Bizarre Foods Shows Other Cultures as, Well, Bizarre
Posted by sarah on April 10, 2009 @ 4:27 pm | rants
Doing his best Pumbaa from the Lion King impression
Maybe I just have an unhealthy relationship with the Travel channel. I love learning about things outside of my cultural scope, but I feel like that’s not what the Travel channel has been all about lately. On top of its anti-women programming (see: Man vs. Wild, Man vs. Food, Bridget’s Stupid Mindfuck Beach Adventures, That NFL Guy Who Travels the World to Beat Up People), I just don’t think the company really gets travel.
Having traveled constantly when I was younger before my dad retired from the Airforce, I was always excited to go somewhere I didn’t know, even if it was just to a state I’ve never been to before. Even my sisters and I don’t all share the same birthplace – I was born in Melbourne, Florida whereas my middle sister was born in Okinawa, Japan and my youngest sister born in Connecticut. Traveling is fun and gives you opportunities to understand things you’ve never even thought about before. One of the best parts (in my opinion) is always the food.
Food is definitely a major part of traveling – especially in other countries – because while you may get the “tourist” version of any country, the food is going to be guaranteed different than what you’re used to. (Unless you are one of those people who travel overseas to eat at a McDonald’s, in which case, leave now.) Food in any culture is a summation of a group of people’s history. Food tells a story and brings with it journeys that span generations.
So when you have a show called Bizarre Foods that has the premise of “portly bald fellow travels the world and eats other countries’ foods,” you are doing many would-be travelers a disservice. First of all, calling any other culture’s food bizarre is downright insulting. I don’t care if they eat baby chickens whole or snack on scorpions. There are reasons why those particular foods have been integrated into a society’s culinary life style, and to call them bizarre is to imply “…because what I eat is normal.”
Many Americans are skittish as it is when it comes to dealing with other cultures in their own country, and to have a show that exploits the food of such cultures in the name of entertainment only furthers the divides. The last thing mass media should be telling people is that it’s OK to call other people’s cultures “bizarre,” even if the word is just applied to foods.
To me, Bizarre Foods could have better approached the concept of introducing different styles of cuisines around the world by perhaps calling the show “Different Foods,” with a host that treats food less as a “truth or dare” sport and instead show a genuine interest to know where these foods came from.
Because when you have a scene like this…
…in which the host, Andrew Zimmern, calls Japan’s food “adventurous,” he fails to recognize (at least on air) why they might have thought to cook tuna eyes in the first place. The reasons that most “bizarre” foods exist is due to periods of strife in many countries, and to chalk it up to the fact that people were being “adventurous” is downright ignorant. (Also, I hate his expression when he is watching his travel companion eat. It is like he is getting some sick satisfaction from watching her squirm.)
Shows like Bizarre Foods are the reason why people remain misinformed about other countries, and why Americans are perceived as self-serving. It is this kind of 1950s approach to other cultures that is the reason why people will travel overseas only to search desperately for a Wendy’s, the reason why my American grandma won’t eat anything my Japanese mom makes for her, and the reason why people think it’s OK to snub anything that is “different.”
My name is Sarah. Half Japanese, half Irish-Polish-Lithuanian. I majored in East Asian Studies and yet somehow am working as a web and graphic designer. Go figure.
My thoughts exactly. I never liked that show Bizarre Foods anyways, he took too much of a ‘digustedly-curious’ approach to the foods he was sampling without any real genuine respect towards the cultures they came from. Although I will have to disagree with the whole McDonalds thing. Although eating at Mcdonalds when in a foreign country (hell, eating it at all) is a bad move IMO, that doesn’t mean you can’t get somewhat of a cultural dining experience. The McDonalds in China serve simplified versions of many of their cultural and regional favourites. It’s the same within the UK, it’s always amazing to me to go back and see things like shepards pie and certain other meatpies and pub food within KFC and McDonalds (for a while I think they even marketed an eel pie ::shudders::).
I don’t think people in the west realise that many of the things we eat without even batting an eye, many in other regions of the world are disgusted by. Take cheese, in many parts of the east people look at it with general disgust and when you think about what cheese is made out of, one can understand why.
Hopefully the travel channel will be able to create a show that respectfully and intelligently showcases foods (and other cultural aspects) from around the world without the disgusted-voyeur vibe attatched.
Ahhh right on the head with “disgustedly-curious”! I always tried to put a phrase to Zimmern’s approach to traveling but that pretty much sums it up.
And you’re right about the McDonald’s – I knew I should’ve clarified on that one but didn’t want to ramble. I was mostly talking about people I know or have met that went overseas and absolutely refused to eat anything other than a big mac. (one excuse from an American girl in Japan was “where am I gonna get my protein?” UGH) So even though those McD’s may have offered different types of burgers and whatnot, it would have been completely over these sorts of people’s heads as they are not likely to try them.
It is funny about America’s love for cheese. I used to love it because I’m not lactose intolerant like my mom and sisters, but now it grosses me out a lot and I can see why most people’s bodies have trouble digesting dairy at all. Same with red meat and the like, I’ve read about societies where their food is almost completely opposite of standard American diets and they have little to no disease, acne, heart failure, etc… and yet we are the ones calling their food bizarre. Doesn’t it seem more bizarre to eat food that will harm you?
Ugh! Stupid people. I simply don’t understand the point of going to a foreign country (especially when many people would kill for the opportunity) if one isn’t going to try and immerse themselves within (all) aspects of the culture when there. Didn’t their parents ever tell them to try new things? What’s the point of going on an adventure to a new country if one isn’t going to be adventurous? I can understand the squemishness at certain new foods or the fear of possible health reprecussions, but one simply need use their best judgement and that’s it. The best that could happen is you find a new foreign food you love, the worst a slight chance at food poisoning, nothing deadly!
Totally agree about the Western food thing. Although I don’t think it’d be able to live without cheese well, certain cheeses I always find myself giggling with the imagery of Wallace and Gromit’s “cheese of the month club” skits when I eat cheese and any form of cracker lol.
I’ve never really cared much for red meat. Yes, on a very rare occasion I might crave a burger or steak, but I just can’t stomach Beef with the same consistency that many other Westerners do. Don’t even get me started on Lamb ::shudders::. I can understand eating things like that routinely out of necessity, but in this day and age when we have so many different foods readily available to us, why stick to ones that have been linked to health issues? Furthermore, why not try other foods to expand ones options? I’ve always been more a seafood, grain, vegetable kind of girl myself. But that could come from my backround too. I suppose it’s all about acquired tastes.