Episode 29 - When You're the Oddity, Traveling

Responding to an article calling Pixar's Turning Red limiting because of its Asian main character, the twins talk about times when they've felt the oddity/exotic while traveling. 

Takeaways

• Non-white people make up the majority in the world, despite what some white Americans think.
• Whatever you see in others is just  a mirror for yourself. You can’t see in others what isn’t already familiar to you (even at the smallest level). You spot it, you also got it. Remember that.
• We can appreciate others’ points of views and ways of life for what it is without judging it. Be and let be.
• When you travel and people traditionally/culturally do stuff that bothers you, you could let them know your boundaries or just let it go. But it’s not up to you to change them/their customs (for example, when cultures eat things you think is inhumane).
• Everyone has their own unique perspective. Sometimes it’s worth it to take a pause and think about that before reacting to another person’s words or actions. Most people aren’t intentionally malicious or bad.  
• Diversity of opinions, ideas, cultures, helps us grow into more compassionate human beings.
• If you get the chance, definitely travel to a country where you can experience the feeling of being a visible minority. Or maybe go to a community in your own country to experience a different culture in that way.
• Don’t get bent out of shape if something like a film or game is going for a historical look, which means less diversity. Unless it’s like Bridgerton.
• Not every country is as culturally diverse as America, so you’ll find racism or old ways of being in their daily life and media that may make you uncomfortable.
• When watching a movie, pay attention to the story and theme; what their ethnicity is really doesn’t matter (unless that’s the actual theme of the movie).

Links

• Article that set off this episode: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/12/1086040083/turning-red-controversy

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