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IMO it takes serious anthropological commitment to have a non-idiot understanding of a people. I feel this shouldn't be an individual job. Either your entire co

IMO it takes serious anthropological commitment to have a non-idiot understanding of a people. I feel this shouldn't be an individual job. Either your entire community has deep, embedded relations with another community or it doesn't. Otherwise it's like asking for better sources to read about Chinese culture, or like visiting China once a year for vacation. You can't read your way into being culturally competent. You might even move your entire family to China, but it may only be your children who truly begin the road to integration. Anyone who is part of an immigrant community will have a story of the trajectory of cultural competency. It is an optimism which must be fulfilled by your next generation. You can, however, follow generic protocols of kindness whilst in ignorance.

pmoriarty 5y ago
Of course, seeing a movie on the Himalayas is no substitute for visiting the Himalayas, and that's no substitute to living in the Himalayas. But I'd rather have there be movies on the Himalayas than not, even when we are aware it's not a perfect substitute for the real thing. The perfect is the enemy of the good.
- threatofrain 5y ago
  The standard here is being barely adequate, not perfect. Anyone who is part of an immigrant community knows how hard it is to be adequate. That's why you pass on this optimism to the next generation while you blindly chase cultural fads, hoping your kids will fit in. You smile and nod your way through. Anyways, the call here is for community integration, not for individual action.
  - pmoriarty 5y ago
    Are you saying fictional media are incapable of having a barely adequate portrayal of immigrants?
    - threatofrain 5y ago
      Are you integrated into an immigrant community? Are you part of a church that deals with immigration? Or an ethnic business community that is part of the immigration chain? Or is your community well integrated with those you seek to understand? Why go it alone? Is one's clarity on community affairs the difference between choosing WION and India Times? Or The World Journal?
- bluGill 5y ago
  The problem is that movies influence what we think the truth is. Is Tokyo like the Godzilla movies? I would hope that everything not obviously related to the fictional attack is realistic to how the people actually live, because like it or not movies influence us.
  - pmoriarty 5y ago
    If your only view of Tokyo is what you get through Godzilla movies then you definitely have a problem. The solution is better movies on Tokyo, not no movies on Tokyo. You're in luck, though, because there are plenty of great movies on Tokyo -- movies that even people living in Tokyo find give great insights in to their own society.
    - hanselot 5y ago
      I think he means Tokyo Drift.

pmoriarty 5y ago

Of course, seeing a movie on the Himalayas is no substitute for visiting the Himalayas, and that's no substitute to living in the Himalayas. But I'd rather have there be movies on the Himalayas than not, even when we are aware it's not a perfect substitute for the real thing. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

threatofrain 5y ago
The standard here is being barely adequate, not perfect. Anyone who is part of an immigrant community knows how hard it is to be adequate. That's why you pass on this optimism to the next generation while you blindly chase cultural fads, hoping your kids will fit in. You smile and nod your way through. Anyways, the call here is for community integration, not for individual action.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  Are you saying fictional media are incapable of having a barely adequate portrayal of immigrants?
  - threatofrain 5y ago
    Are you integrated into an immigrant community? Are you part of a church that deals with immigration? Or an ethnic business community that is part of the immigration chain? Or is your community well integrated with those you seek to understand? Why go it alone? Is one's clarity on community affairs the difference between choosing WION and India Times? Or The World Journal?
bluGill 5y ago
The problem is that movies influence what we think the truth is. Is Tokyo like the Godzilla movies? I would hope that everything not obviously related to the fictional attack is realistic to how the people actually live, because like it or not movies influence us.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  If your only view of Tokyo is what you get through Godzilla movies then you definitely have a problem. The solution is better movies on Tokyo, not no movies on Tokyo. You're in luck, though, because there are plenty of great movies on Tokyo -- movies that even people living in Tokyo find give great insights in to their own society.
  - hanselot 5y ago
    I think he means Tokyo Drift.