour mediatized, actualizing through this exorcism the very essence of petit-bourgeois advancement.” To which I respond, “Yeah? Of course.”

Citroén DS, 1959

Citroén DS, 1959

Citroén DS

Citroén DS

Citroén DS, 1957, interior


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This entry was posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 5:47 pm and is filed under What. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Paris is Burning”

  1. Alex Says:
    March 16th, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    That’s the coolest steering wheel…

  2. marian bantjes Says:
    March 16th, 2010 at 7:44 pm

    I must admit, I have never seen a gleaming, shiny Citroén like the ones in those pictures … they have always been faded and rattley. Despite this, I have always wanted one.

  3. Sean Says:
    March 17th, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    You should buy one for your island driving. They break all the time, but you don’t drive all day.