A touch of history never hurts, does it? The term Black Friday emerged in Philadelphia during the 1950s and 1960s to describe the chaos and throngs of tourists that flooded the city the day after Thanksgiving. This frenzy was sparked by the annual Army-Navy football game, held on the Saturday following the holiday.
But fear not—I shan’t delve too deeply into historical details, for as a European, it is far from my place to claim a deep understanding of American history. Black Friday made its way to Europe in the early 2000s, courtesy of American giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon. However, you are surely familiar with that uniquely French tendency—a certain air of intellectual superiority, tinged with a faintly anti-American sentiment. This mindset stems, perhaps, from the legacy of colonial history intertwined with the rise of communism in early 20th-century Europe, which wielded considerable influence at the time.
Until quite recently, it was almost fashionable in Europe to disparage Black Friday. European television channels routinely broadcast sensational footage from the U.S.: frenzied crowds storming the doors of Walmart at the crack of dawn, fighting tooth and nail for big-screen TVs or other coveted items. These images portrayed scenes that seemed to belong to another world—one far removed from European sensibilities. Yet these broadcasts offered a skewed perspective, ignoring the fact that the majority of Black Friday sales in the U.S. take place online.
It took a crisis of European monetary policy—leaving populations impoverished to levels not seen since the early 20th century—for similar scenes to unfold on this side of the Atlantic. With inflation spiraling year after year and wage disparities widening to panoramic proportions, Europe’s most vulnerable now find themselves in situations eerily reminiscent of those televised American Black Friday brawls, albeit in their local equivalents of Walmart. And still, even here, most transactions occur online.
The point I wish to make is this: one must always approach extreme images and narratives with caution, for they are often the seeds of mass manipulation. Take, for instance, France, where nearly all media is controlled either by those in power or their close allies. Independent journalism has become a rarity, and the general atmosphere conjured by the news—whether in print, on the airwaves, or on screen—is one of unrelenting doom. Stories of wars, crimes, and assorted calamities dominate, creating a sense of societal collapse.
Such manipulation has driven Europe toward extremes and seems intent on keeping it there. It is crucial, therefore, to resist placing blind trust in extravagant and sensationalist media. These sources often serve only to cloud judgment and sow confusion, paving the way for manipulation on a grand scale.
Thierry De Clemensat
Editor in chief
Bayou Blue Radio