Popular misconceptions of China by Hollywood

There's no doubt that popular culture, especially movies, play a huge part in how we view different cultures that we simply don't know much about.  If we seek to know more about India, we tend to look to Bollywood to shed some light on that region of the world.  Even if we seek to know more about a certain ethnicity within our own country, we like to check out popular movies that talk about that culture.

Many of the views Americans have on Chinese are shaped by two main outlets: news and movies.  I'd like to take a look at some misconceptions that exist thanks to popular movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Milan, Rush Hour and others:

Misconception #1: All Chinese people know some form of Karate

By far the biggest misconception, knowing Karate is not some sort of rite of passage for Chinese natives.  While the art form has it's roots in Asian countries, it does not mean that every citizen of China knows it.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  In my two years living and working in Beijing, home to over 20 million people, I rarely came across people who engaged in any form of tae kwon do, karate or kung-fu.

Misconception #2: Chinese people only speak Chinese

Another huge misconception is that if you were to visit China, you would be surrounded by people who did not speak English, therefore, you were certain to get lost, be led astray by thieves and never be able to find your way back to America.  In reality, there are many more Chinese people that speak English than Americans that speak Chinese.  Some estimates have it that as much as 50 to 150 million Chinese people speak English, with higher concentrations in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.  That's over 10% of the population.  Compare that to less than 1% of Americans being able to speak Mandarin and this misconception becomes very obvious.

Misconception #3: Chinese culture is COMPLETELY different from American culture

Hutong

Hollywood movies tend to cast China in a light that would have viewers think that the cities are overcrowded, everyone lives in hutongs and that there are few modern amenities available.  While much of this does still exist, it's not nearly as prevalent as modern skyscrapers and apartments, ginormous entertainment megaplex's and all (if not more) of the amenities we enjoy in America.  I always share with people that Beijing was the best nightlife experience I've ever had.  While the cities are overcrowded, it's not unbearable and only really noticeable in major cities such as Beijing or Shanghai during commutes to and from work.  If you've ever visited New York City, it's essentially the same environment.  I also share with people that the nicest, most modern apartments I've ever lived in was in Beijing.  Not only is the social life similar to America in Chinese cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, it may even be better!

Misconception #4: Chinese cuisine is COMPLETELY different and weird!

Like any country you visit that's not your own, the cuisine will be unique to that region.  Therefore, it will likely be different from your home country.  However, Chinese food is not so different that it's weird or grosses you out.  It's actually very, very good.  It's nothing like the Americanized Chinese food that we like to order, such as shrimp fried rice or General Tsao's chicken.  It's more unique to the region it's served in but always very delicious.  No scorpions or pigs snout are usually served in restaurants, though there are places you can get them.  And if you're just in the mood for American food, you can check out KFC or McDonalds, which is usually on every major street corner in major cities.