I get sort of frustrated when I watch television programs lately that feature “ethnic cuisine”. I feel like so often the shows are geared towards shocking people, rather than towards introducing them to unique aspects of foreign culture.
Take for instance, “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”. This program, a major hit on the Travel Channel, features Zimmern partaking in “odd” foods from the different locations he visits each week. Wandering the markets and poking his head into shops, he selects foods that to the majority of the westernized world would seem gross and unappetizing, and then consumes them for our enjoyment. While he is (usually) respectful of the people he dines and interacts with, I can’t help feeling like he’s exploiting them. For the people featured on the show, these foods are not bizarre. Is it really fair to make a profit by turning these people’s culture into a circus act?
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Funny you mention his show--I find myself watching it frequently, partly due to his personality. But, like you say, he does make it a circus-like show where he wants to gross you out by trying "authentic" dishes of certain cultures.
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