Philippine Popular Culture PDF

PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE often refer to as “customs” in a group that are not morally significant, but they can be important VISION...

PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE often refer to as “customs” in a group that are not morally significant, but they can be important VISION for social acceptance A leading research university in the ASEAN region. 3. MORES- Mores are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. MISSION Mores 3. determine what is considered morally Isabela State University is committed to develop globally acceptable or unacceptable within any given competitive human, technological resources and culture. services through quality instruction, innovative research, 4. LAWS-Law is a 2. set of rules that are created responsive community engagement and viable resource and are enforceable by social or governmental management programs for inclusive growth and institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise sustainable development; definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as THE LANDSCAPE OF THE POPULAR CULTURE the art of justice. LEARNING CONTENT 5. BELIEFS- A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In Why we need to study culture? epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be -It helps us answer certain questions like why do either true or false. we need to follow rules and what impact can our 6. SYMBOLS- these are representations or actions make to other people. illustrations to represents a particular belief or -Culture study, in general, allows us to meaning of something. People who share or understand how the different cultures came practice the same belief or culture attach a about. specific meaning to an object, gesture and -It also gives an overview of how peoples' image. behaviors vary from one place to another 7. LANGUAGE- is the system of symbols that Culture individuals utilize to communicate, interacts and - It is defined as the norm and social behaviour share their views or beliefs, thus making an found and practiced in human societies. understanding amongst individuals. - It is the complex whole which encompasses 8. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS- 4. this consist a group beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, of people who come together for a common goal artifacts, symbols, knowledge and roles that a or a purpose. person learns and shares as a member of the Major Social Institutions society. a. The Family - It refers to 1.an organization of phenomena that b. Education is dependent upon symbols and includes acts c. Religion (patterns or behaviours), objects (materials or d. Economic Institutions things), and ideas (knowledge and beliefs and e. Government or Social Institution sentiments (attitudes and values). Major cultures within a society ELEMENTS OF CULTURE o Cultural Universals- cultural traits shared by 1. NORMS – The word “norm” generally refers nearby all societies to something that is usual, typical, standard, or Examples: expected. In the context of teamwork and 1. Art and leisure activities collaboration, norms are agreed-upon 2. Basic needs (clothing, shelter, food) definitions of productive behaviors and mindsets 3. Communication and education that should be usual, or “the norm,” whenever a 4. Family courtship group is working together. 5. Government and economy 2. FOLKWAYS- Folkways are behaviors that are 6. Technology (medicine, tool making) learned and shared by a social group that we Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor  o Subcultures- groups that share values, norms or European values, which is considered to and behaviors that are not shared by the entire be supreme. population. 2. XENOCENTRISM o Counter Culture- 5. groups that reject the major - is the preference for the cultural practices of values, norms and behaviour that is practiced by other cultures and societies, such as how they larger society. live and what they eat, rather than of one's own. o Material Culture- includes al, the physical thing - 10. Colloquially known as “colonial mentality. that people create and attach meaning to 3. CULTURAL RELATIVISM clothing, food, tools, architecture etc. - It is the idea that a person’s beliefs, values and o Nonmaterial Culture- 6. includes creations and practices should be understood based on that abstract ideas that are not embodied in physical person’s own cultures, rather than be based objects. It is any intangible products created and against the criteria of another. shared between the members of a culture (e.g. - Attempting to understand one’s culture. The Social roles, rules, ethics and belief). term was coined by Alain Locke. - refers to not judging a culture to our own REAL vs IDEAL CULTURE standards of what is right or wrong, strange or What is the difference between ideal and real normal. Instead, we should try to understand culture? Ideal culture refers to the values, norms, and cultural practices of other groups in its own behaviors that a certain society claims and aspires to cultural context. have. Real culture, on the other hand, refers to the 4. CULTURAL UNIVERSALS values, norms, and behaviors that the society has in - Also known as: human universals” reality. - 12. It is an element, pattern or trait that is common to all cultures worldwide. (e.g. Shelter, REAL CULTURE- 8. is the actual behaviour patterns Art, Proverbs/ Sayings and Personal names). exhibited by members of the society. 5. CULTURE SHOCK IDEAL CULTURE- 7. these are cultural guidelines - 13. refers to the impact of moving from a familiar publicly embraced by members of the society. culture to one that is unfamiliar. This impact includes the anxiety and feelings (such as - It also defines as the social patterns mandated surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, and by norms and values. confusion) felt when a person must adapt to a CULTURAL ORIENTATIONS different and unknown cultural or social environment. 1. ETHNOCENTRISM 6. CULTURAL LABELING Ethnocentrism" is a commonly used word in - It is the process by which different cultures circles where ethnicity, inter-ethnic relations, approach each other as a result of travel and and similar inter-group issues are of concern. communication. 11. The usual definition of the term is "thinking - It eliminates the cultural differences that makes one's own group's ways are superior to others" a or a group of people unique. or "judging other groups as inferior to one's own". "Ethnic" refers to cultural heritage, and Origins and characteristics of ideology "centrism" refers to the central starting point... so "ethnocentrism" basically refers to judging other The word first made its appearance in French groups from our own cultural point of view. as idéologie at the time of the French Revolution, when Two most popular type of Ethnocentrism it was introduced by a philosopher, A.-L.-C. Destutt de a. Sinocentrism- 9. belief that the Chinese Tracy, as a short name for what he called his “science of culture is much more superior than others ideas,” which he claimed to have adapted from b. Eurocentrism- is a form of thoughts that the epistemology of the philosophers John often measures and defines non-European Locke and Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, for whom all civilization through historical, cultural, human knowledge was knowledge of ideas religious, geographical, scientific and progressive perspectives based on Western Ideology Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor  -a manner or the content of thinking Socialism- socialism, social and economic doctrine characteristic of an individual, group, or culture. that 15. calls for public rather than private ownership or -the integrated assertions, theories and aims control of property and natural resources. that constitute a sociopolitical program. -a systematic body of concepts especially about Communism- Communism is 17. a political and human life or culture. economic ideology that positions itself in opposition to liberal democracy and capitalism, advocating instead for -a form of social or political philosophy in which a classless system in which the means of production are practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones. owned communally and private property is nonexistent -14. It is a system of ideas that aspires both to or severely curtailed. explain the world and to change it. The communist ideology was developed by Karl Importance of Ideology Marx and Friedrich Engels and is the opposite Ideologies have an explanatory function: they of a capitalist one, which relies on democracy provide explanations for the facts and problems of the and production of capital to form a society. social life, so enabling individuals and groups to orientate Prominent examples of communism were the themselves in society. They also have an evaluative Soviet Union and China. While the former function. collapsed in 1991, the latter has drastically revised its economic system to include Purpose of Ideology elements of capitalism. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer either change in society, or adherence to a set of ideals Anarchism-Anarchism is a political theory that is where conformity already exists, through a normative skeptical of the justification of authority and power. thought process. Ideologies are systems of abstract -Anarchism is 16. usually grounded in moral thought applied to public matters and thus make this claims about the importance of individual liberty, often concept central to politics. conceived as freedom from domination. -Anarchists also 18. offer a positive theory of Ideology and Religion human flourishing, based upon an ideal of equality, community, and non-coercive consensus building. Ideologies, in fact, are sometimes spoken of as -Anarchism has inspired practical efforts at if they belonged to the same logical category establishing utopian communities, radical and as religions. Both are assuredly in a certain sense “total” revolutionary political agendas, and various forms of systems, concerned at the same time with questions direct action. of truth and questions of conduct, but the differences between ideologies and religions are perhaps more Fascism-Fascism is a movement that promotes the important than the similarities. A religious theory of idea of a forcibly monolithic, regimented nation reality is constructed in terms of a divine order and is under the control of an autocratic ruler. The word seldom, like that of the ideologist, centered on this world fascism comes from fascio, the Italian word alone. A religion may present a vision of a just society, for bundle, which in this case represents bundles of but it cannot easily have a practical political program. people. Its origins go back to Ancient Rome, when the fasces was a bundle of wood with an ax head, The emphasis of religion is on faith and worship; carried by leaders. its appeal is to inwardness and its aim the redemption or purification of the human spirit. An ideology speaks to Nationalism-Nationalism is 19. an ideology that the group, the nation, or the class. Some religions emphasizes loyalty, devotion, or allegiance to a nation or acknowledge their debt to revelation, whereas ideology nation-state and holds that such obligations outweigh always believes, however mistakenly, that it lives other individual or group interests. by reason alone. Both, it may be said, demand commitment, but it may be doubted whether commitment Liberalism-Liberalism is a political and economic has ever been a marked feature of those religions into doctrine that emphasizes individual autonomy, equality which a believer is inducted in infancy. of opportunity, and the protection of individual rights (primarily to life, liberty, and property), originally against Examples of ideology Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor the state and later against both the state and private global culture celebrates such sporting activities, such as economic actors, including businesses. the World Cup and the Olympics. For most cultures, sports are common and form a large part of the lives of Conservatism-conservatism, 20. political doctrine that many people. A typical behaviour, displaying allegiance emphasizes the value of traditional institutions and to a team as a means of self-identification. Furthermore, practices. Conservatism is a preference for the as I and Tim Madigan describe in our new book The historically inherited rather than the abstract and ideal. Sociology of Sport, cheering for a sports team or a favorite athlete is a way any person can become part of the popular culture. Popular Culture Many people watch several hours of TV every day. This is such a pervasive feature of popular society The word 'popular culture' has different that without its life can hardly be imagined. There are significances depending on who defines it and the sense those who claim that television is responsible for of use. It is widely known as the vernacular or culture of society's dumbing down; that children consume too people at one point in time predominating in a society. much television; and that couch potato syndrome has led As Brummett discusses in Popular Culture's Rhetorical to the childhood obesity epidemic. Terms, pop culture encompasses the facets of social life that the public most actively engages in. Popular culture, Folk and High Culture as the 'culture of the people,' is defined by the interactions between people in their daily activities: Common culture is typically distinguished from clothing styles, the use of slang, greeting routines, and traditional culture and from high culture. Folk culture is the food that people consume are all examples of similar to pop culture in several respects, because of the popular culture. The mass media also keeps popular presence of mass participation. Nevertheless, folk culture updated. culture stands for the conventional way of doing things. As a result, transition is not as modifiable, and is much With these fundamental aspects in mind, more stagnant than popular culture. popular culture can be characterized as the products and modes of expression and identity that are frequently Folk culture is a simpler lifestyle, which is typically encountered or generally embraced, commonly liked or traditional, predominantly self-sufficient, and mostly approved, and characteristic of a particular society at a reflective of rural life. Commonly, disruptive creativity is given time. Ray Browne gives a similar concept in his discouraged. Group participants are required to comply essay 'Folklore to Populore': "Popular culture consists of with standard group styles of behaviour. Folk culture is the aspects of behaviors, habits, values, practices, and focused locally, and non-commercially. In short, folk tastes that characterize the people in any society. culture promises continuity, while mainstream culture Popular culture is the culture of the people, in the typically seeks something new or fresh. Popular culture historical usage of word.” therefore also poses an interference and a threat to traditional culture. Folk culture, on the other hand, Examples of Popular Culture seldom interferes with popular culture. Examples of mainstream culture come from a Sources of Popular Culture range of genres including popular music, print, cyber culture, sports, entertainment, leisure, fads, Sources of popular culture are various. A primary advertisement, and television. source, as mentioned above, is the mass media, particularly popular music, film, television, radio, video -Sports and Television are arguably two of mainstream games, books and the internet. Advances in culture's most commonly viewed examples, and they communication also allow for greater word-of-mouth also represent two examples of mass culture with a transmission of ideas, especially through cell phones. strong staying power. Professional agencies which provide knowledge to the Representatives of all social groups play and public often influence popular culture. Such outlets watch sports but (tautologically) the majority are include the news media, science and academic journals, responsible for the immense popularity of sports. A Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor and the opinion of 'experts' from people considered to be authority in their profession Person may choose to engage in anything that is 'normal' for the sake of popularity; or they may choose a course of action off the beaten track. At times, their personality influences these 'pathfinders' of popular culture. Of course, if someone adopts a particular theme, it ceases to be original. It is becoming, famous. Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor THE ‘CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION’ TRADITION development. In many parts of the world, early civilizations formed when people began coming The Popular Culture of the majority has together in urban settlements. always been a concern of powerful minorities. Matthew Arnold's significance is that he inaugurates A civilization is any complex society a tradition, a particular way of seeing popular characterized by development of the state, social culture, a particular way of placing popular culture stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of within the general field of culture. The tradition has communication beyond natural spoken language. come to be known as the 'culture and civilization' Culture and Civilization tradition. Culture and Civilization are not opposite Leavisism is based on the assumption that towards each other, but they are different in their 'culture has always been in minority keeping': Upon nature. Culture is a creation, it’s basically individual; the minority depends people’s power of profiting by civilization is a transition from the creation (culture) to the finest human experience of the past; they keep the acquisition and conservation of cultural results for alive the subtlest and most perishable parts of everybody. There is no civilization without culture. tradition. Civilization is its natural and necessary extension; it While in the organic community everyday allows to replicate cultural patterns and to create culture was a constant support to the health of the conditions for further creation in the form of stabilization individual, in mass civilization one must make a of social relations for future generations. So, civilization conscious and directed effort to avoid the unhealthy as a sustainable socio-cultural formation realizes influence of everyday culture. The anxieties of the various functions. 'culture and civilization' tradition are anxieties about Civilization is much larger than a culture. It is a social and cultural extension: how to deal with complex aggregate made up of many things out of challenges to cultural and social exclusivity. which one aspect is culture. Therefore, the key Culturalism difference between culture and civilization is that culture exists within a civilization whereas a civilization can be Culturalism is the idea that individuals are made up of several cultures. determined by their culture, that these cultures form closed, organic wholes, and that the individual is unable According to anthropologists of 19th century, to leave his or her own culture but rather can only culture developed earlier while civilization was created realize him or herself within it. Culturalism also later. Civilization is a state of cultural development that maintains that cultures have a claim to special rights is well advanced. Moreover, a culture can exist by itself, and protections – even if at the same time they violate but a civilization cannot be identified as a civilization if it individual rights. does not have a certain culture. Another difference between culture and civilization is that culture exists in Culturalism as a Political Ideology both tangible and intangible forms, whereas civilization is more or less tangible. The culturalism of today, in which culture becomes a political ideology, Culturalism has an entire range of Mass culture in America: the post-war debate categories in common with nationalism; indeed, nationalism in reality constitutes a subvariant of After the end of the Second World War, American culturalism, in which a single culture provides the basis intellectuals got involved in a debate about so- called for the state. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise mass culture. Androw Ross considers “mass” as “one that the present nationalist renaissance in European of the key terms that governs the official distinction politics makes use of culturalist ideas to a great extent. between American / Unamerican. He argues that the cultural authority of American intellectuals and the Civilization containment policy of the Cold War attempted to maintain a healthy body politic form. Bernard A civilization is a complex human society, Rosenberg claims that the “dehumanizing effects of usually made up of different cities, with certain mass cultures” undermined the material wealth and characteristics of cultural and technological well-being of the American society. He argues that Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor  mass culture not only has a harmful effect on social products and entertainment geared to their needs and taste but it also “brutalizes our senses while paving the interests. way to totalitarianism”. White defends American mass culture by comparing it with aspects of the popular The baby boomers developed a greater generational culture of the past and contending that every society consciousness than previous generations. They sought has had its own troubling forms of mass culture. to define and redefine their identities in numerous ways. The music of the day, especially rock and roll, reflected Today, the world is fast becoming a global village, with their desire to rebel against adult authority. Other forms many countries enjoying a multicultural of 1950s popular culture, such as movies and environment. Understanding different cultures is not television, sought to entertain, while reinforcing values only critical, but it also promotes ample coexistence. such as religious faith, patriotism, and conformity to societal norms. As we learn about diverse cultures, worth noting is that all of us are individuals. Rather than generalizing, Rocking around the clock treat each other as an individual. Doing so will go a long way in creating a better environment where we can all In the late 1940s, some white country musicians began thrive. In this article, we shall discuss culture and to experiment with the rhythms of the blues, a decades- determine why understanding diverse groups is old musical genre of rural southern black people. This critical. Read and learn. experimentation led to the creation of a new musical form known as rockabilly; by the 1950s, rockabilly had Popular culture and mass media in the 1950s developed into rock and roll. In the 1950s, financial prosperity allowed young Rock and roll music celebrated themes such as young Americans to participate in a shared culture of rock and love and freedom from the oppression of middle-class roll music, movies, and television. society. It quickly grew in favor among American teens during the 1950s, thanks largely to the efforts of disc In the 1950s and 1960s, young Americans had more jockey Alan Freed. Freed named and popularized rock disposable income and enjoyed greater material and roll by playing it on the radio in Cleveland—where comfort than their forebears, which allowed them to he also organized the first rock and roll concert—and devote more time and money to leisure activities and later in New York. the consumption of popular culture. Rock and roll, a new style of music which drew The theme of rebellion against authority, present in inspiration from African American blues music, many rock and roll songs, appealed to teens. In 1954, embraced themes popular among teenagers, such as rock group Bill Haley and His Comets provided youth young love and rebellion against authority. with an anthem for their rebellion with the song ”Rock In the 1950s, the relatively new technology Around the Clock.” The song, used in the 1955 of television began to compete with motion pictures as movie Blackboard Jungle about a white teacher at a a major form of popular entertainment. troubled inner-city high school, seemed to be calling for teens to declare their independence from adult control. The postwar boom and popular culture Haley illustrated how white artists could take musical In the aftermath of World War II, the United States motifs from African American musicians and achieve emerged as the world's leading industrial power. mainstream success. Teen heartthrob Elvis Generous government support for education and home Presley rose to stardom doing the same. Thus, besides loans coupled with a booming economy meant that encouraging a feeling of youthful rebellion, rock and roll Americans in the postwar era had more discretionary also began to tear down color barriers in popular income than ever before. culture, as white youths sought out African American musicians such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard. In the 1950s and 1960s, the bumper crop of children born after World War II, known collectively as the baby While youth had found an outlet for their feelings and boomers, grew into teenagers and young adults. As the concerns, their parents were much less enthused about largest single generation up until that point in American rock and roll and the rebellion and sexuality it seemed history, the baby boomers had a tremendous effect on to promote. Many regarded the music as a threat to popular culture thanks to their sheer numbers. Starting American values. When Elvis Presley appeared on The as early as the 1940s, savvy marketers identified the Ed Sullivan Show, a popular television variety program, baby boomers as a target demographic and marketed the camera deliberately focused on his torso and did Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor not show his swiveling hips or legs shaking in time to of the Body Snatchers—about a small town whose the music. inhabitants fall prey to space aliens—played on audience fears of both Communist invasion and nuclear Despite adults’ dislike of the genre, or perhaps because technology. of it, more than 68 percent of the music played on the radio in 1956 was rock and roll. Hollywood on the defensive The triumph of television At first, Hollywood encountered difficulties in adjusting By far the greatest challenge to Hollywood, however, to the post-World War II environment. Although came from the relatively new medium of television. domestic audiences reached a record high in 1946 and Although the technology had been developed in the late the war’s end meant expanding international markets 1920s, through much of the 1940s only a fairly small, too, the groundwork for the eventual dismantling of the wealthy audience had access to it. As a result, traditional "studio system" was laid in 1948 in a programming had been limited. landmark decision by the US Supreme Court. Previously, film studios had owned their own movie With the post-World War II economic boom, however, theater chains in which they exhibited the films they all this changed. By 1955, half of all American homes produced; however, in United States v. Paramount had a television. Pictures, Inc., this vertical integration of the industry— the complete control by one firm of the production, Various types of programs were broadcast on the distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures—was handful of major networks: situation comedies, variety deemed a violation of antitrust laws. programs, game shows, soap operas, talk shows, medical dramas, adventure series, cartoons, and police Hollywood also felt the strain of Cold War fears. procedurals. The House Un-American Activities Committee hearings targeted suspected Communists Many comedies presented an idealized image of white in Hollywood. When Senator Joseph McCarthy called suburban family life: happy housewife mothers, wise eleven “unfriendly witnesses” to testify before Congress fathers, and mischievous but not dangerously rebellious about Communism in the film industry in October 1947, children were constants on shows like Leave It to only playwright Bertolt Brecht answered questions. The Beaver and Father Knows Best in the late 1950s. other 10, who refused to testify, were cited for contempt These shows also reinforced certain perspectives on of Congress on November 24. The next day, film the values of individualism and family—values that executives declared that the so-called “Hollywood Ten” came to be redefined as “American” in opposition to would no longer be employed in the industry until they alleged Communist collectivism. had sworn, they were not Communists. Westerns, which stressed unity in the face of danger Eventually, more than three hundred actors, and the ability to survive in hostile environments, were screenwriters, directors, musicians, and other popular too. Programming designed specifically for entertainment professionals were placed on the children began to emerge with shows such as Captain industry blacklist. Some never worked in Hollywood Kangaroo, Romper Room, and The Mickey Mouse again; others directed films or wrote screenplays under Club designed to appeal to members of the baby boom. assumed names. Andre Ross (1989)- Following the 2nd world war, Hollywood reacted aggressively to these various America experienced the temporary success of a cultural challenges. Filmmakers tried new techniques, like and political consensus supposedly based on liberalism, CinemaScope and Cinerama, which allowed movies to pluralism, and classlessness. Until its collapse in the be shown on large screens and in 3-D. Audiences were agitation for black civil rights, the formation of the drawn to movies not because of gimmicks, however, counterculture, the opposition to America’s war in but because of the stories they told. Dramas and Vietnam, the women’s liberation movement and the romantic comedies continued to be popular fare for campaign for gay and lesbian rights, it was a consensus adults. dependent to a large extent on the cultural authority of American intellectuals. To appeal to teens, studios produced large numbers of horror films and movies starring music idols such as Bernard Rosenberg- He argues that the material wealth Elvis. Many films took espionage, a timely topic, as their and well-being of American society are being damaged subject matter, and science fiction hits such as Invasion by the dehumanizing effects of mass culture. Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor David White- He observes that the critics of mass of them seem odd or unusual to someone with a different culture take a very negative view of contemporary culture? American society. He maintains that critics romanticize the past in order to castigate the present. For example: do you take your shoes off when you go inside? It’s a simple thing, but it’s a huge marker of Dwight Macdonald- Mass culture undermines the culture! In Japan, you would never go inside without vitality of culture. It is parasitic culture, feeding on high swapping your outdoor shoes for slippers, whereas in the culture, while offering nothing in return. United States, many people don’t bother taking their Earnest Van Den Haag- Mass culture is the inevitable shoes off when they come in. outcome mass society and mass production: in many individuals tastes, the mass-produced article violates These aren’t always easy questions to answer, but each into their respects. stopping to think about them is so important to understanding your place in the world, which will help Edward Shills- He rejects completely the erroneous you understand other people better, too. idea that twentieth century is a period of severe Learn intellectual deterioration and that this alleged deterioration is a product of a mass culture. Maybe you’ve recently met someone from a different THE CULTURE OF OTHER PEOPLE culture that you find interesting, or you’re just curious to learn about how different people live. There are so many How to show respect towards people from other ways to learn about differences cultures As you get older, you’ll meet a wider range of people Make friends. Get to know your friends’ families from diverse cultures – not just from around the world, and see how their customs and traditions differ but sometimes within your own town or country! If you from yours. You might be surprised to find how culturally different two people living even in the haven’t met many people whose backgrounds are very same town can be! different from yours, it can be hard to know how to respectfully engage with their culture. This guide offers Talk to people. When you meet people from a some tips for learning more about them, and about different culture, ask them about their lives. But yourself. be polite about it and remember that they don’t ‘Culture’ is a complex idea. We often use the term to owe you an answer, and might not want to give refer to things like food, holidays, clothing, music, and it - not everyone wants to explain everything religion, but it also goes much deeper than that. about their culture, and if they’re a minority in the Behaviours, customs, beliefs, and values are also part of area, they might get asked the same questions your culture. So when we meet people from different a lot. Only ask if you have genuine interest in backgrounds, we can sometimes find that there are big them as a person, not just as an example of their differences in how we see the world, even if we dress in culture. a similar way or speak the same language. Read. Seek out books by and about people who Know your own culture are different from you. Memoirs, biographies, and other nonfiction books are an obvious way One of the best ways to understand other people’s to learn about the facts of a country or cultures is to first examine your own. Most of us take our someone’s life, but also try to read novels that background for granted, and don’t even realize that our have been translated from other languages or customs and beliefs might seem strange to someone written by people who might have a very else. If you think of your own way of life as the default different perspective on life in your own country. and everyone else’s as a strange variation, it’s hard to approach those differences with respect. Watch movies. Like with books, you can watch documentaries and nonfiction series, but check What are your beliefs about the world, and about how out other kinds of films, too. You get a more people should treat each other? Are any of them varied and nuanced perspective on a culture by informed by your own culture and the way you were seeing the kinds of fictional stories they tell. brought up? What behaviors define you, and would any Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor  Listen to radio shows and podcasts. Radio Differences between us are what make life so and podcasts often feature people in more interesting. So, embrace the differences informal conversation, which is another great between yourself and your friends from different way to get an insider’s perspective on a different cultures - but remember that what is a culture. fascinating difference to you is just their normal life! Travel. Immersing yourself in a completely different culture through travel is an amazing The best way to respect people from other way to understand how different other ways of cultures is to strike a balance between curiosity life can be. But even if you don’t have the time and appreciation: ask questions if your friends or money to visit different countries, you can find are open to it, but also learn how to just silently pockets of other cultures in your hometown. observe and appreciate the differences that Wherever you live, there are probably immigrant make us unique. communities or neighbourhoods with their own cultural heritage. How do you Build Relationship with people from other Cultures? Don’t stereotype There are many ways that people can learn about other Sometimes, learning a lot about a different people's cultures and build relationships at the same culture through books, movies, or even travel time. Here are some steps you can take. They are first and friends can lead you into a different trap: listed, and then elaborated upon one at a time. stereotyping. Make a conscious decision to establish You may think you know a lot about a culture or friendships with people from other cultures. place, and sometimes that can make it tempting Put yourself in situations where you will meet to show off your knowledge when you meet people of other cultures. someone from that background… but it’s a Examine your biases about people from other problem to assume that everyone from one cultures. particular culture has the same perspectives and Ask people questions about their cultures, experiences. These assumptions can be pretty customs, and views. small and harmless - for example, not every Read about other people's culture's and Jewish person was raised observing kosher histories dietary restrictions, and not every English Listen to people tell their stories person loves football - but they can also be Notice differences in communication styles and harmful, if your assumptions about someone’s values; don't assume that the majority's way is traditions or beliefs lead you to pre-judge or the right way discriminate against them. Risk making mistakes Learn to be an ally. These assumptions make people feel like you don’t see them as a human or an individual, just as a representative of an exotic culture. You’d be annoyed if someone thought they knew everything about you based on where you’re from or who your parents are, so don’t do it to other people - even if you think you understand their culture really well. Observe Without Judgment Pay attention to how people behave without judging the behavior (e.g., avoid thinking “Oh, that’s poor taste,’ “It’s low class,” or “How ignorant”). Appreciate the differences Prepared by: Mr. Lynard A. Dela Cruz Instructor