Ethnic Notions The film Ethnic Notions showed the harsh realities of racism in America from as far back as slavery to the civil rights era as it pertained to oppression. Oppression in its most basic form is “to exercise harsh dominion over, to be weighed down” per the dictionary. However, this is at the physical level, but as Sandra Lee Bartky expresses there is a psychological oppression which has the same weighing down on the mind. There is also the oppression that comes from the stereotyping as well as sexual objectification. These ideas were clearly demonstrated in the film.
Ethnocentrism is the way an individual look at the world from his/her own beliefs in their culture. They feel that their culture, race, or ethnic group is more significant and that their culture is more superior than any other culture of other groups. In feeling this way the individuals will judge other groups, such as their behavior, the language in which they use, religion. How it could be detrimental to society is that it could lead to false speculation about the differences in cultures. It leads to society making premature judgments about other cultures, not knowing all the facts about another culture.
Karim Youssef ENGL – 103 02/03/2011 Section B English Essay 1 – Literary Analysis Research Paper Professor Giovannucci Perri Cultural Imperialism And Its Negative nIfluences I certify this is entirely my own work ( ) Is cultural imperialism truly hazardous? I for one cannot answer such a provocative question. Throughout my life, I have lived within countries influenced by westernized policies, and as a citizen of such a society, I have viewed both the benefits and the detriments of cultural imperialism. The mere thought of having an outsider attempt to change one’s cultural traditions raises criticism. The authors Chinua Achebe, Nasser Jubran and Gabriel Garcia Marquez are experts at analyzing how cultural imperialism promotes criticism and help me, the reader understand more clearly how foreign influence negatively impacts a culture.
Each person will have different cultural traditions that they will have to balance out. Someone may even have to sacrifice their customs for another person. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is faced with a cultural collision. He responds by resisting it. Okonkwo realizes that change is inevitable and experiences the injustice of cultural collision.
Using powerful language, Jack Solomon stresses that advertisers do not persuade us, but they manipulate us into buying what they're offering. They don't offer us product information, but they exercise "behavior modification" : "Pleasing to our subconscious emotions, rather than our conscious intelligences, ads are designed to exploit the discontentments by the American dream, and also the constant desire for social success and the material rewards that accompany it” page 530. Advertisements say a lot about different people and what ideas are important at the time. In America, society is obsessed with status. Therefore, status symbols are very important.
The two texts provide social commentary on matters such as looking toward the future to pursue an ambition, cheating to attain what is desired, and the result of dreams becoming obsessions. The corruption and unattainability of the American Dream is epitomised in relation to Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, who both
Early America portrayed the wild frontier as part of their national identity, while common colonial American ideology stigmatized the associated Native American culture as less civilized, as savage, and as subordinate to ‘modern’ eighteenth and nineteenth century societies. Factors such as Western European influence, racist ideology, subjective sciences, and speculative theories all contributed to a prejudiced judgment passed on Native Americans.
The action unfolding in the café helps the reader to evaluate the complex cultural tensions and fears of the post 9/11 world. By playing on the suspicion of the reader, Mohsin Hamid attempts to explore imbedded feelings toward both America and the Middle East post 9/11 through a reversal of the usual relationship, providing a muted American character, and an expressive Pakistani one. As soon as the novel begins we are presented with a product of Western prejudices “Do not be frightened of my beard, I am a lover of America” and as the character of Changez begins to introduce himself, we see the convention of the one dimensional Islamic man constructed by the American media slip away. Changez is articulate, polite, and as he reveals, exclusively educated, attending Princeton, and holding modern values “yes, the women, too- are working professionals”. Yet, the lack of information about the “purpose” and “mission” of these two characters takes grip of the narrative and through allusions “not unlike
It varies because of mood and behavioral influences. If one is in a bad mood they will typically communicate negatively and without thinking about the affects it may have on someone else. Regardless of how we communicate we need to realize that all communication is cultural. In essence, it portrays ways we have learned to speak and send nonverbal messages. Not only are there different principles and contexts to consider, but there are also cultural barriers.
Cultural Relativism, a term used to describe individual’s beliefs that should be accepted in one’s cultural but also can be denied in society. In James Rachels’ essay, “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism”, she brings up varies examples that contradicts with one society’s beliefs to another society. She uses this term and analyzes it different situations proving that it can be controversial at times since no one should have the same thinking process as another person. For example, if you were to take to civilizations of the past and tell them to trade beliefs. They would find it outrages since it would be unorthodox to their teachings.