Describe a cultural product or practice and reflect upon the cultural perspective(s) it illustrates.
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Describe a cultural product or practice and reflect upon the cultural perspective(s) it illustrates.
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Bollywood is an essential part of Indian culture. It is very famous among Indians and is quickly gaining popularity, especially among western people. While it seems that Bollywood movies often have the same plot, this is not completely true. There are though some mainpoints every Indian film has to elaborate in the movie. These points are called Rasas and are emotions. The 9 Rasas consist of: Love, laughter, sorrow, anger, energy, terror, disgust and astonishment. One can also say, that Bollywood movie are art as every film elaborates those emotions in a different way. Although it was traditionally taboo to include kissing and sex scenes, those restrictions are more and more lifted in more modern movies.
In my eyes, Bollywood movies illustrate the cultural diversity of Inida very well. India was and still is a conservative country, where traditions have great value. This concept of honoring values can be seen in Bollywood movies too. Also, Bollywood movies often transmit a kind of utopia state, where everyone suddenly dances and weares fancy clothes. This utopia is simply not reality for the vast majority of Indians as there are many poor people. However, watching Bollywood movies makes me happy because most of them transport an optimistic perception of life. And when I travel India, I feel that people there seem to happier and more satisfied with what they have compared to people in Austria.
In Korea, going under the knife is an extremely common practice. This is especially true in Seoul where residents are mainly from the middle or upper class. And so they are able to afford it compared to the lower class. Appearance means everything to Koreans than any other culture. First impressions are the most important. They always have to look nice and kept together. If someone isn't, they will directly say so. Koreans are very honest and direct when it comes to appearances. This is true for surgery as well. If they think a person needs to get surgery to make something look better, they will tell that person directly. Generally, Koreans don't hold back when giving criticisms.
At some point in their lives, Koreans will have undergone surgery at least once. The more common surgery in Korea today among people who can afford it though, which is especially true for all Asian countries, is the surgery for the double eyelid. Koreans generally have small eyes and so to make themselves look more like Western people, they will get surgery to give their eyes the appearance that they are big.
However people in media such as actors, actresses, singers, beauty pageant contestants are the ones who have done the most surgeries. Appearance is extremely crucial to them and they have a lot of pressure on them to ensure that they do maintain an ideal appearance. There was an article a couple years ago that talked about the South Korea beauty pageant. In the beauty pageant, majority of the contestants looked so much alike. There wasn't really much distinction among them if you disregarded their clothes. The contestants had the same facial features and expressions. Their eyes looked the same. Reading the article, I found myself trying to look for contestants that were different.
Getting surgeries done indicates that appearance is a cultural value for Koreans, same way as speed and efficiency is for the U.S. It also indicates that Western cultures have played an important role in shaping Korean culture to the way it is now. A good example of this is the double eyelid surgery, which is generally common among Westerners (double eyelid, not the surgery).
My cultural presentation was about Korean nightlife. I thought that this would be an interesting topic that may broaden some people's cultural views. There is a general misconception that Asian people are quiet, submissive and therefore don't really have a voice or opinion. This is, of course, a stereotype. One can see in my presentation how Korean nightlife is anything but boring or quiet. Koreans have a huge work hard/play hard mentality. After class meeting, students oftentimes go out for a drink with friends on any given day. Interestingly enough, Koreans drink twice as much as Russians and four times as much as Americans as seen in this article I found (http://qz.com/171191/south-koreans-drink-twice-as-much-liquor-as-ru...).
Unlike the US, pubs in Korea are open until 4am and clubs are open until 7am. Cafes as well as convenience stores are open 24/7 so anyone can drop in for a drink or snack. A big part of Korean culture relates to its constantly evolving entertainment industry. Korean pop music is monumental there and has also become a hot commodity in the US with American producers like will.i.am working with K-pop groups such as 2NE1. In my presentation, I also discussed drinking culture in relation to social events, types of drinks, and the general lack of drinking restrictions for underage people in Korea. My goal was to enlighten my audience by showing this new, cultural perspective about a topic that is relatable to many people.
I will be talking about Noraebang, or the popular karaoke culture in Korea. Noraebangs are held in sound-proof rooms of varying sizes where groups of friends and families can go to have private karaoke sessions. This way, you do not have to sing in front of large crowds and strangers. Noraebang rooms are usually equipped with a television, remote controls, speakers, microphones, seating arrangements, and a book containing lists of songs in English, Korean and sometimes even other east Asian languages. You can order food and drinks at some noraebangs as well. Noraebang is a popular pastime in Korea, and is spreading to other countries as well, especially owing to the escalating popularity of Korean music.
In contemporary Korea, funerals are usually help in funeral home in hospitals and last for around three days so that family and friends from other cities ca visit and pay their respects. Throughout the funeral, the immediate family rarely leaves the side of the deceased.
The funeral homes are always located in hospitals and are run very efficiently. At the entrance of the funeral home, there is a spot to rent funeral clothing, a shop selling urns and coffins, and an area to order flower arrangements. Several funerals van take place at the same time in different funeral homes of the hospital. As a result, they lack privacy and are sometimes quite loud. Those who come to the funerals need to sign their names in a guestbook. It is also customary for guests to bring monetary offering at funerals, which is handed at the entrance in a white envelope. This is usually done to help the family with the expenses of the funeral. The money serves as a type of insurance and the amount offered is noted so that it can be reimbursed during future funerals or weddings.
The coffin of the deceased is usually adorned with flowers and a single picture. If the family is Christian, a 90 degree bow is given at first to the deceased, then to the other family members. If the family follows Confucius customs, it would be more appropriate to bow by touching the head to the ground.
The family members of the deceased dress in black as well those who come to pay their respects at the funeral. The women wear a hanbok and the men wear a suit with a hemp arm band. The oldest son is responsible for welcoming visitors and making sure that customs were carried out properly. It is also common for the family members to express their sorrow very strongly by sobbing, shouting and hysterical behavior. In fact, funerals are one of the few times that Koreans show their emotions. Moreover, how much one cries indicates how faithful a spouse or how filial a child is to the deceased. After offering condolences, guests sit at a table where they are served food and alcohol. People usually stay for half hour so at the funeral. The typical conversation at funerals is small talk and the subject of death is absolutely avoided.
The deceased is buried at a plot with several unknown people for a period of 50 years. Traditionally Koreans buried their loved ones in mounds in mountains. However, as land is becoming sparse, the 50 year law was developed.
Following the burial, preparations for mesa, memorial rites are made. Family members visit the place of burial on death anniversaries as well as during special holidays. The place is also cleaned and well maintained so that the spirit is happy. When people visit the place of burial, they bow, offer food and say prayers to the ancestors.
Interestingly, due to the busy schedule of people and traffic, traveling to the grounds has become burdensome in recent years. As a result, some companies offer unique service such as virtual ancestral worship in which a video camera is set up at the graves so that the rituals can be performed without leaving the house.
Although over the years the Korean funeral practices have changed, the faithfulness Koreans have to their loved ones is constant. Koreans work hard and with a lot of dedication and commitment to pay their respects to their ancestors. This shows the importance of family in Korean culture.
One aspect of India that is central to it's rich culture, is India's cuisine. There are a wide variety of dishes, each with delicious spices that add the unique flavor to the food. Due to India's Dharmic beliefs, a majority of Indians are vegetarians, leaving chillies and potatoes a popular item in the Indian diet. Indian food has been influenced by various civilizations over time. Indian food is best known for its eclectic collection of spices. In India, cooking is considered an art. Mothers start teaching their daughters how to cook at a young age. Most meals comprise of many dishes that include rice, vegetables, and curries. Foods are generally made out of fresh ingredients. Some of the most famous Indian dishes include biriyani, chicken tikki masala, butter chicken, and palak paneer.
Does Indian cuisine vary by region?
My cultural presentation focused on meal and drinking etiquette in Korea. When beginning a meal, it is important to wait to be seated. Always wait for the oldest people to sit down before you take a seat at the table. Before eating, especially when you are a guest, it is also polite to say that you are looking forward to the meal (jalmukesumneda/I will eat well). Just like it was important to sit down after elders, it is also important not to begin eating until the oldest person has started. When eating, eat at the same pace as everyone else, especially the elders; and never blow your nose at the meal or hold the bowl. This was interesting to me because as a Chinese-American, it has always been normal to lift my bowl when I ate. Everyone in a Chinese household has a rice bowl at the table and adds whatever entree they want to mix in with their meal.
When refilling your drink, it is important to pour drinks for others first, especially those senior to you. It is also impolite to refuse offers of alcohol from elders. Accept the drink with both hands. When pouring drinks for elders, rest your free hand under your wrist of your pouring hand. Finally, when you are done eating your meal, it is important to thank the host for the meal (masegaemugusuyo/I ate well). Make sure you do not leave leftovers! It is rude not to finish your plate!
I think for my cultural presentation I'm going to talk about the norms and customs around dating. Between the presentations Malory and I did last year I think we have covered a lot about Swedish culture but to my knowledge we have not discussed extensively the topic of dating. It is interesting to me, as I continue to learn Swedish, that much of their culture is embedded/can be evidenced in their language. For instance, Swedes do not place a high value on marriage. They believe in long-term, committed relationships but the actually ceremony and signing of a piece of paper doesn't mean much to them (go figure!). Therefore, much like we would say in English that someone has a "live-in girlfriend" or they have a "common law marriage" there is a word in Swedish for the relationship that two people have when they have lived together for a long time and are committed but have not gotten married and they probably don't care to (the word is sambo and two people in this relationship would be called samboer). In addition to not marrying, Swedes also don't really date. They meet people through friends or work and often become samboer with these people but very rarely do they go on dates like we do in America. For instance a Swede would never bump into a stranger, ask that person out on a date, pick this stranger up at their house, and then eat a meal with said stranger (I think I like their logic!). This fits with the stereotype that Swedes are kind of shy and don't like to stand out in a crowd because it takes a very strong personality to basically go out on a blind date. (Also, as a side note, Swedes don't really pick their dates up and drive to places because most Swedes take public transportation with their friends when they go out.) Evidenced in their language, the Swedes don't even really have a word for date. Sometimes they might say "dateum" but that's just an English word that they kind of Swedified in order to explain a phenomenon that Americans do. So maybe this cultural presentation will be both informative and maybe even help someone get a Swedish boyfriend or girlfriend. :)
For my cultural presentation I focused on Israeli cuisine. I learned that Israel is a melting pot of different surrounding cultures' food customs, incorporating popular Middle Eastern, European, and Mediterranean dishes into their own cuisine. Some popular Israeli dishes include couscous, baklavach, hummus, and felafel. Israel's geography and climate dictates a lot of what foods Israel produces. Israel has a temperate climate and since it is by the sea it is able to produce a lot of fresh fish, milk, cheese, yogurt, grapes, olives, figs, zucchinis, etc. Judaism is the national religion of Israel thus Jewish foods and food customs such as keeping kosher also influence Israeli cuisine. Most restaurants observe kosher rules and will not mix milk and meet in dishes and they will often be closed in observance of Shabbat. Because Israel is a relatively newer country- only 76 years old, I think it makes sense that it doesn't really have a distinct cuisine but rather incorporates aspects of its' natural produce, surrounding regions cuisine, and religious foods into creating its own food culture.
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