The Cross Cultural Bucket of Chicken

Today I went through and counted how many Asian dramas I have watched in the past year and a half - it's a little too embarrassing to care to admit here.  However, it has been an interesting experience to watch media of a culture I know only a little about.  It raises the questions of how culture is different than from what is portrayed and what are simply traditions of media.

If I were to take these dramas at face value of how the culture really is, this is what I would think about East Asia: 

1. Everyone is terrified of water and no one knows how to swim.  

2. No one ever sleeps.

3. The way to show you care for someone is to cook for them, especially amazing, adorable bento boxes. 

4. When it comes to relationships, opposites attract and it is best if the first time you meet, you get in a fight.  

5. Drinking soju is an almost daily occurrence. 

6. Communication over basic things such as "I have a job" or "I had to miss that important event because I was in a coma in the hospital" doesn't happen.   

And a million other little things.  

We use cultural media symbols all the time that we don't even think about.  For example, in American movies, there are common wedding marches that are used to indicate weddings although I have never actually attended a wedding that played those themes.  Also, there are some things that are actually true in America that some people don't realize.  A friend recently told me his cousins from somewhere in Europe were amazed that our school buses really are yellow.  

In any case, our perspective towards our own culture affects how we view others' cultures.  A few months ago, I was watching a Taiwanese drama.  It was Christmas Eve - in American culture, think New Year's Eve - the one day that you definitely want a date to stay out past midnight with.  In the drama, the girl had plans to spend the day with her two good friends.  But then those two good friends ended up having dates and so left her alone.  The guy the girl has a crush on went to a Christmas Eve party for his dad's work but when he realizes she is left at home alone, he goes to meet her with some lame excuse about hating parties.  He brings along a cake and

 that's right, a bucket of KFC chicken.

I didn't think anything of the KFC chicken when I watched the episode.  The man obviously felt obligated to bring home food - he probably went to one of the only places open on the way to her house.  Pizza might have been a better choice in my opinion but hey, to each his own, right?  I was excited about the cake though.  The cakes they make in Taiwan are amazing.  

Reading a book about Asian culture a few months later, I found out that somehow KFC convinced Taiwan that what Americans eat on Christmas Eve is KFC chicken.  So, in Taiwan, if you want to eat KFC on Christmas Eve, you often have to make reservations for buckets of the Colonel's Original Recipe weeks in advance.  

I laughed when I found this out. 

1. How did KFC convince Taiwan this fact about Americans?

2. What I thought was a typical guy attempt at being somewhat awkwardly kind was actually a gesture that he liked the girl and had plans to spend the evening with her weeks previous.  The message was completely lost on me.  

3. Do Taiwanese people REALLY think we eat KFC at Christmas?  

I wonder what subtle messages in media my culture gives that others would not understand. And how often do we send out messages that we never meant to give?

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Random thoughts on my questions about media and Asian culture representation: 

I started to have real questions about how Asians view relationships and wondered if the media was a reflection of that or not, or if the media was actually affecting how Asians view relationships.  For instance, if you watch a drama and two people are 'soulmates'  in that they are close friends and can communicate with each other and discuss important and personal things, then they will never, ever end up together.  However, in my own life, I feel a lot of people around me who are seeking for a 'soulmate'.  Honestly, I think I might be too.  So I wonder, do Asians believe that marrying a 'soulmate' will lead to a safe and secure but stale and loveless marriage?  What qualities are people really looking for?  Are they distinctly different by culture?