My opinion is...

After watching these two TV programs I think that we can't compare this programs because they are headed for different audiences and their goals are different.

About Top Gear is a show dedicated to cars where they manage a black humorous style(this is the way of how they get rating).I have to admit that the first time I saw this episode I got upset because they used a lot of stereotypes about mexicans, and I said this british people are so stupid, how they don't see their own defects!!!. But then I rethought about the situation and we should learn to laugh of ourselves because we'are used to mock about foreigns, the examples are many of the comedy TV programs that we see daily or the jokes which we tell. So we are even!

For Anthony Bourdain TV show I can say that I like too much this kind of programs where they travel around the world, learning about different cultures, food, people ,etc. I'd never seen this episode but I liked how he tastes everything without any prejudgment. When we see this kind of shows we can appreciate our food and customs that hardly other countries have.

Finally, we shouldn't be so extremist due a comment of an sarcastic and stupid program because I'm sure that most people around the world don't think that, an example is Bourdain and many shows from abroad, that come to Mexico because they are very interested and end up very fascinated.

Top Gear Mexican “Joke”

With regard to comments of an automobile of Mexican manufacturing, Mexicans and their food by the presenters of Top Gear, I approached my opinion in four points that I consider important to review,

1) The kind of program. Top Gear is a popular television program of the BBC in the topics of cars. The popularity of this program is based on the irreverent style and sometimes disproportionate of the comments made by the presenters, which said by themselves, reflects the British sense of humor. There have been many occasions when the presenters have had to apologize because allude and offend members of a community or people of an entire nation. Within this context, we must consider that the exploitation of prejudice by the presenters is an important part of its popularity and that the their opinion are not the responsibility of the British People themselves.

2) The automobile Mastreta alias “Tortilla”. It is curious that Top Gear, being a program that focuses on the characteristics of the cars, has not issued a single comment about the technical specifications of the Mexican car, and they dedicated themselves to make absurd associations of “national characteristics”, for example that the car would be irresponsible, flatulent and overweight (a machine with these characteristics? ). Of course, these attributes may not correspond to a car. By the absurdity of this comment, the replica is totally unnecessary.

3) The Mexicans. We know that when we generalize there is a very high probability that we are giving false information. However; we must also be realistic and self-critical. I think that first we must ask ourselves how and from where they built the stereotype of the Mexicans. It is likely that we have ourselves intervened on it. In some tourist sites in Mexico, the Mexican souvenirs show an image of a man with zarape asleep on a cactus! We are a people who has tolerated corruption of our leaders which has resulted in the enormous inequalities, poverty for more than half of our people, the lack of opportunities for many Mexicans and violence in the majority of our territory, this has conducted to have a high unemployment rate.

On the other hand, we have a health system that instead of developing strategies for prevention is totally exceeded in the treatment of diseases. The truth is that we are a nation of overweight people, as much as we have trouble accepting it.

4) The food. Mexican cuisine is considered by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity for their great variety and delicacy worthy of saving. It is among the three major cuisines in the world counting the French and Chinese cuisines.This information is from the world dominance and Anthony Bourdain did an excellent job in his documentary. I presume that the presenters of Top Gear are not  ignorant but malicious. Quite frankly, I believe that when the comments are obviously false, the arguing is absolutely worthless.

Opinions of Top Gear

With respect to the two T.V. programs that we watched in class, I think they are very different or their objectives are so different. While "Not reservations" is a program that gives information about a country and makes opinions about it after visit it and have experiences there, "Top Gear" is just a "funny" program where its hosts use black humor and sarcasm to fun their audience and they, in their eagerness to do it, say the first stupid thing that have in mind. For this reason they are ignorant of things like Mexican food is one of the most varied foods in the world, together with French and Chinese food; or that the "lazy" mexican people have to be an early reaser because their jobs are far away of their homes and the traffic is terrible. Unfortunately, the photos where our politicians are sleeping run faster around the world.

I agree that the form used for the hosts of "Top Gear" to express of Mexican people was very disrespectful and regrettable, and more that jokes, those were insults; but they don't say things only about mexicans, they say desagreeable things about people in many countries. On the other hand, we must accept that many Mexican TV programs also are full of stereoptypes, including Olimpic Games spots of Televisa. How many times have we heard things about the arrogant Argentinians or stinking Europeans?
Frankly, I think we are a culture to tends to estereotype too. So we shouldn't take things to heart.

Top Gear unfounded comments

First of all, I disagree with the unfounded opinions about Mexico that British hosts said on the program. Frankly, I think all British people are racist. That would be a stereotype isn’t it?

At least, Anthony Bourdain realized that Mexico has more than “vomit with cheese-food”.

I wonder if Top Gear hosts have looked themselves at the mirror when they wake up and look what kind of people they are.

There is no need for criticizing something if you don’t know what are the origins or even the means of support of the thing you are criticizing.

On one hand It is well known that Mexican food has been considered cultural heritage of the humanity. As Anthony Bourdain said: Mexican food is more than tacos, it requires hours of preparing it by hand and years of experience.

On the other hand, the Mexican car called “tortilla” as they said so disrespectfully, comparing to another kind of sports car such as a Corvette, Mastretta MXT weighs 1,200 pounds less and its financial officer Jean-Paul Capin said that they have been proving a lot of stereotypes wrong, such as in Mexico we can't build a sports car.

I believe the best way to eradicate stereotypes is realizing by ourselves about the others, reading books, being informed in order to acquire experience, leaving behind comments from others that could influence our beliefs.

Finally, humor and comedy don’t have to justify xenophobia and discrimination, even more if the arguments are not well supported. It is a matter of values and tolerance.

Opinion

I believe that the program that we watched last class went over the line because they started making comparisons about australian Technology and British technology in a sarcastic way. They also made reference to the history of Australia and they cheated in a competition to find out which technology was better. After that. they made comments about mexican people and a car built with Mexican technology. I think that they should have done more research before making any comment over the car; one of the tv host said that the name of this Mexican car would be "tortilla" which is not. They also make some comments about the characteristics of the car in comparisons to Mexican people. However I'm pretty sure that there is good engineering over it and that stereotypes over Mexican people are not real.

In my opinion the second video was more real. Because the tv host came to Mexico and he tasted some of the normal meals in Mexico. However I don't believe that it is a good show because they only wanted to show the stereotypes of Mexico. It was pretty obvious when they took the tv host to drink tequila and to eat tacos all the time. If the main idea of the show was to talk about Mexican food all i can say is that they could have done better.

Opinion and Facts about Mexican people

Frankly, I think that before someone want to make a good or bad opinion about something, it´s necessary to know or have a clearly idea about it. We shouldn´t stereotype only with the thoughts of other people, the experience give us the key to develop our own judgments.

In fact, it´s completely false that Mexican food is disgusted and only cooked with cheese as the host men of the “Top Gear” program declared it. First of all, Mexico is a pluricultural country that keeps its traditions and customs. One of the reasons Mexican gastronomy is very varied it’s because the weather climate and the ancestor´s heritage.

If you ask me, Mexicans must be proud of our country, that is rich in natural resources and have many people working hard for change it every day.

About Top Gear Commnets

Well, I think there are two situations or ways in order to see the problem of Top Gear conducer´s comments:
The first is very simple: everything they said were only jokes (disgusting jokes, of course).
I am sure that all de Mexicans who knew of these comments felt anger and discomfort for their expressions and ideas, but if we are strict, the job of the Top Gear conducer is, in fact, planning, saying and doing stupid or dangerous (or both) things. Furthermore, is easy to imagine for us that they don´t know almost anything about mexican people and food. Only cheese?? Tortilla (like the name of the car)?? Please!! For this reason, we could laugh and feel consideration beacuse comment things like this, are a meaningful part of their work, certainly, is their only grace.
The second is take the comments as insults.
A way of to show our anger fitting and effective is, for me, decrease, avoid, or being more selective with foreing t.v. programs; maybe this could be hard for us, because lost of programs are funny, interesting or really good, but I believe it is necessary. If the big television enterprises allow this kind of expressions is because this is allowed by us too. So, if we are truly angry, this situation must be reflected in this part of the world. Also, we should think that this false ideas about Mexicans are not only in programs like Top Gear; too many programs like series or soap operas and even cartoons reproduce those stereotypes that, we kmow, are absolutely wrong.