I wish I could even start how to write about how tropical or even "warm" places are never portrayed as "home" in art (especially in pop culture), if that makes sense. They are always portrayed as wild places, exotic places, or both, but they're never shown as places were people live their lives.
Main characters don't ever come from a tropical country. There aren't sitcoms set in a hot city in the tropics (well, of course there are telenovelas) about the daily lives of normal people. Fantasy and science fiction series often start in places that look suspiciously like medieval Europe, and when they go to a jungle or desert land or planet, it's because something Exotic is about to happen.
Temperate climates (and their cultures) are The Default. Every other place, in real life or in fiction, is judged against them.
To the point that people who live in the tropics are jealous of snowy Christmas. Because that's what we've been raised with with the cultural monopoly of the US/Europe.
It's so weird. Everything has to have snowy winters, orange fall leaves, and pine trees in fiction. I live in a place where winter lasts a month, there are palm trees everywhere, and long, hot summers. I could never relate. Bro I'm j jus existing here.
So many people are commenting in this post so I would like to make a broad executive summary, because it's real interesting:
To all my subtropical and tropical hermanos, a big hug, I love you and see you. Special mention to all my Southern Hemisphere people, South Hemisphere Best Hemisphere, let's be proud of our december with ice cream and pools.
I've read so many people from tropical places who also missed or were *forced* to miss snow and temperate seasons because of so many media featuring it, so it's not an isolated thing.
So many Usamericans were like "just like Florida" or "just like Lousiana" and while I normally would get annoyed... it's true. The US South is often considered this exotic, backwards place in the context of the rest of the US. While for me, especially as a fan of rock and other music who researches the origin of the music I like, the US South is actually full of a vibrant culture and climate very similar to my own. Much to think about.
Californians shut up, though. 80% of the world's media is made in California. If it's not a standard temperate woodland, it's California.
Speaking of which, some people made a really good point, that people from temperate places such as the US, Europe and Japan will obviously make media relatable to them, and we should consume media made in our countries. The thing is, you often don't have a choice. The US cultural monopoly is incredibly expansive. As a kid, you get sat in front of TV, and all the cartoons are made in the US, with a few maybe from Japan. And I come from a country with a small animation industry so you have a choice, but many of those cartoons and media are considered of less value than those from overseas. Many countries don't even have that chance. But that's a discussion for another post.
SO MANY Europeans for some reason thought this post is only talking about "white Christmas" and say "oh but we don't get snow EVERY Christmas..." Have you read the rest of the post? The Standard Temperate European Fantasy Woodlands are THE setting for fantasy, to the point that when people think of "fantasy" they think about a temperate woodland. See, for example, how TES Oblivion overhauled the tropical setting of Cyrodiil to make it look like a standard European forest & mountains setting. The fact that you don't get snow in Christmas sometimes is irrelevant. Every fantasy work seems to begin and have as a focus an European Medieval setting (oh, but with american potatoes and tomatoes, of course), and anything done elsewhere is considered "exotic". Fantasy, a genre which uses human imagination and could make up worlds of any kind anywhere, has become synonymous with especifically European climates, and it's worth asking why. That was the point of the post.
Something about Kingdom Hearts. I'm not going to play Kingdom Hearts but I'm glad they tried. I did love Wind Waker for this though
people who don't like tropical places GTFO this post
i am once again asking people to watch thai dramas
