Cultural Reporter Blog Part 2

Vietnamese culture is one of the East Asia cultures, cultures largely influenced by China, which also inhabit Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and parts of Mongolia, but it is important to understand that these cultures existed previous to the nations that they currently inhabit (columbia.edu). This blog will investigate evidence to decide if these cultures have created co-cultural groups within Vietnam according to the co-cultural communication theory.

The co-cultural communication theory is about groups that share language; it examines how those in a dominant group shape language, and how the shape of the language effects the perception of the non-dominant group (Martin and Nakayama 241). The evidence being investigated is writings that detail the history of “literary Chinese” also known as “classical Chinese.”

Classical Chinese was the dominant language among East Asian cultures as a facilitator of language, scholarship, and governance; scholars compare it to the role of Latin in western cultures as both influenced a variety of languages over time (kornicki 66). One key difference is that although the Chinese could speak, read, and write the language, other cultures could only read and write the language, meaning that intercultural communication was silent and written (Kornicki 67).

Understanding this idea is similar to understanding sign language, both parties are able to see the communication, connect what they see to ideas in their mind, understand the meaning of the sequence of the ideas, and consider what they understand in order to make decisions, all without speaking. Due to the separation between oral and written language throughout the history of the East Asia cultures, it is unlikely that the language created any noticeable cultural impact, or created any co-cultural groups.

"Asia for Educators" http://afe.easia.columbia.edu

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2010). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill

P.F. Kornicki et al. Edited by Swapan Chakravorty & Abhijit Gupta. New Word Order: Transnational Themes in Book History. Worldview Publications. 2011. http://books.google.com/books?id=bjJBrKfCKIYC&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q&f=false

An Integrated Culture: Hispanic Americans

Hispanic-Americans are a prime example of a migrant group. They came to America looking for a better life: better government, better work, better pay, and better schools. “Most believe life is better in the United States. Close to six-in-ten (57%) say that people who move from Mexico enjoy a better life in the U.S., up from 51% in 2007. And the vast majority of those who are in regular contact with friends and relatives living in the U.S. say those friends and relatives have largely achieved their goals”  ("Most Mexicans see," 2009). Hispanic-Americans have gone through a transitional phase into U.S. culture. Whether it has been over the last century, last ten years, or last six months, the cultural group is always adapting to their new homeland to which they immigrated. While they hold Latino traditions close to their hearts, they do embrace all that the United States is giving them, hence, why the cultural group is called “Hispanic-Americans.”

              

Hispanic-Americans are clear representations of what it means to have a multicultural identity, “a sense of in-betweenness that develops as a result of frequent or multiple cultural border crossings” (Martin & Nakayama, 2013).  Many of the Hispanic-Americans I know have grown up in Nebraska or surrounding states but have close ties to family members who may still be living in Mexico. They may feel torn as to what is expected of cultural norms because they are on the line between two. While the multicultural group may not be “living on the border” physically, they certainly may be psychologically. There is a strong integration of Latino culture with the traditional “white” norms of the United States to which Hispanic-Americans conform.  While many Hispanic-Americans engage in popular activities in our culture, such as style of dress, music, and hobbies (sports, extra-curricular activities, etc.), they may have their culturally traditional ideas about religion, family and societal structures, and other customs from their country of origin or their parents’ country of origin.

              

I will be studying the continuous cultural adaptation process of a Hispanic-American by researching whether Hispanic-Americans feel that their migration was on a voluntary or involuntary basis, as well as researching how they integrate their two cultural identities of being a Hispanic and being an American. I want to begin by first interviewing Genesis Garcia, Marcela Lopez, and Stephanie Colin (all of whom are very proud of their cultural heritage) on why their families chose to come to America and partake in a cultural transition. I also want to explore their families’ processes of migration from one country to another. Exploring any discomforts or prejudices they or their family members may have experienced, I plan to interview these individuals either by phone or in-person, but hopefully in-person. I want to know what they

love about their culture and some of the traditions I may not know about as an outsider to their cultural group. I also plan to relate some of my favorite hobbies and cultural traditions with theirs, as we all identify with being American. I also intend to attend some of the Hispanic cultural events that are taking place in the Multicultural Center, as well as interview a Cultural Diversity professor to get his professional opinion about what multicultural students may go through as a student here at the University. I have approached Marcela Lopez about spending a night out on the town with Lopez to experience what she and her friends do for fun on the weekends so I can report with first-hand knowledge of any unique cultural activities, dances, or discussions they partake in frequently as Hispanic-Americans. Using my interview material, I will conclude how the cultural group as assimilated, separated, segregated, and integrated with U.S. culture and norms.

References

(2009). Most Mexicans see better life in U.S. - one-in-three would migrate. Pew Research Global Attitudes Project, Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.pewglobal.org/2009/09/23/most-mexicans-see-better-life-in-us-one-in-three-would-migrate/.

Martin, J.N.& Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. (6th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Hello! I like-a you! Borat and Intercultural Transitions

America: Very Niceee!

An Intercultural Look into Borat and Cultural Transitions

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Taking a comedic spin on what it means to go to a different country, Borat explores how a Kazakhstani journalist may adapt to an American lifestyle. This of course is a fictitious comedic extreme.  Made in 2006, the film begins with Borat being sent by the government to make a documentary about American life. He goes throughout the nation meeting people, experiencing what it means to be an American, and even attempting to find love (Pereyra, 2006).   This film is a hilarious and stereotypical depiction about how a foreigner may adapt or live in another country. He comes from a different regional, economic, and societal background than that of the “typical American,” which proves its challenges.

Surprisingly, we will discuss the ideas of intercultural communication and what is means to be a migrant from this crude comedy. According to Intercultural Communication in Context  by Martin and Nakayma, we can define a migrant as “an individual who leaves the primary cultural context in which he or she was raised and moves to a new cultural context for an extended time” (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). In the instance of Borat, he goes to America for a specific purpose: to document American life by partaking in U.S. society. According to the text, this would make Borat, or anyone like him, a sojourner: someone who “moves into new cultural contexts for limited period of time and for a specific purpose, such as study or business.” We will explore how one can integrate two cultures to engage in the process of cultural adaptation using the film. Because Borat comes to America to document a different country, he attempts to invest himself in the culture using assimilation, “a type of cultural adaptation in which

an individual gives up his or her own cultural heritage and adopts the mainstream cultural identity.” however, it is clear that he is too attached to his home-habits to truly assimilate to America. He attempts to participate in activities such as watching Baywatch or even eating dinner with U.S. government officials, but he heavily integrates his home-life with the new culture he is experiencing. While he is slowly developing more and more into an “American,” he is “maintaining both his original culture with the mainstream culture in his daily interactions.” We also see the W-curve theory in full swing within the film: “a theory of cultural adaptation that suggests that sojourners experience another U curve upon returning home.” This means that a sojourner (like the fictional Borat) experiences anticipation and cultural shock once they get to a new place, but also, the same effects when the migrant returns home. The film will illustrate all of these intercultural communicational ideas.

I will specifically discuss the W-curve that occurs within Borat during his process of cultural adaptation. In the first few minutes of the film, we are introduced to Borat’s home in Kazakhstan. People are angry, yelling, and visibly poor. There is an acceptance of violence, prostitution, and rape and even the inappropriate kissing of siblings (Natalia).  We also know that Borat is going to America to learn of another culture, as well as how to handle “the Jew situation.” This was his life before his American adventure.

Before arriving in America, Borat views the U.S. as “the greatest country in the world,” which proves his anticipation and excitement to be in a new place and to learn new things. We see within the first few minutes the hatred and anger a foreigner, especially a Middle-Eastern man, will face after 9/11 (the angry man on the bus screaming at him.) This is automatic culture shock. He tries integrating American and Kazakhstani cultures by bartering in sales, kissing cheeks to greet, and offering his sister to an American news anchor. He soon assimilates little by little, accepting the mainstream American society. For example, we hear him “talk like a gangster” because he wants to fit in with America; however, he still stays true to his beliefs and culture. Even after he meets a nice American Jew family, he still views them as the closest thing to the devil due to his original beliefs. His adventure continues throughout the country, attempting to integrate the conflicting cultures.

It is then time for Borat to get on a plane homeward bound. He feels sadness in leaving behind After saying his goodbyes to America and finally meeting Pamela Anderson, he returns to Kazakhstan to spread Christianity, treat his wife much more lovingly, and to even give out iPods. He views all of these as improvements to the Kazakhstani society, which is entirely different to what his home was like before his trip. Not only did Borat integrate cultures within the United States, he also integrates two different cultures in Kazakhstan.

everything he experienced, “the great times, the good times, and the “sh** times… but mainly the sh** times" (Charles, 2006).

Borat clearly represents the ideas of integration with conflicting cultures, as well as the W-curve that can be experience by sojourners: the anticipation and culture shock before and after a trip abroad.

References

Charles, L. (Director) (2006). Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation [DVD].

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Pereyra, A. (2006). Plot summary: Borat. IMDb, Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443453/plotsummary.

Intercultural Representations in Pop Culture

Popular culture is a powerful way for individuals to learn about other cultures without personally experiencing those cultures. Martin and Nakayama (2012) define popular culture as "cultural products most people share and know about" (p. 361). Examples include:

Television

Film

Advertisements like the much talked about new ads from Cheerios featuring an interracial/ethnic family

Music videos such "Same Love" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert

It is important that we think about how cultural groups are portrayed through these systems of communication that are consumed and resisted. Specifically, pop culture assists in the creation and reinforcement of stereotypes (Martin & Nakayama, 2013). 

For this blog post, I would like you to select a popular culture text that you regularly consume and conduct an analysis of this cultural text. For instance, watch a few episodes of your favorite TV show, watch your favorite film, read a few issues of a magazine you subscribe to, watch your favorite YouTube videos, advertisements, or if you are up @ 7am you can sometimes catch actual music videos on MTV. Shocking I know!

You will then perform a thematic analysis of this text. You will consume these texts and take notes on what you find intriguing. You will make notes based on repetition (specific words, phrases, and images that are consistently used), recurrence (ideas and concepts that keep coming up), and forcefulness (the capacity to persuade). You will use these notes to organize your data around three key themes that shine a light on the relationships between pop culture and stereotyping. Continue to read and reread the text until you can begin to group likeminded things together and create labels and larger categories to explain these stereotypes. Your goal is to describe three themes that inform the use of stereotypes in pop culture.

This approach of conducting a thematic analysis is how you will process your own data for the Cultural Reporter project. You will begin by conducting interviews, recording them, and transcribing those interviews (I recommend that you download ExpressScribe for this). You will also need to document your observations with written field notes. You will put all of these documents together and begin a process of open and axial coding. You will first read through all of your data to get a feel for it. Then you will begin open coding. Start this process by looking at chunks of information and creating descriptors for these chunks. Some chunks will contain multiple codes. Once you have coded all the data, you will go back and create axial codes, which are broader categories of information/insight that unite a few of your open codes together under one central theme. I would recommend that you use Atlas ti for coding your data. You can download a trial version of this software - http://www.atlasti.com/demo.html

We will use this blog post to familiarize yourself with the process of open and axial coding. For this blog, consume a pop culture text of your choosing and then present three key themes that appear in your analysis. See pages 371-376 for themes found in previous research. This might be a good place to start the coding process. You can use these codes to begin to make sense of the data and then add in your own unique codes. Identify three themes in your blog post and describe how they create certain representations and assumptions about cultural groups. Then discuss how these cultural texts and stereotypical messages might be resisted. See the section in chapter 9 on resistance. It's important to note that resistance does not always mean refusing to consume pop culture. Think dialectical tensions in terms of resistance. 

Cultural Reporter Post #2- Justin Woods

Cultural Reporter Post #2

            For my cultural reporter project, I decided to narrow my topic from the entire Hispanic culture, to people of Hispanic origin who are either first or second-generation immigrants to the United States of America. While researching the culture of first/second generation Hispanic immigrants to America, I will delve into and explore the concept of minority identity development.

Flags of Latin and Hispanic Countries

 

          Minority identity, as defined by Martin and Nakayama in Intercultural Communication, is, “a sense of belonging to a nondominant group” (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pg. 181). Within the United States, especially here in Nebraska, Hispanic people are an ethnic minority. This causes them to develop their own sense of identity as a nondominant ethnicity, or minority identity development. Minority Identity typically develops in the following four stages: Stage 1- Unexamined Identity, Stage 2- Conformity, Stage 3- Resistance and Separatism, and Stage 4- Integration (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pgs. 181-183). Stage 1 (Unexamined Identity) explains how an individual in a minority group starts out by not deeply exploring or searching for one’s identity, rather they tend to go along and accept the views of the majority culture/identity (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pg. 181). Stage 2 (Conformity) explains how one in a minority group will then start to desire to assimilate and “fit in” with the majority group (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pg. 181). The process then usually moves on into Stage 3 (Resistance and Separation). In this stage those in a minority group distance themselves from the views and attitudes of the majority group, they then start to embrace the views and attitudes of their minority group allowing themselves to no longer shy away or be ashamed of the part of their identity that belongs to a minority group (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pgs. 181-182). In the final stage, Stage 4 (Integration), a member of a minority group is considered to have achieved his complete identity. In this stage the minority group member is able to embrace and value his identity as a minority group member, while still respecting and valuing other cultural groups they do not belong to (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pg. 182).

            As I research the culture of first/second generation Hispanic immigrants, I would like to understand how they developed their own unique minority identity. Belonging to two distinct minority groups myself, religious minority (Unificationist) and ethnic minority (biracial), the formation of my identity as a member of a minority group(s) has followed a path extremely similar to the four stages of minority identity development previously described. I would like to see if those in the first/second generation Hispanic immigrant minority group followed a path of minority identity development similar to the four stages, or did they develop their minority identity in a different way? Through understanding how those in the first/second generation Hispanic immigrant minority group developed their minority identities, I may be able to understand how those in the first/second generation Hispanic immigrant minority group value their identity as an ethnic minority and how, if any, does ones identity as an ethnic minority as a first/second generation Hispanic immigrant affect day to day life? In understanding the minority identity development of a minority group other than ones I belong to or am familiar with, I may be able to see and understand that I have more similarities than differences than those that belong to other minority or majority groups.

 

 

Hispanic Immigrants to the USA    

            For my research of first/second generation Hispanic immigrant minority identity development, I plan on carrying out interviews and online research. I currently plan on interviewing two first generation Hispanic immigrants to the United States: Mrs. Gretchen Canarsky (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Mrs. Margarita Lisak (Buenos Aires, Argentina). I plan on asking how they developed a minority identity as first generation Hispanic immigrants to the United States, and how has being an ethnic minority affected day to day life in the United States? I also plan on carrying out at least two more interviews with second-generation Hispanic immigrants to the United States. Along with the interviews, I will go online to collect and research accounts of first/second generation Hispanic immigrants to the United States, and see how they developed identities as an ethnic minority in the United States.

 

 

References

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2010). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

 

CAPS #4: The Killing Fields

CAPS #4: The Killing Fields



The Killing Fields movie poster

            On the day of April 17, 1975, the country of Cambodia came under the control of the Communist Khmer Rouge (Killing Fields Museum, 2013). For the next three years, eight months, and twenty days under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, more than two million Cambodians were killed in what became known as the infamous Killing Fields (Killing Fields Museum, 2013). The movie The Killing Fields, released in 1984, depicts the horrors of the genocide in Cambodia seen through the eyes of Dith Pran, a Cambodian journalist and New York Times interpreter, and Sydney Schanberg, reporter for the New York Times. The movie follows the story of  Photo of Mass Grave in Cambodia
the arrival and establishment of a new Cambodian government under the Khmer Rouge, and the life Cambodians faced under the regime. It shows Dith Pran’s fight for survival and the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge he faced and witnessed, while Sydney Schanberg returns to the United States (all the while attempting to secure Pran’s safety from abroad). In relation to Chapter 8 in Intercultural Communication, this movie clearly depicts the Cambodian people’s forced migration as internally displaced people, as they are forced to move due to war, famine, and forced government migration.

Newspaper Image of Khmer Rouge Soldiers forcing the migration of Cambodian People

            Martin and Nakayama in Intercultural Communication define those who are involuntary migrants as refugees, either short or long term, that are displaced usually due to war, famine, and/or oppression (Martin & Nakayama, 2010, pg. 321). In the case of most involuntary migration, refugees are under the category of internally displaced people (IDP). Internally displaced people are refugees within their own country, who are displaced from one region within their country to another. The cause of this movement is usually due to the effects of war and famine, but in some cases forced government movement of people can be the result of people becoming IDPs. The concept of involuntary migration and IDPs connects with intercultural communication in that it demonstrates multitude migrant-host relationships. It shows how people may be segregated (by forces of government) or assimilated (either by force of government to fit into an “ideal” culture or by personal choice to avoid standing out in times of difficulty). Within involuntary migration of IDPs, the refugees may experience damage to functional fitness and psychological health due to the stress and suffering involved in involuntary migration. Refugees are also likely to experience a lack of social support as they migrate and may experience a high level of anxiety and uncertainty (Anxiety and Uncertainty Management Model) when trying to move from one region to another (either due to war or famine, or forced government displacement).

            In The Killing Fields viewers witness the involuntary migration of Cambodians, in which they become internally displaced peoples. This forced migration is due to the lack of food within the country, a border war with neighboring Vietnam, and forced government displacement of people. The forced government displacement of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge is one that is specifically highlighted in the movie, due to the horrendous pain and suffering it caused to the Cambodian people. In what the Khmer Rough called the “Year Zero” policy, the Khmer Rouge (those in control of the Cambodian government) made Cambodian’s forced laborers, relocated them into “re-education” camps, and put them into government prisons (where prisoners were shown to be executed). All this was in an effort by the Khmer Rouge to eliminate the educated and intellectual Cambodian people, so that Cambodia may return to an agrarian/peasant based economy and society. In the movie we witness Dith Pran forced to enter a re-education class, in which the Khmer Rouge would educate Cambodians to idolize the Khmer Rouge as their “protector” or “big brother” and to embrace the changes the Khmer Rouge is making to Cambodian Society. All this happened when the Khmer Rouge forced Dith Pran to be a laborer in the fields, in an effort to revitalize the Cambodian economy and society to where it became strictly agrarian. In the movie see how Pran was forced out of the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, and brought as a forced migrant into the fields of Cambodia. Earlier in the movie, Dith Pran and Sydney Schanberg were rounded up by Khmer Rouge forces and brought to a prison. There the movie depicts the execution of Cambodian civilians, who have been round up as forced migrants to the prison where they are being brutally executed by the Khmer Rouge. Throughout the movie the theme of the atrocious roundup and migration of Cambodian civilians by the Khmer Rouge government is shown to have brought much pain and suffering to the Cambodian people, with the Khmer Rouge forces showing absolutely no understanding of the value of human beings. This was best depicted when Dith Pran was escaping from the forced labor sites, and while in his escape he fell into a mass grave site that is filled with    Scene where Dith Pran falls into mass grave
thousands upon thousands of human skeletons that belonged to Cambodians that were earlier executed by the Khmer Rouge. The Killing Fields also depicts how the Khmer Rouge segregated the Cambodian people and how some Cambodian people tried to assimilate to the mold of the ideal citizen in the view of the Khmer Rouge. This is shown in the movie by how the Khmer Rouge executed the educated Cambodians while keeping the less “educated” Cambodians alive to work the fields (segregation by social class). Dith Pran, who would be considered an educated Cambodian by the Khmer Rouge, is shown to assimilate to the upheld role of the peasant by the Khmer Rouge, in order to keep from getting executed and tortured by the Communist Khmer Rouge government.

            The movie The Killing Fields is one that depicts the horrors experienced by the Cambodian people under the rule of the Communist Khmer Rouge. It depicts the plight of the Cambodian citizens as forced migrants and internally displaced people as they were either trying to avoid warfare or famine, or they were forced to labor camps, prisons, or executions sites by the Khmer Rouge governments. The film depicted the Cambodian people’s fight for survival, as shown through Dith Pran’s life under the Khmer Rouge, and the strength Cambodian’s showed while going through unimaginable suffering.

Trailer for The Killing Fields

 

 

References

Genocide - The Killing Fields Museum - Learn from Cambodia. (n.d.). The Killing Fields Museum. Retrieved October 26, 2013, from http://www.killingfieldsmuseum.com/genocide1.html

Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2010). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Joffe, R. (Director). (1984). The Killing Fields [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: Warner Bros. Studios.

 

 

 

Lost in America, the migration of refugees called lost boys

The documentary "God Grew Tired of Us" is an extremely compelling documentary about the history of a handful of Sudanese refugees. War between the North and South Sudanese drove over 20,000 young boys out of their homes and through the wilderness in search of help. Traveling first to Ethiopia, they gathered international media attention, but eventually were forced to move because of the collapse of the Ethiopian government. A U.N. refugee camp was set up in Kenya in anticipation of their arrival. Many thousands of refugees died during the two journeys, and the survivors formed a very large but close relationship. The United States sponsored a group of refugees to come to America and live, so the documentary follows the oldest of them and shows their transition to learning and accepting American culture. The group was separated into units of 3-4 and put up in various cities, the documentary focuses on groups in Syracuse New York and Pittsburg Pennsylvania.

Watch Full Documentary on YouTube here

This film documents the concepts of "involuntary migration," "long-term refugees," and "integration." First, involuntary migration is used to refer to both "short-term refugees" and "long-term refugees," the latter of which are those "who are forced to relocate permanently due to war, famine, and oppression" (Martin and Nakayama 321). Integration is one way that a Migrant and Host form a relationship, it basically means that they want to keep their culture as much as possible while still interacting with others (Martin and Nakayama 328).

One of the main reasons that the oldest members of the lost boys left for America is that the U.N. refugee camp provided a certain level of education, and after they aged out of the program they were left without any direction. Since they were relocated permanently due to war, they are long term refugees, and they describe multiple times throughout the film how they are sad that they cannot return home. Moving to America is also intended to be permanent, as they apply for citizenship, and are expected to work in order to support themselves and pay back the government.

Although they did not have much experience in their native culture, they adopted their own culture as a large group. This affected them throughout the film as they expressed sadness and confusion about the lack of community in America. However, they did realize the opportunity for them to accomplish things and were grateful, recognizing within a short time that they were in a good place, and wanted their friends back at the camp to experience it as well. These mixed feelings indicate an attitude of integration, wanting to be a part of American culture, but also wanting to hold on to their own. This is explicitly noted in the way that they continue to eat with their hands, and explain to the film crew that it is a small way for them to keep their culture in mind.

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

Walker, T. & Quinn, C.D. (Directors) (1988). In God Grew Tired of Us.

Concept Application Blog- Hispanic Migration

One of the main reasons Hispanics migrated to the United States was economic development. In the late 1800's the US started looking to Mexico to fill a drastically rising demand in the labor force in basic industries including agriculture, mining, construction, and transportation. Then in 1910 there was another surge of migration from Mexico to the United States when the Mexican Revolution broke out. Many Hispanics were fleeing the country of Mexico to avoid persecution. Throughout history Hispanics have migrated both voluntary and involuntary. The voluntary migrants came to the US to find economic prosperity, while the involuntary migrants became short-term or long-term refugees fleeing their country during the revolution. The theory that I am going to analyze is the Transitional Model. I want to know how Hispanics adapted to the American Culture. All transition experiences involve change, including some loss and some gain, for individuals (Martin and Nakayama 2013).

I will use the Transition Model to better understand the Hispanic Culture. This model will show me the influence that Hispanic culture has on Americans and vise versa. I will also be able to learn about their transition into the US. Anyone entering a new country is going to experience culture shock, which is a relatively short-term feeling of disorientation, of discomfort due to the unfamiliarity of the surroundings and the lack of familiar cues in the environment (Martin and Nakayama 2013). I want to know how they overcame this emotional stress and how they learned how to communicate across cultures. I will learn these things by conducting interviews and collecting observational data. I am going to interview one of my past co-workers who is Hispanic. He has since moved to Texas to be with family, but i will conduct an online chat style interview so that i will have documentation of the questions and answers. I am going to ask about his family history and if his parents were born in Mexico and if so how and why they migrated to the United States. I know he was born in California, then moved to Nebraska, so i will also ask how he adapted to such a different culture here in Nebraska. I will use the U-curve theory of cultural adaptation to learn more about his experience. The U-curve theory is a series of 3 predicable phases that occur when migrating to another culture. The phases include: Excitement/anticipation, shock/disorientation, and adjustment (Martin and Nakayama 2013). Lastly, I will discuss what methods he used for effective intercultural communication and what kind of migrant-host relationship he established. The relationships include: Assimilation, Separation, or integration (Martin and Nakayama 2013). I also went into the Multi-cultural center on campus to get a schedule of their upcoming events. I am hoping to also attend one of their events to get observational data as well. 

References

Martin, J.N.& Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts.(6th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill

David Gutierrez, Ph.D. American Latino Theme Study: The making of America. Retrieved From: 

http://www.nps.gov/latino/latinothemestudy/immigration.htm

Crash- Complexity of Racial Tolerance in Contemporary America

I chose the movie Crash, which was released in 2004. This drama won three Oscars and was the first movie to be entirely shot in Los Angeles, CA. The film takes place within a 36 hour time period in which a group of multi-ethnic characters come in and out of each others lives. The film makers show every gritty detail of the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America. It shows that racism still exists today and the struggles that people go through on a daily basis due to racism. Each of the characters in the movie start out with strong racial stereotypes. In a way though, what they see verify's the stereotypes that the believe; Its all one big viscous cycle. The events that unfold during the movie connect all of the different groups and helps them rethink their stereotypes. I think this movie is very appropriate because it shows the melting pot of cultures that exist in parts of California.


Cultural adaptation is the concept that stands out in this movie, more specifically the Anxiety and Uncertainty Model. According to Martin and Nakayama cultural adaptation is the long-term process of adjusting to and finally feeling comfortable in a new environment. How one adapts depends to some extent on the host environment--whether it is welcoming or hostile (Martin and Nakayama 2013.) Being able to communicate with other cultures is very important in the adaption process. Information can be hard to understand when there is anxiety between the intercultural communication. The process of reducing that anxiety is called uncertainty reduction. The two kinds of uncertainty are predictive and explanatory. Predictive uncertainty is the inability to predict what someone will say or do, which explanatory uncertainty is the inability to explain why people behave as they do (Martin and Nakayama 2013.)


When there is a melting pot of cultures in the same demographic area such as in the movie, there is always a chance of being excepted or turned down. In Los Angeles there is no majority or minority population. So the characters in the movie are all rejected by another cultural group in one way or another. And the fact that they choose not to communicate with each other is why racism is so prevalent. If they learned how to use intercultural communication there would be less anxiety about the other cultures. Once they are able to communicate between cultures they will be better able to predict what the other is gong to say and will understand their unique behaviors. As the movie progresses some of the characters slowly start to realize this and let their guard down. I think the scene that depicts this the most is when 'Officer Ryan' who is white saves 'Christine' who is black by pulling her out of her burning car and offers her comfort. Earlier in the movie officer Ryan sexually violated Christine because she was black.


Movie Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=durNwe9pL0E

References

Martin, J.N., Nakayama, T.K.(2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw Hill. 

Lions Gate Entertainment. (2005). Crash. Retrieved From: 

http://www.crashfilm.com/