Blegoo

: alternativ:

“Cum sa nu faci turism in Romania”

Pentru cine nu stie, nenea Toni are un show de televiziune pe canalul Travel. Ceva intitulat “No Reservations”. Sau cam asa ceva. Si mai are si blog, nu? Ca asa se poarta…
In fine, sa trec la subiect.

Pentru inceput…sa alegi un rusnac ca ghid in Romania…mi se pare absurd. Adevarat, el e amuzant, si pare sa aibe simtul umorului. Totusi…un rus ca ghid in Romania?
Am urmarit cu interes toata emisiunea…(partea 1, partea 2, partea 3, partea 4, partea 5, partea 6) si nu cred ca sunt un roman care se basica aiurea. Da, avem un stil de a descuraja turismul…de neegalat in lume. Aia cu filmarea care costa 10 euro pe metrul patrat e tipic mioritic. Ceea ce imi aduce aminte de o discutie cu cineva acum cateva luni de zile, apropo de faptul ca Patriarhia cere bani la facut poze la manastirile din Moldova si Bucovina.
Chestia este…intreaga emisiune pute a contra. Contra Romaniei. Inteleg ca alde Toni s-a enervat pe diferite chestii…dar asta nu e motiv sa dam TOATA Romania la gunoi…
Doar ca sa am un termen de comparatie…am urmarit si emisiunea lui despre Grecia. Bou sa fiu…sa nu vad o chestie clara…
Ma intreb…ce parere are Andrei daca vizioneaza astea 2 emisiuni?

Inchei cu un citat de la Anton*:

“Predictably, a lot of people either hated–or were deeply offended by–the Romania show. Most, I gather, are either Romanian or have traveled to Romania and had a better time there than I did. Quite understandably, no one wants to see the host of a travel show having a bad time of it in their country, griping miserably about how things went wrong–and how utterly fucked up things were.”

Bagamiash…

* Care, evident, iti toarna undeva…ceva.

NOTA: Cineva…un roman banuiesc…a pus-o mai bine decat as visa eu vreodata (copy/paste, comentariul 620):
February 28, 2008 8:00 PM
Calin said:
Mr. Bourdain,

I was born and raised in Romania and know a thing or two about it. Your show has stirred this intense reaction not because anyone expected you to lie, fake, sugarcoat or be anything less of your witty self in it.

What has stirred this emotional uproar is the fact that you are so NOT yourself in this show. You come across as a callous redneck and most of us have known a different side of you have been shocked by your alter ego…

If your experience was off, we expect you to say so… What we do not expect, is to be punished for your poor choice of subject, planning or foul mood. The choice to immerse yourself in the Dracula experience was poor, but I do not understand why we actually had to watch it. Even the most casual viewer of the Discovery Channel knows that the Dracula myth is a Hollywood creation and it is quite disappointing for a sophisticated traveler like you to choose THAT as THE local experience to sample. However, even if you didn’t know before, AFTER you did experience it, you should have realized that it is as genuine as the donkeys spray-painted to look like zebras in most Mexican resorts. If you needed to, you could have made a passing remark about it, but it wasn’t necessary to take us through the entire night, stupid tourists, revolting costumes and all…

Choosing to immerse us in the process of slaughtering a pig was another poor choice of subject. I don’t think this process would have looked any better in France, in the US or anywhere else. Without being a culinary expert and with only a marginal acquaintance with the English language clichés, I have heard many times the quip that sausages are good to eat, but not pretty to watch being made. You gave us the long version of it, in a very literal way… Again, if you had the morbid urge to watch the process through your camera, I don’t have a problem with it. I just decry your choice of making it such a big part of the show, while deriding the people who were doing it throughout the entire process. Those people appeared as simple people, preparing food, be it rough, unsophisticated, or anything you want to call it; you on the other hand, looked like a pompous “culinary expert” acting as if everywhere else meat grows in 4 lb. Styrofoam trays in the supermarket refrigerator.

Much has been told about your guide and companion. Again, the choice of going for the first time in a country with THAT type of guide and preparation, gives us an idea about the professionalism of your production. The fact that your “guide”, who was suppose to liaise between you, your crew and the locals did his job by drinking his brains out until he couldn’t walk straight anymore, could have been just another “production wart” that you didn’t need to share with us in all its “splendor”. During the show you made a great deal about the Dacia car in which you rode. Yes, it was an old, dilapidated vehicle that was of marginal quality even as new. The roads were bad and the country is poor. All that is true and probably relevant and worth mentioning, but I could not for the life of me understand how you thought that mockingly cheering those people with “Dacia!” was in good taste. I was left with the sense that you are the type of person who would do a documentary about homeless, just to make fun of their shabby clothes.

Mr. Bourdain, this is what caused the reaction of the people on this board. You, actually, showed DISRESPECT for the people and the country you visited. Again, we do not want you to misrepresent your experiences, to turn politically correct, or to pander, but we expected you to be gracious. Those people showed you their home, fed you their food and served you (generous amounts of) their drinks. They did not deserve to be treated this way. I find it revolting to watch you, and your buffoon drunk guide, belittling and mocking your hosts behind their backs… In Romania, or anywhere else!

As a Romanian I am insulted, as an American I feel embarrassed…

Shame!