英语论文

The Cultural Stereotyping Analysis on the Movie “Babel”-from a perspective of intercultural communication Background of this studyWith the rapid globalization of economy，interculturalcommunication spreads on an unprecedented scale. It becomes one of the most important means for cultural interactions. Under this multicultural condition，intercultural communication is quickly growing among different groups. Conflicts among people from different races and cultural backgrounds are inevitable as long as communication exists.Conflicts reveal that stereotyping is one of the main barriers in cultural communication, which may lead to people’s intention to change the thought patterns and life styles of others.America is a big melting pot of different races and different cultures，it has severeracial problems. Different values and ethnocentrism lead to the conflicts among the colored and the white of different cultural groups.In today’s American, for most colored people, Martin Luther King’s famous saying that children “will judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”remains unpractical because stereotyping always exists in subtle and obvious ways from political, economic and cultural institutions to people’s daily int eractions. People in these institutions image many groups, such as Asian Americans, Latinos or Arab, into fixed and simple categories. Those people’s socialization is influenced by factors such as religion, culture, gender and language.For example, although Chinese Americans have lived in American continent over one hundred years, they are still treated unfairly today. There still exist some stereotypes about Chinese Americans in the America society. Chinese Americans have always been on a marginalized position in the American society.Stereotyping is not only a problem in the United States. Many studies point out that stereotyping is throughout all over the world, from a big organization to a kid. Although stereotyping exists for many reasons, experts seem to agree that at its core racism is driven by “culture, economics, psychology and history.”Key conceptLippmann, who called attention to stereotyping as early as 1922, indicated that Stereotypes were a means of organizing your images into fixed and simple categories that you use to stand for an entire collection of people.Lippmann also held that many stereotypes were provided by the mass media, especially the television, it has been guilty of providing distorted images of many ethnic groups,. As wood offers “media most often represents boys and men as active, adventurous, powerful, sexually aggressive, and represents girls and women as young, thin, beautiful, passive, dependent, and often incompetent.First, stereotypes are a kind of filter-they only allow in information that is consistent with information already held by the individual. In this way, what might be the truth is never given a chance. For example, the stereotype of women as homemakers often keeps women from advancing in the workplace.Second, it is not the act of classifying that creates intercultural problems; rather, it is assuming that all culture-specific information applies to all individuals from the cultural group. Stereotypes assume that all members of a group have exactly the same traits.Third，stereotypes also keep many people from being successful as communicators because they are oversimplified, exaggerated, and over generalized.Fourth, stereotypes are resistant to change. Because stereotypes are usually developed early in life, repeated and reinforced by the in-group, they grow in intensity each passing year. In fact, contact between in-group and out-group often only buttresses the stereotype.The plot of this movieThestorystarts froma Moroccodesert, two Morocco boys wanted totestifythe scope of a shotgun, which was from their father to preventthejackalfromattacking their flockof sheep. Theyoungerboyshotatouringbus. An American woman Susan was hit by thebulletonher neck.Susanhadjustlost her thirdchild. Inorder to remove her stronggrief and saveher endangeredmarriage, she and her husband Richard choseto go to Moroccofora trip. During the waitingfortherescue, Susan was tooktoanearbyvillage，where she received some treatment from an oldwomanandaveterinary. Richardasked Americanembassyfor help. Then the two boys were regarded as terrorists and arrested.At the same time, the couple’s two childrenwasleftin California and lookedafterbytheir MexicanbabysitterAmelia.Amelia was going to attendherson’s wedding but couldn’tfindanyonetolookafter the two kids, so she decidedtotakethem to the wedding. After viewing atraditional Mexicanweddingandalively pictureoftheirlifestyleand habits, conflicts cameout. Intheirway backhome, because of twowhite childrenonthebackseat, the Americanfrontier policesuspectedthetwo Mexican people kidnapping thetwochildren and insistedon searchingtheir car. In consequencethe babysitter’s nep hew, the driver, brokethroughand terhedropped the three inthemid-wayandlefttheminthedesert. Fortunatelytheyweresaved finally.Another story was about a Japanesebusinessman, theshotgun’s owner,and hisdeaf-mutedaughter. The man donated his shotguntoa local touristguide(latertheguidesoldittothe two boys’ father)afterhishuntingin North Africa. To his daughter, thesuicide ofhermotherlefthersome psychological shadow.Forherdisability, shecan’tgetthelovefrom boys, so she putoff herunderwear and rebelled withtheviewofshowingherwomanly charm.Shealso seducedherdentist, beingnakedbeforea police. There was no aneffectivecommunication between her and her father. Sheusedthese rebellingwaysto outlether bitterness.Stereotypes in the filmNegative stereotypes can leadtomisunderstanding, prejudice,racismand ethnocentrism. Prejudice, it amounts to a rigid and irrational generalization about a category of people. Prejudice is irrational to the extent that people hold inflexible attitudes supported by little or on direct evidence. Prejudice may target people of a particular social class, sexual orientation, age, political affiliation, race or ethnicity.Inintercultural communicationwithstrangers, peopletendtofirst categorizesomeinformationaboutthestrangerscomingfromanotherculture,thentheymakesomekindofjudgmentsabouttheirbehavior, theyillustratetheirbehaviorsandinterprettheirmotivationIn this movie, we can clearlyseethenegative stereotype ofterrorismthatAmericanshold popularlytowardsthe Arabic people. Because of the9.11events, Americanssurelyhaveaninstinctto protectthemselves. So whentheAmericangovernmentknewthatAmericatouristwasshotin Morocco, withnoinvestigation, theyrelatedthatwithterroristorganization，which is averyseriousnegative stereotype, prejudiceanddiscrimination. The Americans putsome prejudiceontheMorocco people.Racism, in many ways, is an extension of stereotyping and prejudice, it is the belief in the inherent superiority of a particular race. It denies the basic equality of humankind and correlates ability with physical composition. Thus, it assumes that success or failure in any societal endeavor will depend upon genetic endowment rather than environment and access to opportunity. Racism allows one group of people to mistreat another group on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, or sexual preference. A more detailed explanation of the unfounded beliefs and misleading arguments behind racism is offered by Nanda and Warms: There are biological fixed races; different races have different moral, intellectual, and physical characteristics; an individual’s aptitudes are determined primarily by his or her race; races can be ranked on a single hierarchy; and political action should be taken to order society so that it reflects this hierarchy.Ethnocentrism, it is the notion that one’s own culture is superior to any other. It is the idea other cultures should be measured by the degree to which they live up to our cultural standards. We are ethnocentric when we view other cultures through the narrow lens of our own culture or social position.In the end of this movie, thebabysitterwas shipped offtohercountryMexico.Thoughshe hadworkedinAmericafor so many years, heridentity was stillillegal.Thefrontier Policealltookanegative stereotype attitudetowards Mexicans. So they searchedtheir car carefully. Especially, whentheysawthetwoAmerican children，theirnegative stereotype schema was triggered.Theirsub-consciousnesstoldthemthatthe Mexicanwas kidnapping thechildren.Theirmotivationwas wrongatfirst. So they can’tjudge fairly, iftheyquestionedthetwochildren carefullyorgavethebabysittermore chancefor explanation, theresultwillbequitedifferent.Therewould not be themisunderstandingbetweenthe frontier policeandthe nephew, whiletheconflictandhate canbeeliminatedeasily.Avoiding stereotypesTheconsequences ofstereotypes are conscious and subconscious. On one hand,stereotypesare damaging to those who are the recipients of this destructive behavior. Just like in this movie, it devalues the babysitter by denying her identity.On the other hand, it destroys the culture by creating divisions and making it less cohesive, such as the divisions between Arabic people and Americans, Mexicans and Americans in this film.Many studies show that most positive contact can diminish many of the effects of stereotyping. The assuming is that stereotypes can change when members of different groups increase their interaction with each other. Through this interaction, fictitious and negative stereotypes can be proven false. In the film end, by facing to the local people, Susan and Richard finally realized that most Morocco people were not so cruel and terrible, but kind-hearted and sincere.Another effective method trying to control stereotypes is to learn to distinguish between inflexiblestereotyping and flexible stereotyping. Inflexiblestereotyping is rigid, intransigent, and occurs almost automatically. These stereotypes are so deeply entrenched you refuse to accept perceptions that run counter to the stereotype. When you try to engage in flexible stereotyping, you begin by being aware of your tendency to engage in categorization. The two most important aspects of being flexible are “being open to new information and evidence” and “being aware of your own zone of discomfort.”The9.11eventbroughtabouthorroriesAmericaandtheWhole wordIt’s alsoasortofattributionerrorthat peopletendtounderestimatethe influenceofsituational factorsandoverestimate personal factorswhen explaining a stranger’s behavior. T he AmericangovernmentalsohasseveralbiasesthataffecttheirattributionProcess.ConsideringthetheoryofPyszezynski&Greenberg, we canseethatwhenone’s expectationsareconfirmedbystrangers’ behavior, theyrelyonstrangers’ disposition s associatedwiththeir stereotypes towardsthemanddonotbothertoconsiderother explanations fortheir behavior. So theridiculousterroristattack explanation turnedtobearesultinthismovie.What is sad but true about racism is that it seems to have been present throughout the world for thousands of years and history is full of examples. In the recent past we saw African Americans being forced to ride in the back of buses, Jews being required to wear a yellow Star of David, Japanese Americans being isolated in camps during the Second World War, American Indians having their land confiscated, and South African society divided along racial lines. Today we see manifestations of racial graffiti, property damage, intimidation, and even physical violence. There are also more subtle forms of racism such as uttering racial slurs or telling ethnic jokes. We will examine this harmful and insidious characteristic of racism so that you can work to eliminate it in your professional and private lives.Defining Racism.It is important to notice the word “superiority” built into this definition.The folly of the racist thinking described above is that it is not only unethical and cruel, but it is also constructed on false premises. It is now common knowledge, for those who are willing to be receptive to the knowledge, that “the big differences a mong humans groups are the result of culture, not biological inheritance or race. All human beings belong to the same species and the biological features essential to human life are common to us all.” Yet in spite of this truth and wisdom, racism remains a major hindrance to successful intercultural communication. Expression of Racism.As already mentioned, racism can be expressed in a variety of forms. Some of these are almost impossible to detect while others are blatant and transparent. In general these forms can be categorized as personal and institutional.Personal racism. “Personal racism consists of racist acts, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors on the part of the individual persons.” Brislin identifies four of the most common types of persons raci st views.1.Intense racism. In this form of racism, “some people believe that virtually all members ofcertain out-groups are inferior in various ways and are not able to benefit fully from society’s offerings such as educational, good jobs, and participatio n in community affairs.” This form of racism begins with the belief that certain people (those of a race different from the person making and drawing the conclusion) are inferior, and hence are perceived as being of low worth.2.Symbolic racism. Some people hold racist views because “they feel that the out-group isinterfering with important aspects of the culture.” This “interference” can be in the form of “creating problems” or “a greater economic advantage than they deserve.”3.Tokenism. Tokenism occurs when one or two individuals from a particular minority group areplaced in a large organization as symbolic representation of the entire minority group.Whether it be in the form of prejudice or racism, tokenism is difficult to detect. Normally, the minority person does not want to admit that he or she has been placed in a position because of race, ethnicity, or gender. Dominant group members will even engage in “token” activities to “prove” they are even handed in the treatment of other races.4.Arm’s Length.Brislin describes this negative behavior in the following manner: “some peopleengage in friendly, position behaviors toward out-group members in some social settings but treat those same out-group members with noticeably less warmth and friendliness in other settings.”Institutional Racism. Earlier in this section we made reference to institutional racism by noting many institutions within a particular culture engage in racist practices. Blum is more specific when he writes, “institutional racism refer s to racial inferiorizing or antipathy perpetrated by specific social institutions such as schools, corporations, hospitals, or the criminal justice system as a totality.” While “institutional racism may be intentional or unintentional,” its consequences have a detrimental effect on specific groups and society as a whole.Avoiding racism. Although views about race are deeply entrenched, there are four steps you can take to reduce racism in yourself and others.First, try to be honest with yourself if you hold some racist views. It is a simple point to state, but a difficult one to accomplish. Yet, confronting your racist views, if you hold any, is an important first step. Second, object to racist jokes ang insults whenever you hear them. This daring, and at times courageous, act will send a message to other people that you denounce racism in whatever form it may take. Third, as straightforward as it sounds, we urge you to respect freedom. The united states constitution states, “nor shall any state deprived any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” From this declaration it follows that to preserve liberty you must work to see that all individuals are free from political and social restrictions. Fourth, examine the historical roots of racism. The rationale for such an examination is clearly documented by Solomos and black when they note that before the full impact of racism can begrasped and challenge d you must be able to understand and explain “both the roots of contemporary racist ideas and movements and the sources of their current appeal.”We conclude by reminding you that racism, stereotyping, and prejudice are pervasive because they are often leaned early in life, and like much of culture, become part of your way of seeing the world. The African –American author Maya Angelou makes the same point when she writes, “the plague of racism is insidious, entering into our minds as smoothly and quietly and invisibly as floating airborne microbes enter into our bodies to find lifelong purchase in our bloodstreams.”Racial issues are becoming more and more expensive. American’s race problems give some hints for China’s harmonious development.After long-term fights of ethnic minorities against discrimination andsegregation，the United States had made a great Progress in improving ethnic relations since 1960s and the ethnic minorities had obtained some rights such as opportunities of employment and social benefits. However，there are still many ethnic issues in the American society because of racialism which was rooted in people’s mind，However, Barack Obama’s Presidency is not the end of racial discrimination in the United States. There is nothing in his governing records to prove that he will be the last and final change agent that most colored-people are assuming he will be, and his rhetoric on race is used to reinforce widespread but misguiding beliefs that systemic racism has been eliminated. At the same time, it is necessary to argue that that Mr. Obama as the first black president just presents a feel good illusion thatpeople want to embrace; the symbolic representation of racial equality or national healing that he provides is simply that—symbolic, not real. This does not equal the elimination of racial inequality. With long and rooted origins of racism, it is impossible to end the racial inequality and racial discrimination in this country. The forms of racism have been changed with development of society. Most words and behaviors associated with racial discrimination turn out to be more covert in new times. Therefore, there is no relation of cause and effect between Barack Obama’s ascending to presidency and total equality realization of colored-people.。