Eating a Meal with the Other
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the side of the tourist gaze, consuming the image for the sake of experiencing
“the Other” and perhaps making travel plans to do so in person someday.
Self-Reflexive Television and Possible Futures
We have seen that the show No Reservations unabashedly exoticizes and
Orientalizes its subjects, bringing an American host into the private spaces of
poor non-White locals to share a meal that is beyond their means, all for the sake
of a show to promote the travel potential of the country. These critiques are
significant and should not be overlooked, but there are many ways in which
Bourdain is an atypical host, and departs from the normal conventions of travel
shows. The first is that Bourdain is very self-reflexive in the language he uses to
guide the show’s narrative. He frequently mentions the fact that he is trying to
make good television, that there is a camera crew present, that his producers are
offering their input, and that he feels uncomfortable with the power that he
wields. This dynamic is particularly visible during a scene at a lao lao whiskey
brewery, as the Laotians include the entire crew in their sharing of the alcoholic
beverage. Bourdain explains, “Our hosts just don’t make the distinction between
the on-camera guest, meaning me, and the camera crew, who are not usually
supposed to end up in the shot. They get offered the same lau lau as I do. To
refuse this generosity would be an insult.” Further, Bourdain is also completely
explicit about the fact that his interviewees are clearly not getting anything out
of the process, and so he is surprised that they are willing to participate at all.
When the Laotians graciously offer him their food, he states, “This is something
I’ve seen a fair amount of over time making this show—acts of kindness and
generosity from strangers who have no reason at all to be nice to me. It frankly
kicks the hell out of me.” He acknowledges that these individuals have nothing
to gain from being on the show, and yet they still open their homes to him and
share their food happily.
Bourdain also voices his discomfort with the fact that travel shows often
compel American tourists to visit the places that he has exposed. After watching
the daily parade of Buddhist monks through the town, he notes the presence of a
few clicking cameras as an ominous foreboding for the future. He tells one of
the locals:
If you’re from this neighborhood and lived here your whole
life this is very much a community thing. We’re here because
it’s beautiful and because we’re fascinated by traditional Lao
culture. I’m afraid that sometimes because we take pleasure in
showing people with these cameras how beautiful it is we help
them destroy it. I hope we don’t.
In explicitly reminding his viewers that an onslaught of foreigners into this
community ritual will indelibly change the experience, he is able to distance
himself from the outward goal of travel shows. At the end of the show, he
openly states, “That’s the problem with making travel television. When we