Loca Lingo Multicultural

Try out this quiz (pretty nice website, philosophy btw… I like). For those who are ready to get wrong from a cultural recognition point of view, please go for it (quiz link is in the top right of this “alllooksame.com” blog) !

Frankly speaking if you manage to get an above-average score… congratulations !
Previously, when I was expat in this fantastic world, I was able to differentiate Asian nationals (even between a Korean and a Japanese - without of course looking at the scripts of their travel books or listening at them, just through the attitude) and believe me this is pretty tough.

For the face section, I underperformed (sighh, did I forget everything or maybe wait, there is some moral…), but for the art one, I got the “you are pretty talented (yes, I still managed to grasp a “cultural specificity something”:-)…

Whatever, spend some time in the alllooksame.com “philosophy” section as well, the point of view worth the reading.

By the way, where do we use chopsticks ?
in Japan, Korea or China (that’s easy) ?

Still in our quest to understand cultural diversity and other’s perception… hereunder is a video (cut from “the Office”, a US American comedy) trying to confront cross-cultural stereotypes and diversity to a community of clerks. “Race” is a totally irrelevant concept when speaking about different Ethnic Human groups. This concept of race is pretty widespread though in the US.

Humour sometimes breaks the ice, saying loud what you might think as well. Even if hereunder this is pretty much cumbersome (stupid?) and unnecessarily (re-)opens wounds. You might believe this sequence was mostly oriented to a “white” viewer, who wouldn’t put himself into question… I could understand.

When these complex ethnic questions have not been much considered, humour and diversity can easily lead to racism, performing a totally different goal from the initial one. Without going to a witch hunt where every cross-cultural jokes could be considered as “racist” ones, we could easily state such situation being mostly due to ignorance, a lack of interest and an inner sense of condescension.

This combination of “Cows explaining economics and politics” is a classic on the web. Straightforward and full of humour, it gives a pretty good / sarcastic insight of standard systems. Hereunder is a compilation of various definitions.

(Curious about other similar Loca Lingo materials ? go for Loca Lingo maps according to Google, according to America, selon les français. Have a look as well to the UN joke. Enjoy.)

FEUDALISM
You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM
You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else’s cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you a glass of milk.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM
Your cows are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you should need. Read the rest of this entry »

A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was:

“Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?”

The survey was a huge failure…

In Africa they didn’t know what “food” meant.
In Eastern Europe they didn’t know what “honest” meant.
In Western Europe they didn’t know what “shortage” meant.
In China they didn’t know what “opinion” meant.
In the Middle East they didn’t know what “solution” meant.
In South America they didn’t know what “please” meant.
And in the USA they didn’t know what “the rest of the world” meant.

This is a 2 years-old hoax created by an advertising agency (FCB portugal), “Meet the World” by Icaro Doria, for a Brazilian magazine (”Revista Grande Reportagem”), gives a new interpretation about the colors of a few national flags.

Colors of the flags were substituted to UN / Amnesty International data their real proportion would match. From drug export, mortality rate, oil consumption, genital mutilation (sign the petition) till the war in Iraq, flags - holly untouchable symbols - can actually give various views of the country they represent. Watch out stereotypes though.

Other links that might be of interest : GDP/capita of European countries, New American world standard