Mirroring Story Cultures

Culture builds up and shapes how people view the world and the people in it. It determines how we judge and view the way others act, look, and even how they think. In the texts “Where worlds collide”, “An Indian Father’s Plea”, and “Two Kinds”, it is shown that a person’s views of others and the world are solely determined by their culture.

The first concept I would like to talk about is norms. Norms are different rules, whether they are spoken or assumed, about which kinds of behaviors are acceptable in a culture and which ones aren’t acceptable. As an example I would like to use the Disney movie Pocahontas. A clear example of a norm from this movie is the scene where Pocahontas has disobeyed her father by talking to the white man (aka John Smith). Disobedience was something you did not do in her village. The father was in charge of the family and the rest of the family was expected to listen. Another norm for her culture was to take care of the village and everyone in it. Their culture wasn’t all about fun and adventure. They made sure their top priority was the life and ease of everyone in the village. Norms can also change. There is a scene where the chief, Powhatan, tells the village that no one is allowed

Lets start by understanding that cultures are a melting pot of people’s beliefs, language, behaviors, values, material objects, and norms. Norms are written and non-written “expectations of behavior” that govern a certain location, place, or culture (26). These norms also vary from culture to culture meaning what is a norm in the U.S may not be a norm in India. For example, a norm in America would be tipping a waiter after a meal. Another would be acknowledging someone as you walk past him or her, typically done at work or in a public place. In all, norms are folkways, mores, taboos, and written laws that are an established standard of one’s behavior.

One big part of my cultural is our history. As may of us know some things about our culture's history, we are looked upon to know as much as we can possibly find about ourselves. Our parents and grandparents say this because they don't want any part of our culture to fade away. This is represented everywhere I go. In our church we have greek school where we learn about how the church came about, customs, and ancient greece, even sometimes how to speak greek. This is also encouraged outside of the church just in our homes. This was extremely important when I was little. We would frequently watch what seemed to be very boring ‘greek history’ shows that made my 5 year old self wonder why we watched them. This was ‘fun’ for my grandparents but now I realised the reason why we watched them was because they were proud of who they were. All this sums up into how education is so important to everyone in our culture.

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

Since the inception of human civilization there have been countless cultures and societies which have helped shape the current world today as we know it. The modern human race dates back more than 200,000 years and in that time frame many cultures have risen to great virtue and success only to deteriorate or cease to exist altogether. First before examining one of these cultures we must know what culture truly means. The Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Culture Center defines culture as a “dynamic social system,” containing the beliefs, behaviors, values and norms of a “specific organization, group, society or other collectivity” learned, shared, internalized, and changeable by all members of the society (Watson, 2010). In

readers why every culture is unique and contributes in its own way to the collective heritage of

One way culture affects our point of view of others and the world is our heritage. What heritage is, its whats passed down from generations to generation, whether it is a physical material like a quilt or ring, or a tradition for example going every year to a certain place or it could also be a recipe that is passed down or maybe a simple memory they all part of your heritage. One story that shows this, is the short story Everyday Use, by Alice Walker, which is about two sisters,one who is the youngest called Maggie and the oldest called Dee, and it's about how Maggie celebrates her heritage while Dee assimilated/changes her heritage. To demonstrate this Alice Walker adds “ “She can have them, Mama,” she said, like somebody used to never winning anything or having anything reserved for her. “I can ‘member Grandma Dee without the quilts,”” ( paragraph 74). What Alice is

In comparing the way that cultures in these three texts determine acceptable norms they all have a similarity in that norms are achieved through peer group pressure and by traditions. They also establish how members who don't meet the norms or different should be treated. At the same time culture also determines how those who don’t meet the norms or treated. In all three cultures they try to change those who are different so that they conform. In the short story “My Favorite Chaperone”, the

Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future, quoted by a famous Jewish Professor. The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, and the book Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl both have characters that share similarities and differences. Mary Maloney and Mildred Montag both are similar in ways such as relationship wise and both ending up crazy because the idea of society, but they differentiate by their strengths of the relationship and the reasons in how they end up betraying their husbands and what made them do such a thing like that.

Throughout life, in any society we develop a sense to conform and adjust to our surroundings but why? Our values in our society determines our norms and why we do the things we do. I recently sought out to break these social conformities that violated the values, and norms we hold as a society. Every society is different and, in every society there are different and similar values, norms, sanctions folkways, and mores. Breaking them up and analyzing them we began to understand why these terms and values are so important to us.

The structure of the film Stories We Tell is a documentary, but not in a traditional style or sense. A traditional documentary is a film that generally provides a factual record or report. National Geographic documentaries are a popular example of this. What makes Stories We Tell different, yet still a documentary, is that it uses the individual’s perspective instead of an omniscient observer’s perspective. The interviews were evidence of the film being a documentary, as it asks for specific people for their view, their “report” on the topic that is being discussed in the film. Factual evidence is included, yet is slightly different due to different people’s perspective on the stories, memories of Diane and the whole mystery behind Sarah’s biological father. Near the ending of the film, Sarah states that she would like Harry to hold off from publishing their story, and instead publish it as a documentary. What makes this film a documentary is not that it displays facts and reports of realism, but a message of some sort, from the director. This film begins with a story to tell, eventually ending with discussion on

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines culture as “the beliefs, customs, and arts of a particular society, group or place.” These different cultures are viewed several different ways around the world, and these views sometimes lead to misconceptions and stereotypes. Two novels, Persepolis, By Marjane Satrapi, and Things Fall Apart, By Chinua Achebe, take their works and shatter the stereotypical views of their cultures (Native Africans and Iranians) made by the western world. They show you that what you always hear about one culture or individual may not always be accurate, and the only way to learn about one’s culture is to learn the facts.

What may have been the norm for one may not be the norm to another, especially when it comes to the cultures of foreign lands.   Cultural norms often are so strongly ingrained in an individual's daily life that the individual may be unaware of certain behaviors. Until these behaviors are seen in the context of a different culture with different values and beliefs, the

'Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.' (Hofstede, 1991)