No Reservations

    Anthony Bourdains’s No Reservations filmed in Saudi Arabia focused mainly on food, but the program discussed some aspects of Saudi Arabian culture. The show highlighted the life of one woman, Bourdain’s hostess, who seemed quite westernized in her ideas and customs. I thought that perhaps more than one woman should have been shown. Bourdain’s hostess was not at all traditional in the way she dressed and in her comments on Muslim values. She seemed to imply that Saudi culture is outdated and that change will take a long time. I thought it was interesting that she was one of the few women not fully covered in black and that she was walking around the city with a strange western man and a film crew. I doubt that more traditional people would have been pleased. Bourdain’s guide made reference to the fact that the men are able to wear light and airy clothes while the woman have to wear black ones that trap the heat. She also brought up segregation among men and women; she said that in her mind she thinks of it as the men being separated, not the women being isolated. The TV show emphasized the friendliness of the Saudis and the appeal of their fascinating culture and country.