Today I am going to touch on the topic of culture. And I simply cannot talk about this topic without bringing up this movie-
Spanglish! This movie talks about how a divorced mother and her daughter from Mexico moved to the United States in search of a better life. Without knowing english, both of the struggled in this new environment. However, the daughter soon caught on to the language and the culture of the United States while in school. The mother on the other hand was afraid to step out and stayed within the Latina community.
However it is obvious that she cannot seclude herself forever, therefore she began looking for a higher paying job outside her community. Soon she met the well-to-do Clasky family and moved in with them to be their housekeeper. It then went on to talk about the barriers which stood in their way of communicating, and how her daughter was fitting in so well that the mother was worried that she would forget her roots.
Unable to speak english, there was a language barrier between the mother and the Clasky family. This is an example of how culture can affect communication, through language or message making. It is not only that different culture use different words to express their thoughts, but also that the thoughts they express may be different.
Another barrier cultural can cause to communication is the image or sense of self. From the movie, the Clasky family hold themselves very confidently, whereas the mother is a little more apprehensive and quiet. Culture affects the basic notions of human nature, including to the extent to which the individual self is valued, which then affect every aspect of behavior.
Thirdly, goal oriented behaviors is another barrier. Different cultures teaches different ways of pursuing goals. The Americans have relatively high achievement motivation. As seen in this film, the Clasky family is rich and well to do. Both parents are high achievers.
Forth, understanding of role relations or identities is another barrier to communication. The different cultures tells us who to be and how to act. The different categories of a culture (such as age, status, gender, etc), act differently in different cultures. In the Clasky family, the mother is very confident and a feminist. Whereas the divorced mother from Mexico is rather submissive, the opposite of the other mother. The difference in culture certainly played a role in this vast difference.
Lastly, the perception or interpretation of reality is a barrier to communication. When we perceive events, we attach values to them. Our values are a result from the culture we brought up in. In the film, the Clasky family doted on the Mexican daughter. Therefore they invited her to stay with them instead of following her mother to a trip back to Mexico. The daughter very much wanted to stay on, but her mother got angry. In this scenario, when the Clasky family invited her to stay on, they perceive this to be a friendly invite. Whereas the Mexican mother perceived this negatively as she did not want her daughter to forget her roots. Therefore different cultures have different level of sensitivity to different things. It is important to understand the cultural differences so as to avoid miscommunication as much as possible!
