My Crush on Anthony Bourdain.

[browngirl]

So, I have acquired a crush on Anthony Bourdain (or at least his TV persona, which he does do a good job of making look authentic). He plays a Jerk With A Heart Of Gold very well; for all his cynicism and snark, he listens respectfully to everyone (except his producers), even seeming to respect people more the less money they're surviving on. He enjoys a great many things, and when he enjoys them he enjoys them thoroughly and without reservation.

(Plus, well, that whole leathery-voiced foul-mouthed bad-boy thing.)

I've started watching travel shows recently, I'm not sure why. Maybe seeing other people's well-edited vacations just entertains me. At any rate, I've been watching No Reservations, Mr. Bourdain's show, and... I was charmed by the episode on Ghana, which he presented so respectfully, but without artifice. He didn't show the Savage Benighted Africa people envision in the West, he showed a thriving country reaching out to those of us in the African Diaspora, reaching out to the whole world. I was delighted by the episode on Korea, where he let one of his employees (a young Korean-American woman) haul him around her heritage; he complained amusingly, drank entertainingly, and observed soulfully, and was really nice and polite to her family.

And then the episode on Jamaica! It only makes sense to judge a travelogue by what it says about the bits of the world one knows, doesn't it? Well, he got Jamaica 100% right. I nearly cried with nostalgic delight. And he showed... there's a lot more to Jamaica than the tourist version, and people often don't realize that. He showed some of the rest of Jamaica, grit and grandeur both. So I feel I can trust his presentation of other places, because he did so well by the island I know.

I don't know if I should write him a fan letter; he'd probably just crumple it and use it to light a cigarette. But he's won my heart all the same.

Comments

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

I adore Tony Bourdain. He's going to speak in Seattle in June and I'm thinking of going to see him.

If you haven't read any of his books, give one a try. I would recommend A Cook's Tour. He's a beautiful writer.

Also, Food Network is now replaying A Cook's Tour series. Last night was his kaiseki meal experience in Japan.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Have a grand time listening to him talk! *adds qbook to list*

Maybe I'll watch A Cook's Tour too. But there is the whole 24/7 thing...