Mongolian Ping Pong

Mongolian Ping Pong is a film about three boys who try to make a journey to Beijing from their home in Mongolia.  The main character, Bilike, is the young boy who discovers a ping pong ball along a creek.  He is told by his Grandmother that the ping pong ball is a glowing ball from Heaven.  The ping pong ball never lit up, so Bilike and his friends became skeptical.  The three boys find out the real truth when they see on TV that the ping pong ball is the national ball of China.  After learning this, the boys set out on a long journey to Beijing, China to return the ball.  Unfortunately, their lack of survival skills causes them to turn back shortly after they start their journey.  When the boys' parents found out about their little "adventure," they punished them severely.  The mother of Bilike took the ping pong ball from him and smashed it.

I realized very shortly that this movie does not relate to American culture by any means.  The unique lifestyle of the Mongolian families in the movie show that they would be considered poor for American standards, but they seemed to be living their lives to the fullest.  The only part of the film ever so slightly resembles western culture is when on the boys uses a gas-powered scooter to get around, which resembles some of the vehicles that Americans use today.  Even though this foreign film isn't my favorite type of movie, there were still parts that were enticing, which made me enjoy it.

The Weeping Camel

     The Weeping Camel is a movie that takes place in Mongolia, set in the Mongolian desert.  This foreign film is a documentary that portrays Mongolian culture and the bonding of camels.  The main point of this documentary is about a calf that gets rejected by its' own mother.  A Mongolian family that owns and raises the camels are trying to create a bond with the calf and its' mother.  The film portrays how a Mongolian family live their lives within the Mongolian society.
     
     After watching The Weeping Camel, the biggest thing I realized is that the Mongolian culture and life-style vastly differs from American culture.  Some of the more obvious things that support my point is that most of the Mongolian people live in a desert-like landscape with blisteringly hot temperatures, unlike Minnesota's really cold tundra-like climate.  

     America is known for its big cities, high density of population and celebrities being in the center of the media.  Unlike America, Mongolian life is very secluded and sparse.  There aren't any large cities, just villages and marketplaces.  It also appears that the overall Mongolian lifestyle and culture haven't changed in centuries, and it seems like their traditions and rituals have remained the same for many generations.  America's culture has changed is still changes at a very high rate.  There has been a large technological boom in America within the past 20 years.