Disney's Cultural Faux Pas

[TikiBeckie]

I know that Morocco's items are not similar to what you buy in the real country. I spent several weeks there and was disappointed by the merchandise found at Epcot.

 

[skippah1960]

I apologize if someone already pointed this out, but early in the thread someone said that Karate was of Chinese origin, it is in fact Japanese in origin... Official definition according to webster (for lack of a quicker reference)

ka·ra·te ([font=verdana, sans-serif] P [/font]) Pronunciation Key (k

-rä

t

)
n.

<DL><DD>A Japanese art of self-defense in which sharp blows and kicks are administered to pressure-sensitive points on the body of an opponent.</DD></DL>On the rest i do agree that while I see no problem in a Martial Arts section in the Chinese Pavillion, it should be clearly pointed out that the display contains multi culture weapons and objects, other wise it does come across as a kind of "close enough" attitude, intentional or not.

 

[camshron55]

Here is something out of place - American editions of the Harry Potter novels in the UK Pavilion

Also, am I the only one who finds it odd that a security guard rummages through by camera bag at the park entrance to check for possible weapons, but I can then stoll over to the Chinese or Japanese pavilions and purchase a stonking great sword?

:lol:

My son purchased a sword in Japan 2 years ago, and their policy is to ship to your home. We were not allowed to pick it up at the park entrance, or have it sent to our hotel. However, since we drove, the sword made it home almost as fast as we did!

 

[PurpleDragon]

I know I'm reviving a bit of an old thread here, but when I was driving to Disney Property today to get to work, the answer to the original question about why Japanese swords were being sold in the Chinese pavillion came to me. As far as I know, after WWII the Japanese were banned from personal ownership of Samurai swords. I believe, though I may be mistaken, that production of Samurai swords would also have been banned, since if you can't own them, then you would have no reason to make them. As such, many of the "Samurai" swords that are made in Asia, are actually made in China. So as a result, those swords are likely products of China and can actually be sold in the China pavillion without it being a "faux pas."

That is incorrect, even though it was illegal to carry and produce samauri swords, the rebel Samaurai of Japan still produced and carried their own swords against Japanese law. If I am not mistaken, during that time Japan and China were not "allies".

If you based it on the fact that the product was made in China, then the very keyboard you are typing on, should be sitting in the China exhibit right there next to those swords.

The point is, the history of the Samaurai swords can be traced back to ancient Japan. They are Japanese weapons, and thus should be displayed in the Japan exhibit not the China exhibit, if they want to portray historical accuracy. Since the rest of the China exhibit has displays of ancient chinese artifact replicas, and other various items representing ancient Chinese culture, I would assume that historical accuracy was at one point their main focus.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I apologize if someone already pointed this out, but early in the thread someone said that Karate was of Chinese origin, it is in fact Japanese in origin... Official definition according to webster (for lack of a quicker reference)

ka·ra·te [url="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/JPG/pron.jpg"]http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/JPG/pron.jpg[/url] ([font=verdana, sans-serif] P [/font]) Pronunciation Key (khttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/schwa.gif-rähttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/prime.gifthttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/emacr.gif)
n.

A Japanese art of self-defense in which sharp blows and kicks are administered to pressure-sensitive points on the body of an opponent.
On the rest i do agree that while I see no problem in a Martial Arts section in the Chinese Pavillion, it should be clearly pointed out that the display contains multi culture weapons and objects, other wise it does come across as a kind of "close enough" attitude, intentional or not.

You are correct, however I don't remember anyone saying anything about karate in this thread, although I could have overlooked it. But yes, Karate is a Japanese martial arts form. As well as Nijitsu, Kempo, Judo, and Akido. The primary Chinese Martial arts systems are; Northern Shao-lin based kung-fu styles(eagle claw, wing chun, etc..), Southern based Shao-Lin kung-fu styles (hung gar, mantis, etc..), Tai-Chi, Xing Yi, and Bagua. However all these forms of martial arts all originated in the Shao-Lin monistaries of China from basic exercises created by a traveling Buhddist monk from india, named Bohdidarma. Theres a little martial arts history for everybody.

Concerning the Sword exhibit in the China pavillion, the display contains mainly Chinese weapons, majority of those being Tai-Chi swords and the others being various shao-lin weapons. But amongst the Chinese weaponry, they have a stand with a Kitana and a Tanto, and next to it there is a Zatoichi. These are clearly not Chineses weapons and Disney should not try and convince guests that that is the case.


My whole argument is historical accuracy! The entire pavillion is focused on Chinese history and culture, and just about everything fits around that theme except those swords. I just find that odd!!

 

[JBSLJames]

My wife is a big German Wine lover. She loves Schwatz Katz and Spaete Leatzel(sp?) Both good sweet white wines. Most traditional German wines are usually much cheaper than their American market counterparts.[/QUO

:animwink:

Boy your wife is understanding. If I used that adjective, I think I may spend a month on the couch. I might have gotten away with "Good Sized" or maybe "Large Framed" but BIG. . .I don't know.

:wave:

 

[PurpleDragon]

My wife is a big German Wine lover. She loves Schwatz Katz and Spaete Leatzel(sp?) Both good sweet white wines. Most traditional German wines are usually much cheaper than their American market counterparts.[/QUO

:animwink:

Boy your wife is understanding. If I used that adjective, I think I may spend a month on the couch. I might have gotten away with "Good Sized" or maybe "Large Framed" but BIG. . .I don't know.

:wave:

Hahahahahahha!!:lol::lol::lol::hammer:

What I meant was that she loves German wine a whole lot, its her favorite type of wine. She lived in Germany for a few years and has a sort of attachment to all things German.

 

[Hakunamatata]

My wife is a big German Wine lover. She loves Schwatz Katz and Spaete Leatzel(sp?) Both good sweet white wines. Most traditional German wines are usually much cheaper than their American market counterparts.[/QUO

:animwink:

Boy your wife is understanding. If I used that adjective, I think I may spend a month on the couch. I might have gotten away with "Good Sized" or maybe "Large Framed" but BIG. . .I don't know.

:wave:

So funny... :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[hitogoroshi]

Another cultural mistake they used to make was during the old fireworks. Remember when they lit up each country at a time, playing typical music in the background. When they used to light up Germany they actually played a Waltz, which originates in Austria. I used to always laugh at this, but when you think about it, a company that goes for perfection should not make mistakes like that... Never noticed many other things though, but that sword stuff is indeed interesting, gotta check that out next time!!