Senate Cultural faux pas for 100, Alex

Wasn't sure were to put this, so I created a new thread.

Why do people not read up on the laws, culture and history of another country? Maybe if they did they could avoid this:

Chinese tourists arrested in Germany for performing Hitler salute outside the Reichstag in Berlin.

 

Sounds like a wacky news thread item.

 

What is some people are insensitive idiots, Alex?

 

More like for $1,000 Alex. What were they thinking?

 

Not much apparently. I know some young people in asian countries (like China and Japan) like to fetishize Nazi stuff; but surely somebody should have pointed out to them that doing the Hitler salute is illegal in Germany, for obvious reasons?

 

Do they actually teach kids there why the Nazis were bad, or is it just "haha, those funny Nazis" they pick up from TV shows?

 

No, Alpha-Red, they don't teach world history in Asia.

 

DON'T MENTION THE WAR!

 

Fetish is a strong word, but Nazism is used for portraying villains or for comic relief. There is a strong sub culture, too, particularly in punk music and dressing up like Nazis which is rather popular in China and Japan. Current WWE NXT Women's Champion, Asuka, had a Nazi gimmick back home in Japan.

But we, too, in Europe and North America have a weird culture obsession with them as well. "Nazi zombies" have sprung up movies and videos games and a lot of British tourists are fined for doing a Roman salute in Germany.

 

The European/American obsession with them I think is because they make for safe stock villains you don't need to sympathise with. I blame Inglorious Basterds for the latest resurgence.

 

When they're used as villains, yes.

But I think most of the Nazi "fans" in America are edgy teens (or immature adult edgelords) looking to shock people for attention.

 

Also, you can do pretty much whatever you want to them and nobody bats an eye, because they are the most evil people who ever lived, so pretty much anything goes.

 

Ugh...I did not know this about modern Chinese and Japanese youth. I can take a joke, but stuff like this is just flat out wrong.

What is Could They be Any More Insensitive for $1000, Alex?

 

I found out about that watching some fans of the anime Hetalia rant about it. IIRC, I even heard about some asian fans dressing up as Nazis and doing Nazi goosewalks and salutes outside the Holocaust museum in D.C. several years ago.

 

I wonder how they'd feel if Nazis actually destroyed them and their families? This is exactly why I keep my most of my fannish loves* grounded in fantasy and things which cannot exist (*except the violent Italian murder mysteries known as giallos.)

 

Perfectly summed up. If you wish to shock society, just use a swastika.

 

On the otherhand, Harry would be more apt to know about the laws in Germany than those tourists from China apparently were.

 

Harry was merely embracing his family past.

 

Did The Producers ever play in Germany ?

 

Yes, in Berlin.

 

The film Downfall (which I highly recommend) wasn't allowed to be filmed in Germany because it was about Hitler's final days.

 

That's not true, it was filmed in Berlin and Munich.

 

Really? I swear reading it had to be filmed in Russia.

If it is not true, then I stand corrected.

 

Regardless, I second the recommendation - Downfall is excellent.