1. Paris - So Romanticized The Reality Depresses The Japanese
The Movie Pretty much every time Paris is depicted in film it's in a positive light. Not just positive - that's underselling it. It's positively dripping with whimsy and magic. The cinematic canon is bulging with musicals such as An American In Paris in which you'd be hard pressed not to find a perfectly dressed young Parisian (or in this case, American) gazing dreamily up at the Eiffel Tower. Stanley Donen's Funny Face is another unapologetic love song to Paris, in which the immaculate Audrey Hepburn can be found gaily chirping, "Is it real?! Am I here?!" The Reality It's no wonder so many tourists have fallen in love with the place. That is, until they arrive; and though often they find themselves asking the same questions as Miss Hepburn, they do so while shivering in the foetal position. The Japanese by far have been most affected by Paris' suckiness. So much so in fact, that the reported numbers of Paris caused depression and insanity has been given its own clinical name: Paris Syndrome. Brought on by the disparity between movie and general media representation of Paris and the rain soaked reality, tourists find themselves retreating to the safety of their hotel rooms or into a world of dizzy delusion in order to cope with the overwhelming culture shock. And whilst in Japan there is a social cordial order in public, the Parisian way is far more relaxed resulting in little help being asked for and in return little received. The go to cure as of date is to send the whimpering travellers back to the land of the rising sun as soon as possible. Which movie locations are horribly missold by their films? Share your own picks below.
