Do you agree with anthropologist, Ruth Benedict that we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs and impossibilities are shaped by our culture? If so, how can we break through the limits of our cultures?
Good question. Yes, I believe we form habits from our culture that we do not notice but are noticed from people of other cultures. Of course we do it common to adapt social norms from the area we grow up and live in. The thing that I would find interesting is how we accept it all as part of us and how people use this to better communicate within our society. We live in a media junkie society or at least I did where we are bombarded with thousands of advertisements and trends that are changing faster every year. Spending time away from my original culture I can see many trends that I found common to me that are not common here in Buenos Aires. I have not driven a car in months or watched television for more than a few minutes. I can truly say I feel like I am in great shape now than I was three months ago. I also use words that people do not commonly use in their daily vocabulary. Religion is the same here I do not find much of a difference less and less people are attending church but are still considering themselves catholics at heart. Culture has a lot to do with the media but also a lot with the people we spend out time with. The bay area is very diverse these days but within a few months social norms form amongst us all and I feel like the law, education, job ethics, social norms and advertisements play roles shaping who we are. So yes breaking through our limits of our culture comes from stepping outside the box.
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Hi DREWSJSU,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you said that we are a media junkie society. Unfortunately, media seems to play a huge role in our culture and deciding what our culture is based upon.
Also, I like what you mentioned about religion. I lived in Italy a few years ago, and although not as many people attending mass as much as I thought, the Catholic religion still played a huge part in their lives. It seemed that even if they did not practice the religion they still considered it a part of them and their culture.
I think the best way to see how big of a part culture plays in defining who you are is by taking yourself out of your religion and placing yourself in someone elses, as you have.
Good post!