In response to my classmate Niklas’ recent blogs about Anthony Bourdain in Detroit as well as Nicaragua, I’d like to comment on my perspective of the famous chef’s recent presence in travel television.

First of all, I’m completely biased in this argument because I think Anthony Bourdain is a total badass. I’ve read his memoir, Kitchen Confidential, and frequently watch with both his TV shows on the Travel Channel. Niklas mentioned that his presence in media reflects the Western trend of “othering” impoverished populations. I will admit I did cringe when Bourdain stood amongst trashpickers in a Nicaraguan landfill just saying how depressing he thought everything was. Yo, Bourdain, why don’t you pitch in a little bit, or maybe get a translator and have down-to-earth conversations with these people without flashing a camera in their face? I contend that it is unfortunate that the show blatantly objectifies their condition in comparison to Bourdain’s privileged one.

At the same time, I don’t agree that Parts Unknown is on the same page as God Grew Tired of Us. GGTU glorifies the American dream and Western privilege by shipping over Sudanese refugees to show how their lives significantly improve in this radically different society. However bad Anthony Bourdain is at empathizing with Nicaraguan trashpickers and other developing countries he visits, his prerogative has nothing to do with helping people. The TV show is about underground food scenes around the world, and shedding light on the communities which create it.

The audiences of the two films are wholly different. From a personal stance, I watch Bourdain’s shows to get inspired about food culture, to see amazing footage of different landscapes around the world, and to laugh along with his uncompromisingly dry humor. Bourdain is a strong presence with real culinary talent, and shares a fascination with the international food scene just like his audience members. Bourdain is not demanding a humanitarian response, and has not established that he wants this kind of attention; Bourdain acts as a chef, not as a representative US political interests. Conversely, the GGTU film morally compromises international relations by just showing how the US does so much good for suffering populations. The audiences of GGTU are looking for a feel-good documentary on how their country is helping the world. While I see the validity of Niklas’ arguments in the scope of modern television and its influence on the Western mindset, in order to further global citizenship, I’d argue that we need to be careful in how we contexualize examples of globalization and objectification.

It’s not necessary to over analyze every single film or television show as a representative of Western interests, when in reality TV presences such as Anthony Bourdain are maybe just not being as politically correct as we want them to be. While ignorance reigns in Western media, hypersensitivity is not the most productive way to respond to it.

P.S. Niklas I’m not telling you you’re wrong, your perspective just reminded me of how all the things we’ve been talking about in class respond similarly to the problems of globalization. I just wanted to bring in another viewpoint.