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Cultural Differences And The Impact On The Communication Process

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Cultural Differences and The Impact On The Communication Process

Alberts, Martin and Nakayama (2011) describe communication as “ a transactional process in which people generate meaning through the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages in in specific contexts, influenced by individual and societal forces and embedded in culture.”(p.7) They then go on to state that intercultural communication “occurs in interactions between people who are culturally different.”(p.122) Cultural differences thus affect many interactions, with the communication process being one.

The movie that I studied was Django Unchained. It follows a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz and his recently acquired free slave, Django as they go across America in search of bounties. They then set out to find and free Django’s wife, Broomhilda von Schaft from the evil clutches of her owner, Calvin Candie. It is set in 1858 in the Deep South, with preliminary scenes in Old West Texas.

The major role players within this film are Dr. King Schultz and Django. Like sugar and salt, they are two opposites when they first meet. You have Schultz, a well-spoken German bounty hunter who possess a superior control over his dialect and one who abides by the socially accepted etiquette with regard to the purchasing of Django, albeit his methods to procure a conversation with him highly questionable. On the other hand, you have Django, a beat up African American slave who displays minimal education and command for

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