Comments on: Tiger, Dragon & Elephants

By: prope//er

prope//er — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 05:28:31 +0000

Perosnally, I believe that at any given point in time, in a certain country, there exist a group of staple topics. For example, in USA the immediate topics that come to mind are

[*] Iraq

[*] Medicare

[*] War on terror

[*] Outsourcing

[*] India

Now, any budding journalist trying to spruce up his/her resume is bound to go to the nearest Indian buffet and thereafter book a flight to Mumbai, the Interface to the west of you will. They spend a week there, take a few pictures and write 20 lines a day at the end of the month, the resume looks good and they will have attained a global perspective. It is aptly known as Infotainment. NPR, Time, etc., all fall in this category.

later

By: srini

srini — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 23:32:25 +0000

also,

America: Eagle

Canada: Moose

Mexico: Donkey

Brazil: Anaconda

Argentina: Lama

Africa: Elephant

Egypt(sahara):Camel

Arabia: Horse

Europe: Cow

Russia: Bear

Persia: Lion

India: Tiger

China:Dragon

Australia:Kangaroo

By: srini

srini — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 23:16:59 +0000

Sepoy:

Liger for pakistan is perfect. After all, it is the product of the repeated invasion of India (Tigeress) by the Turko-Persian (read Mughal) Lion.

By: exitr

exitr — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 18:11:56 +0000

Brits have adopted both the lion and the bulldog as national symbols, but I think the lion has a more “official” lineage, related to heraldry & such… Political cartoons of the Napoleonic era depicted the British lion vanquishing the French…cock.

By: Morcy

Morcy — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 03:46:48 +0000

I thought England was a bulldog. If I were Russia, I’d stick to the bear. And if I were Canada, I’d try to shake being a moose. New Zealanders even call themselves “Kiwis,” and I’d say Australia is a kangaroo–note how even in the World Cup they are the Socceroos. For that matter, though, Tunisia are the Eagles of Carthage, Angola the Black Impalas, Cote d’Ivoire the Elephants (there you go!), Togo the Sparrow Hawks, Korea the Asian Tigers, Saudi Arabia the Falcons, and England the Three Lions. So there.

By: sepoy

sepoy — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 21:28:21 +0000

Pakistan: Liger, obviously.

Canada: Owl?

Russia: Bear

Mexico: At least, nowadays among the conservatives it would be the Chupacabra

Now as for America, if you look at all of Time’s covers categorized by Business, you can spot some clear trends: Lots of white INDIVIDUALS [greenspan, jobs, trump, case etc.]. Nary an anthropomorphization in sight. Or a woman for that matter.

By: dacoit

dacoit — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:26:38 +0000

Anthropomorphizing the US: A (war)hawk in eagle’s clothing, the old standby capitalist pig, haghty Uncle Sam from political cartoons of the world?

I think we should try this with other countries too. Which leads me to ponder, is a country’s athropomorphization the same as their national animal/mascot (official or un-)? Interestingly, India’s official fauna include the Sarnath lion, the peacock and the Bengal tiger. Not an elephant in sight. We know Britain is a lion, but is Mexico a plumed serpent, Australia a kangaroo? If India is an elephant, what then is Pakistan? Canada, anyone?

Can Russia still claim the doughty Soviet bear, or have they reverted to that terrifying two-headed bird on their coat of arms?

By: tsk

tsk — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 06:34:00 +0000

mo, i clicked over to dude’s blog. subtlety and subtext seems not his strong suit.

reading the article, though, i caught this: “One Asian giant is run by a Communist Party that increasingly appeals to nationalism as a way of legitimating its power.” it made me giggle.

as far as business anthropomorphization, only “fat cats” comes to mind.

By: Morcy

Morcy — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:01:23 +0000

Grant, it doesn’t have to be in the article; it’s on the *cover*. That’s the point. For the people choosing TIME covers, India is gaily dressed brides and people telling you why your credit limit cannot be increased.

I think, these days, the first adj that would be used in a similarly stereotypical representation of the US would be “fat.” The second would be “religiously conservative.” But maybe that’s just in Europe.

By: Grant Jones

Grant Jones — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:03:59 +0000

“…what is the anthropomorphization of America in business-speak?”

You are at the University of Chicago, so why don’t you go over the the school of economics and ask. It will have something to do with individual rights and prosperity.

There is nothing in the Time article to motivate statements such as:

“Or is it only the East that gets demoted to the Zoo and the Harem?”

You seem to have quite a chip on your shoulder.