A video showing Omar Sy sticking posters of his series "Lupine, in the shadow of Arsene" is circulating on social networks. The actor, like a ghost, goes unnoticed. But behind the joke hides a societal reality.
Omar Sy has something to celebrate. The new Netflix series Lupine, in the shadow of Arsene, of which he is the hero, is a huge success. Available from January 8, 2021 on the platform, it is number 1 in France, but also at the top of the list in a dozen countries, such as Brazil, Morocco, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. This contemporary reinterpretation of Maurice Leblanc's novels is a resounding success. And to put a layer back, the actor slipped into the skin of a poster collector of the Paris metro. In a video that goes around social networks, Omar Sy displays a giant poster of Lupine, in the shadow of Arsene in the Palais Royal and Louvre Museum stations.
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Behind the laughter, a less funny reality
This video is therefore a very good communication coup for Netflix. But beyond the astonishment, it also makes one think: it is a demonstration of the fact that every day, shadow workers, often racialized, exist without being seen. No, Omar Sy was not recognized, but it is not thanks to his talent of Lupine. It is because of the gaze (or rather, the absence of gaze) that society focuses on certain social classes and skin colors. While we are waiting for our metro, traveling in the street or going to work in offices that have been cleaned as if by magic, "invisible" people are working, in almost total indifference. Remember that it is thanks to them that society functions, especially in times of pandemic, where they are particularly exposed to health risks. This video sends a message directly to Lupine, in the shadow of Arsene, a series that combines entertainment and social criticism, like a subliminal message.