For Laurence Herszberg, director of Series Mania, the largest series festival in Europe which started in Lille on Friday, fiction "invests more and more in reality" and their influence is growing over the years.

"We can manipulate with a series", she warns, during an interview with AFP.

New York Times chief television critic James Poniewozik is more nuanced: "I'm not sure television can make people believe anything they're not ready to believe."

On the other hand, "it can help them to imagine a reality somewhat different from their daily life, which they were not prepared to accept before".

He cites as an example the American fictions featuring openly gay characters, such as "Will & Grace", which trivialized homosexuality on television, before the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Similarly, "Star Trek", presenting from the 1960s a spaceship crew open to diversity, with a black woman and an Asian, "may have helped to change mentalities" on what could be a team in a US office, says James Poniewozik.

Especially since soap operas are long-term: viewers access these points of view over several years.

"They make known what is unknown, familiarize us with a hypothesis", explains to AFP Thibaut de Saint Maurice, researcher from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

Another often cited example: the accession of an African-American to the presidency of the United States "24 hours flat" before the election of Barack Obama.

Dennis Haysbert, who plays the President of the United States in the 24 Hours Chrono series, on April 30, 2010 in Hollywood, California KEVIN WINTER GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/Archives

However, the power of the series has its limits, underlines Thibaut de Saint Maurice: "In the United States, with + 24 hours chrono + or + Homeland +, in France with + Baron Noir +, the viewer has become accustomed to seeing a woman president. But that hasn't happened so far" in these two countries.

In some cases, television allows personalities to create a persona that helps them gain power.

"This is the case of Donald Trump in the reality show + The Apprentice +, but also of Volodymyr Zelensky with + Servant of the People +", estimates Mr. James Poniewozik.

"With + The Apprentice +, Trump gave the impression that he was a determined business leader and he played on it during the presidential campaign," adds the journalist who has written a book on the subject.

With "Servant of the People", where Zelensky plays the role of a history professor who, against all odds, becomes president, the Ukrainian leader relied on a certain idea of ​​leadership.

"In a country where corruption reigns, the idea is that real political power does not come from the fact that you are strong but on the contrary that you have to face the same hardships as your fellow citizens", explains James Poniewozik.

And in a way, Zelensky extends the series today, by performing on social networks in the streets of kyiv with his mobile phone, as any Ukrainian who remained in the capital could do.

"He is a politician who is also an actor, producer, director, who perfectly masters the codes and vocabulary of fiction, which he uses to describe a reality", notes for his part Thibaut de Saint Maurice.

In the future, other fictions could bring out leaders, the experts are convinced.

A new example could materialize soon with "Turbia", a Colombian series on the shortage of drinking water, presented on Sunday at Séries Mania: the politician Francia Márquez plays the role of an Afro-Colombian from a miserable district of Cali , threatened with eviction, because of an infrastructure project.

However, she may be vice-president of her country if the candidate of the left pole Gustavo Petro is elected in May.

© 2022 AFP