Levels of Entitlement

[yeloson]

I came home to see the roommate watching some documentary about some surfers who go down to Peru. As I'm cooking dinner, I overhear the narration:

"...They explored the depths of this ancient culture... They took them in, and revealed their magnificent heritage to them... 'We got to see places people don't go to', etc."

Seriously, you can explore the depths of a culture, or be totally taken in and assimilated in a 2 week trip? And of course, who guided you to all these places "people don't go"?

Oh, that's right. Not everyone counts as people.

Comments

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

Wow, now that's privilege speaking, surfer-dudes!

[tariq-kamal.livejournal.com]

It's gotten to the point that whenever I see yet another Discover Channel TV Show about The Mysterious™ Far Eastern Martial Arts and The White Man Who Is Learning This Art, I start screaming, "Weeaboo! WEEABOO!" At the TV.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is I end up watching those trying to catch the 5 seconds where you get to see the badass POC guy in the background being pureawesome between the white dudes' yabbering.

[tariq-kamal.livejournal.com]

Generally it's usually the sensei having fun at the gwailo's expense.

"Yes, of course, this is what we do all the time. It's how we... exercise. Yes. No, no, you are doing it correct, please to be making more of those grimaces for the camera. May we have a copy for YouTube please? Thank you."

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

I think I'll watch something legit to wipe away the bad memories:

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

Like Fight Quest.

I roll my eyes when I see these two pumped-up white dudes. :P

[tariq-kamal.livejournal.com]

Mind you, I was happy to see them do an episode of Kalaripayattu.

That art doesn't get enough air-time.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Indeed (http://www.indiavideo.org/kerala/arts/martial-art/kalarippayattu/). I've got a friend studying Kalari right now. I'll be interested to hear what she has to say after a few more weeks of training.

[buria-q.livejournal.com]

ew. i've been grossed out by similar stuff with himalayan mountain climbing. they reduce sherpa climbers to aids for the Great White Hero. natgeo of course will put a huge, glossy, black and white portrait of edmund hilary on the cover, but who cares about the other guy.

[daedala.livejournal.com]

You've seen this, yes?

[rydra_wong]

*wanders by belatedly just to say:*

OH GOD AAAARGH YES. As a n00b climber, there is a whole subsection of climbing literature that I've learned to avoid because the racist/colonialist element is so huge.

(Access issues can also be amazingly fail-y: "But whyyyyyyyyy can't I rock-climb on your sacred site?")

[perlandria.livejournal.com]

Heh, now I will be awake trying to remember a documentary where the pair of anthropologists that got to be part of a major religious ceremony were doing follow up questions and found out it had all been to try to save their souls basically. It wasn't a noble savage private ceremony revealed to the white males; it was save the poor white fools ceremony. :D Totally changes the anthropological data in eeeenteresting ways.
It is going to drive me nuts. (hmm rain forest. sacred substances involved. world tree imagery but what culture doesn't? nuts I tell you, nuts)

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

That sounds hilarious. If you ever remember the title, you have to let me know.

[delux-vivens.livejournal.com]

you can explore the depths of a culture, or be totally taken in and assimilated in a 2 week trip?

you can if you are cool enough!

[kynn.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure the people of Peru were simply prepping the area for human surfer occupation.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

From the brief bit I saw while making dinner, that's basically how it came across- this entire area, the ruins, the religious shrines, the people struggling to survive, the waves, all existed for these surfers to have fun with and that's the totality of their existence.

In service to these folks- the camera stayed on them - them surfing, them driving, them climbing through ruins.

[skywardprodigal.livejournal.com]

lol

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

[ "you can explore the depths of a culture, or be totally taken in and assimilated in a 2 week trip?" ]

Journalists do it all the time!

Or, as 'they say' in Nigeria: "Fly in for the day, for an in depth investigative series, stay two weeks for a book."

Don't you just lurve how Cuba has never existed before, time-and-time again, until some kid (no matter how many years accumulated) from the NY Times got there for a few days and writes exactly the same thing about it that the last kid did and takes all the same photos too? And yet, no matter how many times someone tells us all the same information they all still get it all wrong?

Love, C.

[kitsuchan.livejournal.com]

It's like the backpackers in China who would get all angry when they saw me, as if they were saying, "How dare you come in and ruin my exotic China experience by being another white person!"

It's the mentality that people in other cultures aren't people, they're commodities that are more valuable the less contact they've had with others.

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

It's the virginity myth writ cultural.

I had a fun time when Western tourists would tell me about this great place they went in China that had "no foreigners" and I would lean in and whisper "actually, just between you and me, I'm pretty sure there was at least one foreigner there."

yrs--
--Ben

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

I'm also amused by the idea that it's virgin territory, if you can get someone to guide you to the place without it being a giant. fucking. hassle.

If it's a place where tourists don't go, the question they'd first hear is, "Why the hell would you want to go there? Nothings out there!" etc.