Culture Barriers

I agree with the idea that, "creatures of our culture". I am reminded of this every Thanksgiving. My culture overlaps in that I tend to celebarte both Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, but I also have customs from my hispanic culture. It's important to remember that cultures are not biological. As the book states, "cultures are learned". If people kept this in mind maybe people from other cultures wouldn't seem so foreign. If people have open minds when dealing with other cultures then it's likely that there will be no misunderstandings, which leads to people being offended.
People must not have ethnocentrism. This is another thing that can cause people to remain in their comfort zones and continue to view people from other cultures as outsiders. It's also important to keep in mind that cultures have different standards for how people can behave. The book uses the example of the girl who moved to Iran with her husband. She was just doing what is normal and acceptable in her culture. However, once it's taken out of that culture and placed inside another one, things can change dramatically. Instead of being a women who is walking down the street in normal summer attire, she is now seen as a prostitute. This scenario shows how important it is to be able to understand and learn other cultures.

communicating without words

Nonverbal communication is important because it allows us to communicate in a way that doesn't require for everyone to speak the same language. Simple gestures can let a person know exactlty how we are feeling at that moment. Something as simple as smiling can let a person know that we are happy. This type of communication is important because it's the first one people learn when they are toddlers. It doesn't go away with age and actually gets more sophisticated and complicated as we get older. This new sophistication and complication opens the door for misunderstandings. The book explains: "One of the problems of defining nonverbal communication is deciding what counts as a nonverbal message and what does not" (108). This means that a person's smile might be misinterpreted by someone else who thinks they are making romantic advances towards them. Despite this dilema it's hard to picture a world without nonverbal communication. In fact, one might argue that if we stopped using nonverbal communication, then we have also stopped communicating in gemeral.

The book also explains that nonverbal communication, "is both universal and cultural" (111). This illustrates the importance of this type of communication. If toddlers of different races were put together in a playpen they would still be able to communicate through nonverbal communication. This also shows how important it is in creating a bridge between all the different cultures in the world.

men and women

The book states: “It is therefore useful to keep in mind that we are much more similar than we are different” (94). However, it’s hard not to argue that sometimes women and men do use language differently. Women call things cute. A man only says this when he is joking around. Any other time he would get strange looks from the people around him. I myself would feel weird using the word “cute”. If I think something is amusing then I just say, “that’s funny.” The quote makes sense in that men and women probably find most of the same things to be cute, but they just use different words to express it.

The same thing can also said about anger and profanity. Men and women use different words to express anger. There are certain words in profanity that you only hear men say and words that you only hear women say. However, they are both trying to express anger they just do it differently. One thing may separte us, but another thing keeps us kind of united.

Preconceptions

The only way judging can be avoided is for people to get to know people of different cultures. People are taught to be individuals and this makes it hard for people to be able to relate to other people. Judgments usually come from ignorance. Getting to know people from other cultures will get rid of stereotypes by presenting a person with a completely different view of the one he or she may have had. One thing many people make the mistake of doing is categorizing everyone teh same way. They see one person of one specific ethnicity do something and now that person thinks everyone from that same ethnic background will do the same thing. The more examples that person knows of that specific ethnic background, the greater chance that stereotype for him or her will be destroyed.

I believe that even positive stereotypes can have a negative effect in the long run. It may seem like a compliment to that person at that time, but what has it really accomplished? This just creates more ignorance by allowing something that isn't true pass on as fact. The person who has that steroetype may one day come across a person who doesn't fit their mold. This is the danger of classifying people under one category. Since people are taught to be individulas then it makes sense that people should judge other people on an indivudual basis and not as a group.

Introduction

Hello,

This is my first semester in the Communications department, although, I have taken online classes in the past. I took a couple of history classes and enjoyed how online classes allow you the freedom to work independently. I wouldn't recommend them to someone trying to go back to school after a long time off. However, they are perfect if you are disciplined enough and need the flexible schedule.

I enjoy movies and to write. I am actually looking forward to the movie project we have to do because it will give me a chance to apply the things I have learned in the class. What better way to do that than with a great movie?