I've been reading a mdzs fic for quite a while and i honestly dont know how I've gone thru 30+ chapters... considering there are so many things about it that annoy me - and all of them related to the writer's clear need to Westernise™ things

they may not be doing it on purpose. I have a feeling they have a rather superficial understanding of different cultures and only view things thru their own. And if it doesnt fit....well, they make it fit their culture.

however, this bothers me a LOT. I'm not saying i myself have a particularly good grasp of Chinese culture (i really have not) but... even i can see those changes and they're not all positive

for example making the charas that "live a free-er life now" completely ditch bowing bc it's "too uptight"

this just shows how little they understand the bowing culture

and that is just one of the many many things bothering me. lan clan discipline? they seem to hate it with passion, criticising it all the way. which would not be a problem, but somehow even this has been done... in a very western way

this is one of the main reasons im very picky when it comes to fics. I don't understand why people need to make absolutely everything fit and match their culture and world view and imply others might be bad

you dont need to understand but you need to respect.

also usually these things would be easier to understand if they were willing to do even the tiniest bit of research

im so fed up with people trying to make everything fit the western culture (especially the american variant). this world is FULL of cultures, why would only One Specific One be somehow better than the others?

every single culture has its good and bad sides but it doesnt give us the right to judge just bc we do it differently

and yes, many do this without realising. that's a reason - not an excuse.

anyway, im frustrated, there was no clear point for this thread other than People, Dont Judge So Fast

oh and that western culture might be mainstream but that does not mean superior

just because something doesn't fit well in YOUR culture does not make it necessarily a bad thing. simply different.

thanks for coming to my ted talk