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POST 1 - Sept 21, 2018

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Watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has shown me how cultural differences can lead to huge discrepancies in interpreting the same scenes and actions, as my consumption of American content has skewed my view of the movie’s themes and characters’ intentions.

I believe that, to a certain extent, current American television and movie culture is in its immature stages, and find that much content is laced with crassness and boorishness; if not at the pinnacle of importance, at least of one of topics of drugs, sex, or money is most always granted a fraction of significance in American stories. This is one of my largest criticisms of the industry, yet as I watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, I felt my expectations for the movie’s storyline being led by the tropes that I realize have embedded themselves not only in American entertainment, but also in my own views of what is “reasonably expected” in entertainment media. This was especially true in my expectations for the relationships amongst Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien, and Jen Yu. I found myself predicting storylines of lying, hidden motivations, forbidden attractions, jealousy, adultery, and betrayal, rather than believing in purities of the devotion that Yu Shu Lien showed to her late fiancé, the deep love and care shared between herself and Li Mu Bai, and the desire to teach and guide Li Mu Bai had for Jen. Despite having mixed feelings about the prevalence of sex, cheating, and taboo relationships in media, I have become accustomed to them, and now unconsciously anticipate such themes while viewing even foreign media. 

For example, I had been certain that the attention Li Mu Bai paid to Jen-- his insistence that she was special, his refusal to forgo being her teacher, his protecting her despite her betrayal-- was indicative of a relationship to come, my guess being bolstered by Yu Shu Lien’s hesitance towards being with him romantically. Although Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon held true to its themes of patience and devotion, I had assumed the excitement of a young, talented female and an absence of "putting out" (for the lack of better words) from the more reserved and distance woman would provide turbulence for the warrior couple’s relationship. 

I find it surprising how, regardless of my feelings towards the media I’ve been exposed to, that exposure itself has colored my standard of "normal/expected" interpretations in content and media outside of my culture.

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