Sex & Love Around The World is a CNN documentary that stars the host Christiane Amanpour, who travels to numerous different countries and discusses human sexuality as well as romantic relationships. I have been meaning to get around to watching this on Netflix (being a sexologist and interested in anthrocourtology/loveology and all), and I was finally able to finish it. Overall, I really enjoyed the show’s content, not so much the host (Ms. Amanpour).
The show dedicates each episode to a different country. Each episode is about 40 minutes long. The first season (Netflix only has 1 season, I am unaware if this went on for longer) travels to: Tokyo (Japan), Dehli (India), Beirut (Lebanon), Accra (Ghana), and Shanghai (China). The show follows Ms. Amanpour interviewing different people from these different cultures, asking them all sorts of questions about their love life and sex life. Some of the participants are visibly uncomfortable by such graphic questions while others just go along for the ride.
Overall, this is a great introduction to different cultures in regards to content for those curious about romantic relationships and how sexuality is treated in these different countries. However, the host, did not do a good job at approaching it from an unbiased point of view. It is absolutely critical when investigating different cultures to investigate it from an unbias and non-judgemental viewpoint. This way you can get the most information from your participants without coming across as untactful and/or disrespectful.
I was visibly cringing watching Ms. Amanpour. It isn’t a single instance of uncomfortablility either. There are numerous instances throughout the show, across the different episodes where Ms. Amanpour comes off as disrespectful towards her participant’s culture and values.
If you can ignore the host’s overall behavior, it is a great show. I do strongly recommend it for those curious to learn about another person’s culture (specifically through the lens of romantic relationships and/or human sexuality).
