Toward an Actual Understanding of Asian Culture

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People also assume they can get to know foreigners’ cultures by interacting with international media. Many reports rile people’s emotions about foreign countries and nationals, and when it comes to China alone, there were lots of false articles just in 2008. That year, there was a big commotion in Tibet, China. Lots of western media outlets reported on the incident using photoshopped or unclear images supposedly documenting the Chinese governments’ repression of people in Tibet. An article from China News pointed out that Fox News used a picture of Indian troops and protesters as an example of what Chinese police did in Tibet. The distortion of facts in these cases is strikingly similar to the misrepresentations of East Asians that were rampant in the early 19th century, when people only knew about East Asians from Fu Manchu and other racist movies. After that misrepresentation of events in Tibet, lots of Internet forums were filled with hate speech toward China and Chinese people.

The same thing has happened in other countries as well. Persepolis was written by Marjane Satrapi. The book artistically describes the author’s life in Iran when she was a child. “This old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth,” said the author. “I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists”(Satrapi 223). The way she explained her life to the westerners through the book changed how people think of Iranian stereotypes, and this type of consideration needs to be afforded to China and its citizens as well. Sometimes western media reports on China as if it is a real hell, when in fact some of the supposed civilians fighting for peace in Tibet are violent terrorists. One of my friend’s fathers was brutally killed by a terrorist when he went on a business trip to Tibet, but people have trouble believing this because of the immense impact of western media. The same can also be said of the food Chinese people eat. As I mentioned earlier, because mainstream news outlets have never included relevant statistics about the population of dog meat eaters in China, people with no knowledge of the facts use misinformation to judge an entire nation and its individual citizens.

Looking forward, I think Chinese can do something similar to what Marjane Satrapi did in using her art form to convey a new portrait of Chinese life while simultaneously fighting against stereotypes that remain to this day. Also, holding an exhibition of foreign history could be very helpful. Giving students an opportunity to spend a day learning about the history and current political realities of a country could prove fruitful. Additionally, international students like myself can provide information about the restaurants in a given city that provide an actual taste of home as opposed to the nightmarish cuisine some people wrongfully associate with East Asia. We can also advocate for a system where people with questions about foreign cultures can connect with international students who can provide authentic and relevant answers.

People are the best resources for providing information about their own cultures to others. Bonding between Americans and international students can really provide a platform for getting to know each other. Misunderstandings between cultures can be very hard to overcome, but can also can be very easy to eliminate. Bringing the truth about different East Asian cultures to the US is not the job of the American people, but foreigners who want to be better understood and have resources and cultural knowledge to share. Being an international student from East Asia, I know I have first-hand information to share with the west. I believe as long people are willing to work together, we will one day see the elimination of misunderstandings about the once mysterious “Orient.”

Work Citation

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