Culture Chop Suey: Difference between revisions

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[[Culture Chop Suey]] is a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] cobbled together from multiple real-world cultures.

'''Culture Chop Suey''' is a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] cobbled together from multiple real-world cultures.

The reasons for this can vary from case to case. Like with [[Anachronism Stew]], it can stem from the writer's [[Did Not Do the Research|ignorance on the subject]], and they may simply not realize that these cultural elements are alien to one another. Likewise, it can be a case of [[Creator Provincialism]], when the writer uses aspects of their own culture in the fictional one, either because they aren't aware that they would seem out of place, or because they want to make it more familiar for their audience. Of course, when they're completely aware of the differences, they may be taking [[Artistic License]], blurring the lines for unique [[World Building]], or just playing to the [[Rule of Cool]] or [[Rule of Funny]].

These are cases where elements are of a contrasting culture, elements of technology from a contrasting time period are [[Schizo-Tech]]. When ninjas show up as part of a [[Culture Chop Suey]], that is also a [[McNinja]]. A [[Ruritania]] is usually constructed using this trope. A character from one of these cultures may sport a [[Multiethnic Name]] just to drive things home.

These are cases where elements are of a contrasting culture, elements of technology from a contrasting time period are [[Schizo-Tech]]. When ninjas show up as part of a '''Culture Chop Suey''', that is also a [[McNinja]]. A [[Ruritania]] is usually constructed using this trope. A character from one of these cultures may sport a [[Multiethnic Name]] just to drive things home.

Some cultural mash-ups are common enough to warrant their own pages: [[Ancient Grome]], [[Far East]], [[Mayincatec]], [[Scotireland]], [[Spexico]], and some versions of [[Norse by Norsewest]].

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* The Klingons as portrayed from ''[[The Next Generation]]'' onward combine about 50% each of Viking and Japanese Samurai culture. Essentially, they are Viking Samurai [[In Space]]. With forehead ridges. (In the original series they appeared to be about 50/50 Russian and [[The Thief of Bagdad|Thief of Bagdad]] Persian stereotypes, although there was little to no cultural exploration at all.)

* The ''[[Firefly]]'' 'verse is a case of [[Culture Chop Suey]], but it's not really an equal blend of Western and Chinese culture; rather, it's a [[Space Western]] where the characters supplement their English dialogue with (bad) Mandarin, eat Chinese dishes as well as Western ones, and in some cases (like the Tams) have Asian-ish surnames but look white.

* The ''[[Firefly]]'' 'verse is a case of Culture Chop Suey, but it's not really an equal blend of Western and Chinese culture; rather, it's a [[Space Western]] where the characters supplement their English dialogue with (bad) Mandarin, eat Chinese dishes as well as Western ones, and in some cases (like the Tams) have Asian-ish surnames but look white.

== Tabletop Games ==

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** Hey, the [[Medieval European Fantasy|the European areas are usually no exception either]].

* ''[[Big Eyes, Small Mouth]]'' actually spells this out for the world of Ikaris: the Seven Stars are described as a fusion of ancient Greece and samurai-era Japan.

* ''[[Exalted]]'' has many of ~~these -- always~~ done very deliberately. The one described in the most detail is the Realm: it's mostly a blend of [[The Roman Empire|Imperial Rome]] and [[Dynasties From Shang to Qing|various Chinese dynasties]], but there's also hints of Tokugawa Japan, Achaemenid Persia, and pretty much any other premodern Old World empire you could name.

* ''[[Exalted]]'' has many of these—always done very deliberately. The one described in the most detail is the Realm: it's mostly a blend of [[The Roman Empire|Imperial Rome]] and [[Dynasties From Shang to Qing|various Chinese dynasties]], but there's also hints of Tokugawa Japan, Achaemenid Persia, and pretty much any other premodern Old World empire you could name.

== [[Video Games]] ==

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* The ''[[EverQuest]]'' series has the monk guilds in the human cities, which seem Asian-influenced, in what is otherwise largely [[Medieval European Fantasy]].

** In the second game, while the city of Freeport maintains a largely medieval feel, the Freeport Militia have gained a distinctly [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] aesthetic.

* ''[[Jade Empire]]'', which is based on Ancient China, includes creatures specifically identified as [[~~Golem|golems~~]], which are from Jewish folklore.

* ''[[Jade Empire]]'', which is based on Ancient China, includes creatures specifically identified as [[golem]]s, which are from Jewish folklore.

* Most ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' races are a hodgepodge of many different bits and pieces from real world cultures. For instance, Night Elf architecture is based in equal parts on Japanese and Northern European styles. The Draenei speak with an Eastern-European accent and are inspired in equal parts by the Roma and some South Asian cultures, but use a lot of Greek sounds in their names. Goblins are infamous for both their gold smarts (a Jewish stereotype) and the pervasiveness of the Mafia in their culture (an Italian stereotype, with a matching accent to boot).

** There was a small controversy regarding the Pandarans being too Japanese. This offended China's government and they were redesigned to be more Chinese.

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* The ''[[Pokémon]]'' world is basically a mashup of Japan and America (or at least Japan's view of America). Not surprising, given the fact that many of the the original employees on the first Pokémon game had worked on [[Earthbound]].

* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' gives us Antiva, a land of olive-skinned macho men with Spanish accents, the culture of which is otherwise based on medieval Venice.

* In ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'', Academy/Wizard faction at different points has Greek [[Shock and Awe|Titans]], Indian [[Petting Zoo People|Rakshasa]] and [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous|Nagas]], Middle-Eastern [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Djinns/Jinni]], European [[Our Gargoyles Rock|gargoyles]], English [[Griping About Gremlins|gremlins]], and Jewish [[Golem~~|Golems~~]]. ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]] V'' also gives them an [[Arabian Nights Days]] style.

* In ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'', Academy/Wizard faction at different points has Greek [[Shock and Awe|Titans]], Indian [[Petting Zoo People|Rakshasa]] and [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous|Nagas]], Middle-Eastern [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Djinns/Jinni]], European [[Our Gargoyles Rock|gargoyles]], English [[Griping About Gremlins|gremlins]], and Jewish [[Golem]]s. ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]] V'' also gives them an [[Arabian Nights Days]] style.

== [[Web Comics]] ==