just some randomness

so i was watching tv earlier tonight and saw this tv show called cool japan. it's actually a pretty interesting concept. they get folks living in japan that just moved here from other countries to share their thoughts on things to define what is "cool." today's topics were gift wrapping, ¥100 shops, and japanese sales pitches. in addition to the three japanese hosts, there were about ten panelists representing canada, spain, uk, germany, malaysia, brazil, australia, and some other countries.

for example, on the topic of gift wrapping, the japanese hosts talked about how they are shocked when they see american movies with people ripping the wrapping paper off of their christmas presents. they viewed this as being disrespectful for the person that gave them the gift. in response, the panelists said things like ripping apart paper shows that you're excited to see what the gift is, or that japanese people pay too much attention to the wrapping paper because the gift itself is generic and unimportant.

while i'm glad to see a program that compares social actions across international communities in an effort to understand different ways of life, this program also seems a bit problematic. first, each of the panelist spoke as if they represented their entire country. there was this snobby guy from spain talking about how he hated the ¥100 shop because it's all junk and that spanish people don't like junk. such statements that essentialize millions of people can only lead to negative stereotyping. second, all of the panelists spoke in english. while no one can argue the widespread reach of the english language, it does require a certain type of person to become fluent enough to appear on a television show and speak in a non-native tongue.

it probably would have been better had i caught the beginning of the show, because hopefully they address some of these issues when they introduce all of the panelists. but now that i know when it's on, i'll try to catch the next episode. and since i do think it's pretty cool, i actually just submitted my name and filled out this questionnaire for the show's "open call for participants."

in case you were wondering why i missed the beginning, it's because i was watching this kids' hip-hop dance competition. one group that particularly caught my eye was this group of young eight year old girls. they were wearing these real baggy pants that looked pretty gangsta, and they were good! but then for their finishing move, they formed a horizontal line, turned around, and ALL PULLED DOWN THEIR PANTS. underneath their pants they were wearing these hoochie mama shorts, each with a letter on them, to spell out their team name. THESE GIRLS WERE EIGHT YEARS OLD!! sometimes i really wonder where japanese people cut the line for decency, especially in a country where you can't even rip wrapping paper.

later today, randy and i will be heading down to kyoto for a couple days, and then osaka for about a day. i'll try to take lots of pictures of all the sites and whatever it is we end up doing. we planned this hella last minute, but at least we have confirmed transportation and a place to stay. just as long as we don't end up like this group of dudes i saw at a mcdonald's around 4am...