The video My America Essay

Custom Student Mr. Teacher ENG 1001-04 3 October 2016

The video My America

The video My America, Honk If You Love Buddha, is simple story that highlights cultural differences and how people react towards these differences. The story talks about a woman who can vividly remember that she can go to several places in America without even meeting a fellow of Asian origin. This idea alone suggests that there is an evolution between the Asian and the American culture, and this evolution and changes could be a simultaneous or not. It could be that American opened its doors to this immigrant as a result of mutual ties between Asian countries, and then the immigration follows.

Or there is a voluntary left off of cultural distinctiveness and then these Asians succumb to the foreign culture, which is the American culture in particular. It is not difficult to see what the filmmaker is trying to convey in this video, there are a few social issues that are being highlighted in the movie. First is the stereotyping of Asians. It was known for a fact that the Chinese constitute one of the largest numbers of immigrants in the United States, and they are visible in suburbs, engaged in the business of trade.

They have become dominant in the past years and in fact they were able to establish what is presently; called China Towns, a reflection of what is life in China itself. China being one of the oldest existing civilization, being free from so much foreign influences will always be loyal and true to their culture despite being located in a foreign land. This loyalty to Chinese culture that remained so distinct to them in their everyday living and especially in their relationship to their American counterparts, subtly gave a lasting impression to Americans.

These impressions could be as a result because they found the culture complicated and too broad for them to understand. The problems start, therefore when a person from the other culture lack understanding for those from the opposite culture. These individuals will develop preferences and hence, will gather biases and ignorant judgments towards the others. Furthermore, this biasness stereotyped to every one of the Chinese origins and more broadly to anyone of Asian decent. Second, is the culture of dominance and discrimination.

If culture is a set of values that gives forth mutual trust and solidarity among a group of individuals, then, we can inconsiderately assume that anyone from the coming from a different culture is entirely foreign and not superior. Both the American cultures and Asian cultures have shown for a period of time intolerance to these differences. And this failure to accept could be the very reason why the race for dominance occurs, followed by the discrimination to those who are inferior whioch in this case are the Asian immigrants.

It can be well observed in the story that there is indeed discrimination based on differences in ethnicity and on skin color. There is an unequal distribution of services and opportunities to between the whites and the Blacks and the Asians, as a third option. One can never take out preferences especially when it comes to cultural differences. We will always tend to remain loyal and inclined to the culture form which we come from. Personally, this is one thing that I keep in me, but this does not necessarily translate that I am superior.

Cultural boundaries and differences exists because of values and values do not mean dominance over others, but just plain environmental effect, therefore, tolerance but be kept in mind as well. Although, one must never forgot to preserve his or her own identity. Culture is identity and influences are welcomes for the betterment but on must see to it that your identity still exists. I think this is the real problem; everyone comes to a specific bandwagon, melting both difference and similarities together, creating a new kind.

Although it creates solidarity, it erases traces of their distinct culture; this is what is conveyed by the movie. Culture has a wide range of description; it could mean a lot of things for a different people in influence of the culture itself. According to Hofstede (1986), culture is a collective programming of a member of a group that separates it from the other member of another group, this shared ideas include the system of values. It must be remembered that a value system is the components and the foundation of a culture.

Hofstede added that there are three broad perspectives of culture; the largest level is the universal level which is characterized by the common and the genetic programs of an individual. The middle part is the collective aspect of culture differentiated by its shared and the learnt thoughts of an individual. And lastly, the narrowest part of culture is the individual which is supposed to be unique, partly because of genetic influence and partly because of learnt behaviors gathered from the environment (Hofstede, 1986). In sociological perspective, a community, just like culture gained different approach and standpoint.

One of those approaches is to give attention to the values of the group, these values could be the reason why the come together in and commit to the community and develop trust in the process. Moreover, community can also be divided based on spatial differences, but sociologists would like to think that these differences are enforced primarily by the values these groups have. Works Cited http://www-staff. lboro. ac. uk/~ttgaln/Culture_web/culture. htm Frazer, E. (1999) The Problem of Communitarian Politics. Unity and conflict, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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