HISTORY OF INTERIOR DESIGN 2

REFLECTION PAPER

1. How does the world view Asian culture?

The world views Asian culture as a very diverse one. To consider the components
that make up the large number of countries that contribute to the Asian culture is
too much work for one to get to know everything about it. The culture of Asia is
popular especially when it comes to food because Asian cuisine has a variety of
flavors from appetizers, side dishes, desserts to beverages. It encompasses various
traditions, customs, religions, art and more that has influenced people all over the
world. Asian culture is very special because if one aspect of it is taken away from
it, a major percentage of the world would be affected.

2. After watching the videos, what perspectives do you agree with and what are those
you feel strongly against?

Throughout the experience of watching all the four episodes of Ugly Delicious, I
have a lot of perspectives that I did agree with. First of all, I agree on the episode
of ‘Fried Rice’ wherein one’s ethnicity really depends on the country and this
man who mentioned: acceptance, culture and acceptance of food made me realize
that these three things affects a person’s character and personality. Also, I agree
on what Anissa on the ‘As the Meat Turns’ episode said that “When the identity
is lost, it becomes a bit of a problem”. It is within our identity that our culture lies
therefore if it’s lost, it will massively affect a whole nation in different aspects.
Lastly, on the same episode, Reem mentioned that “What our humanity needs to
invest in is more connection and bakeries.” It struck me because realizing how
advanced the world is currently in especially with the emergence of technology,
we often take these things for granted. Due to these other things, we tend to forget
to connect with others and to create a deep relationship with others despite our
cultural differences. Personally, I enjoyed watching the videos and I did not have
any perspectives that I strongly disagree with.

3. What are the societal challenges mentioned? Cite ways to resolve them.

Generally, there is one societal issue that I have noticed among the episodes that I
watched and it was the racial discrimination of mostly Westerners towards Asian
people. The misconceptions of people towards Asians and its culture seem to be
degrading the culture of Asia. An example of this was from the episode of ‘Fried
Rice’ wherein one of the hosts shared his experience of avoiding to eat his own
country’s food just to fit in with the foreign people. It seemed like in everything,
they wanted to be the superior ones creating an inferior culture among Asian
people. In my opinion, in order for this issue to be resolved, openness and enough
awareness from Westerners is what we need. This message can be spread through
social media or by individually sharing information to people about the specific
issue in order to create awareness within the country and hopefully, if successful
enough, in the entire world. Also, raising awareness through education or by
including it in school curriculums to be discussed in specific subjects can be ways
 to resolve it. In this way, children at a young age will grow as respectful,
disciplined and open-minded individuals that will be the hope of our future.

4. Cite some (2-3) cultural faux pas that you have seen on the videos and the best way to
handle them to prevent conflict.

In the ‘Don’t Call it Curry’ episode of Ugly Delicious, the Indian people are used
to eating using their hands. If one is not accustomed to this way of eating, it will
seem disrespectful therefore, in order to prevent it, one should learn how to eat
with their hands. It also shows a sign of embracing their culture. Another cultural
faux pas that I have seen is the way the hosts ate on a Chinese restaurant. This
was in the ‘Fried Rice’ episode wherein they respectfully place their chopsticks
on their bowl and not leave it in an upright position. I read that it is disrespectful
to put it in an upright position and the hosts are evidently aware of that. It is clear
that they practice Chinese table etiquette properly.