Culture, Ethnocentrism and Schindler's List
Culture, Ethnocentrism and
Schindler’s List
Jacquelyn Ricker
SSCI210-1104B-06
November 20, 2011
Abstract
Culture is what we believe and how we behave. Ethnocentrism, a feature of culture, tells us that our culture is better than any others and that other cultures are inferior or have disturbing practices that differ from our own. In extreme ethnocentrism, a culture can dominate and destroy another culture just because it considers it unworthy and inferior, as seen in the movie Schindler’s List.
Culture, Ethnocentrism and Schindler’s List Culture is made up of values, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics customary to the individuals who are a part of a certain group or society. It is how we define and mold ourselves to our society’s shared principles, enabling us to contribute to our society. But until we experience another culture different from our own, we are not even aware of what characteristics make up ours. In most cases, we do not acknowledge our culture until another individual breaches one or our traditions, or we disregard someone else’s. If a person takes into consideration another culture’s standards and behaviors and understands that there is no right or wrong between the two cultures, then that person has reached cultural relativism. However, this is difficult to do as it is common for all people everywhere to place their own culture patterns at the center of things, no matter which culture he or she is a part of. When people do this, cultural conflicts are initiated, as seen in the movie Schindler’s List, which portrays a nearly textbook example of extreme ethnocentrism. One of the features of any culture, ethnocentrism is the practice of judging another culture based on the standards of one’s own culture (Macionis & Plummer, 2010). When a person evaluates another culture, that culture’s traditions, customs, language, and other racial practices are compared to his or her own, and finds those people to be inferior
Schindler’s List
Jacquelyn Ricker
SSCI210-1104B-06
November 20, 2011
Abstract
Culture is what we believe and how we behave. Ethnocentrism, a feature of culture, tells us that our culture is better than any others and that other cultures are inferior or have disturbing practices that differ from our own. In extreme ethnocentrism, a culture can dominate and destroy another culture just because it considers it unworthy and inferior, as seen in the movie Schindler’s List.
Culture, Ethnocentrism and Schindler’s List Culture is made up of values, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics customary to the individuals who are a part of a certain group or society. It is how we define and mold ourselves to our society’s shared principles, enabling us to contribute to our society. But until we experience another culture different from our own, we are not even aware of what characteristics make up ours. In most cases, we do not acknowledge our culture until another individual breaches one or our traditions, or we disregard someone else’s. If a person takes into consideration another culture’s standards and behaviors and understands that there is no right or wrong between the two cultures, then that person has reached cultural relativism. However, this is difficult to do as it is common for all people everywhere to place their own culture patterns at the center of things, no matter which culture he or she is a part of. When people do this, cultural conflicts are initiated, as seen in the movie Schindler’s List, which portrays a nearly textbook example of extreme ethnocentrism. One of the features of any culture, ethnocentrism is the practice of judging another culture based on the standards of one’s own culture (Macionis & Plummer, 2010). When a person evaluates another culture, that culture’s traditions, customs, language, and other racial practices are compared to his or her own, and finds those people to be inferior
References: Cross-cultural/International communication. (2011). Encyclopedia of Business (2nd ed.). Retrieved November 18, 2011, from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/ Co-Di/Cross-Cultural-International-Communication.html Macionis, J., & Plummer, K. (2010). Sociology: A global introduction (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993). Schindler’s List [Motion Picture]. United States: Universal Pictures