On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 03:25, Joe Coughlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 1:46 AM, Kevin M. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> Yes, I know, there are many of you who adore this reality series and >> see it as a cut above others in the genre. I watched the show because >> it sent the contestants to Kazakhstan, a place near and dear to my >> heart. >> >> I was not amused. >> >> http://www.tvornottv.net/2008/11/18/the-amazing-racists/ >> >> -- >> Kevin M. (RPCV) > > And yet if the show focused on every country's modern telecommunications > infrastructure, we'd just end up with a season long ad for Cisco routers and > Intel chips.
I'm going to go down a similar route and point out that "modern shopping districts" are pretty much the same everywhere in the world, and on top of that "go to the meat counter at a supermarket, where the butcher will hand you your next clue" isn't all that interesting for viewers. Also, going to an open-air market where meat is sold wasn't presented as the only option available or even the most-used option, and it's not exactly gone from the first world -- I can have the same experience every Saturday morning at the farmer's market without having to leave the good old US of A. I'm pretty sure that there were more people laughing at the cow suits on the street in modern dress than appeared in traditional dress at the "Kazakh warriors" clue. > I dig that you wanted to see the Kazakhstan that you know and loved. But the > show needs to demonstrate what makes the countries unique, not the same. > What I learned about Kazakhstan was that it was a very clean, very modern > city that has very strong milk. Oh, and those birds were awesome. About the worst that I would say is that the percentage of the population that speaks English is lower than in the other countries that have been visited during the race. The show is "The Amazing Race," not "The Amazing Cultural Documentary." (I specifically avoid mentioning the "travel show" genre, because they too will focus on the "different" things instead of the modernness of their telecommunications and shopping districts.) TAR plays up the anachronistic as tradition and history, but it's no worse than anywhere else in the world (even the US) is treated. In this and past seasons, we've had: * Matching a drawing of a Maori's facial tattoos to the face of the Maori they were painted on. The Maori were doing a Haka (or some variation of one) during the entire challenge. * Searching a bicycle parking garage in Amsterdam for two matching bicycles, then going to a canal where the racers had to jump across a canal using a pole. * Eating deep-dish pizza in Chicago. * Looking for a clue engraved on a stone tablet at Angkor Wat. * Numerous challenges involving tuk-tuks in India. * Leading donkeys down a path in Ireland. * Plowing a field with an ox somewhere in southeast Asia. (It was several years ago, but still provides one of the best single exclamations ever uttered in frustration on TAR or any other reality show I'm aware of, in the form of "My ox is broken!") * Stilt-walking in Lithuania. And the list goes on... -- David J. Lynch [EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Like TV only smarter. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
