Ron Romero

Film and Culture, Tuesday 1730 - 2130

May 4, 2014
Question # 1 (second list).










Communication - in my opinion the most important aspect of culture today, with
communication a lot can be learned of others culture and there differences. Many are either
intimidated or feel that the need to communicate is not a necessity, this is a big mistake in
understanding what other cultures have in common with our own. We have come to understand
other culture by accepting the language spoken by many various cultures, but not all have
accepted this to be an advancement into understanding our differences. The people of the world
have many things in common, but by not understanding or being ignorant we will never gain the
knowledge needed to fully understand that we all share similar beliefs. This is a failure on our
part by not taking the time, or by not educating ourselves enough to determine what others
believe or have in common. For instance some cultures may be offended by some of the things
that we find to be pleasing, hugging, touching, kissing ETC. there are several culture that would
find this behavior offensive. I come from a family with Italian, and Spanish cultural ties together,
we are a very loving family, and show our emotions daily and frequently even in front of others
such as in a public setting. It is nothing to hug my cousins or give a kiss on the cheek, though
some may find this offensive or repulsive, it is just a show of our love for one another. This is
where the ignorance takes place, and I am guilty of this also because I would not understand why
some would take offense to an act of love. I now understand that we all come from various
culture, some similar and some much different. We need to educate ourselves so that we may be
able to understand and communicate with each other, to resect others cultural beliefs and to share
with one another our own. I feel that this is the key to a better world, the understanding of each
other through communication, though not an easy task, but a little communication will go a long
way into the development of working relationships with different cultures. This class provided
me with and explanation of why our communication is so withdrawn to other cultures, lack of
education on our parts make us unable to understand and immerse ourselves into others cultural
beliefs and values. We are also plagued by stereotypes, most people judge others before giving
them a chance to show how their culture was bestowed to them, and how similar our cultures are
to the vast cultures of the world.
Values - I feel this is a very important aspect of our cultures, without them what meaning
would life have. Values stem from what we are taught from children to adults, and what we
perceive to be right, wrong, fair, and just. Most cultures have them, in fact I don't know of any
that dont, without values how can you have a culture? The biggest issue with values today is
that most peoples values revolve around money, success, and prestige, when values to me are
more about the type of person you are, how you treat others, and treating everyone as equals.
Values today have become a more selfish type due to money and power, everybody wants it and
most will do almost anything to get it. We have evolved drastically, and with that so have our
values, they have changed from what was once right, wrong, fair, and just, to me, how much
money I can make, having the best of everything , etc. The values of today have changed in
every culture, and most of us are blind to the fact that they have not changed for the better. The
world is always changing and along with the world changing so do the people that inhabit the
world. Money has affected the values the we have grown to respect, the only concern with most
is personal gain, this eliminates the value of fair gain for all with only concern for ones personal
well being. Today we lack the respect for others values placing all of our beliefs of values before
the values of others, even personal friends. We have lost touch with what our values really mean,
we have transformed our values to correspond to what we believe is more of a benefit to
ourselves. I have seen this change with my own family, not drastic but with some family
members caring more of their personal benefit than the benefit of other members. It does not
affect everyone, and most do tend to follow the values that were taught from childhood, but once
the values are lost they are hard to instill back into the values of the family. I gained the
knowledge of understanding how our values change, and how it changes the world as a whole.
Religion, a very touchy subject to all, this falls into the lack of education part of learning
others cultural beliefs. Religion can be a benefit to all, no matter wrong or right, it gives hope
and meaning of our existence, and helps with values in culture. Most organized religions contain
a good base on what is believed to be true, and there are some that take it a bit extreme. I feel
that religion is one of the main barriers setting all culture apart, these beliefs are understood only
to the members of each religion. Religion is what divides our world, but are all religions really so
different, as with education in learning about other cultures, the lack of understand ones beliefs
also suffers. Religion is the most important aspect of culture, as it molds us into the people we
are today, it helps to establish our values as to what is perceived as right or wrong, but it can also
tend to make others extreme of their interpretation of religion. Just as in the past religion
consisted very strongly in war, although most religions believe in peace, in the early times it was
perceived as power for people to conquer the world with their religion. Today is not so different,
everyone is always trying to build there religions to be the most powerful, this has been taught
from the beginning and passed down from generation to generation. Religions are stereotyped
due to lack of understanding each others beliefs, the differences are very minor in most cases, but
we are taught at a young age to accept only the religion learned as a child. To change or attempt
to learn another religion would be frowned upon by family and members of the religion. This is
why religion has a huge impact on understanding the many cultures of the world.
Family, a huge cultural aspect that we still today hold onto dearly for the most part, I
have had the pleasure of growing up in a very close family, and from day one was taught that
everyone should be treated equally and fairly. I feel that family is important in how we grow up
into the world, this is where we are taught most of our values which will stay with us through our
lives. Family can be a good quality in defining ones culture, but it can also create negative
stereotypes if the family atmosphere is not a positive experience. Unfortunately there are several
cultures whom struggle to keep families close, with little success. This leads to the separation of
family in cultures, this can change the way a culture in looked upon from the outside due to the
prejudice that encompasses the world today. A strong family upbringing has a very positive
impact as to how people view a specific type of culture, although we should not be so closed
minded and judgmental on the negative that few bring upon a culture, rather, we should open our
minds and educate ourselves on the different cultures that we are surrounded by on a daily basis.
By education we can began to understand that we all have similar values, and beliefs, it will also
help to put an end to the prejudice that is stagnate in the minds of everyone. The way a family
educates the younger generation has an important impact on what the future holds for us and the
understanding of different cultures. I have learned from a very strong family, giving, loving,
kind, and fair, we value everything in life and invite everyone with open arms into our homes.
The world would be a very different place if everyone were so understanding, and willing to give
a little more time to understand that we are all not so different.

Language, an important part of our cultures, and there are several of them present in the
world today. What we say influences what we feel and what we believe, we all learn our culture
through language, and there are many languages in the world. This makes it hard, but not
impossible to understand each and every culture let alone learn about the culture. We as humans
have the ability to create and use language, this is how we learn our culture. As we learn
language as young children we learn how to communicate to get what we want or need, later in
life our language becomes more sophisticated into polite requests, and then into more complex
forms of persuasion and argument. Cultures with a slight disconnect from education may not
develop there language into a more sophisticated form or means of communication, thus making
it more difficult to pass on the teachings of there cultures. This is a big problem in the world
today as not all are able to obtain the education needed to continue to evolve their form of
communication in language. It is also a problem that many are unwilling to learn other languages
and attempt to make a connection with the many cultures of the world. Even by just
understanding one culture, it is possible to make a connection to many due to the similarities
within certain cultures. Language is how we as humans communicate, if a barrier exists it is
harder to understand or interpret what another is trying to communicate. Our greatest challenge
lies within our desire to educate ourselves on languages of different cultures, this will increase
the understanding of various cultures. Language, without it human culture would not exist, it is
how we function on a daily basis with relationships, socially, and to spread new ideas and
concepts. As humans our brains are wired to learn all language, though it may be a big challenge,
it can be done. We need to encourage our children to learn different languages, as many as
possible. I have seen a step in the right direction with my children, the local school districts have
implemented what is called a dual immersion program. This program teaches children from first
grade to sixth a different language of their choice. My children are currently in the French
program, by the time they reach high school level they will have almost obtained a minor in
language. My older son is currently in 5th grade and is very fluent in the french language, they
are not allowed to speak english in the french class and will learn all subjects in the foreign
language.
In my opinion this is a great opportunity for parents to take that step forward and give
their children the opportunity to learn a different culture, its beliefs, values, and most importantly
language, the means of how all humans convey information to each other. These five aspects I
feel are very important in our further understanding of the world cultures, I know that I can use a
lot more education on this subject, but feel that with my ethnic backgrounds, along with how I
was raised to view the world and the people that occupy it I have a head start to learning more
about the world and its various people.