~ Martin Luther King, Jr
I can't find a better way to start this post other than to show you a short clip of the following movie.
Going back to the clip shown earlier, we can see clearly the conflict caused by the cultural differences.
Jake Sully: Look, I know you probably don't understand this... but, thank you.
[Neytiri ignores him and speaks in Na'vi]
Jake Sully: Thank you.
Neytiri: [Speaks in Na'vi]
Jake Sully: That was pretty impressive. I would have been screwed if you hadn't come along.
[Neytiri stands up and leaves. Jake follows her]
Jake Sully: Hey, wait a second! Where are you goin'? Wait up! Just, hey, slow down! I just wanted to say thanks for killing those things...
[Neytiri hits him with her bow]
Jake Sully: AH! Damn!
Neytiri: Don't thank. You don't thank for this! This is sad. Very sad only.
Jake Sully: Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I'm sorry.
Neytiri: All this is your fault. They did not need to die.
Jake Sully: My fault? They attacked me! How am I the bad guy?
Neytiri: Your fault! Your fault.
Jake Sully: Easy. Easy...
Neytiri: You are like a baby. Making noise, don't know what to do.
Jake, being in a foreign land for the first time lacked the cultural knowledge and values of the native Na'vis. He thought that the killing of the creatures was necessary when his life was threatened and thanked Neytiri for saving him. However, to Neytiri, it was a tragedy that could have been avoided if Jake had understood that every life on that that planet were interconnected and each sought to live harmoniously. Honestly, I was quite taken back by Neytiri's reaction because just like Jake, I had no idea who the Na'vis were or how they lived. I think the same will apply to us when we meet someone new with a different cultural and social background.
Breaking such a communication barrier is not easy. It is not just about reading up on another person's culture on wikipedia. I think to get a really good understanding, one must immerse him/herself into the culture of others, much like what was shown in the movie. One would then be able to experience and learn much more as there is someone to impart the knowledge first-hand.
Through such cultural exchange, mutual understanding and tolerance can be fostered in individuals. This is extremely important for the multi-racial and cultural society of Singapore to avoid events such as the 1964 & 1969 racial riot.
Through such cultural exchange, mutual understanding and tolerance can be fostered in individuals. This is extremely important for the multi-racial and cultural society of Singapore to avoid events such as the 1964 & 1969 racial riot.
I think showing respect and being sensitive to the beliefs, customs, traditions, etc is the key to achieve peace and harmony. Not just in Singapore, but throughout the world as globalization brings people much closer together than before.
To quote Martin Luthur King Jr again, "We may all come on different ships, but we're all on the same boat now.".
To quote Martin Luthur King Jr again, "We may all come on different ships, but we're all on the same boat now.".
6 comments:
Hi Terence!
I like the quote you've posted, "We may all come on different ships, but we're all on the same boat now". Indeed, in Singapore, all of us (Malays, Indian, Chinese, Eurasian) are all on the same boat. Should there be a leak, the 4 groups must work together to mend the leak. If not, the boat sinks and all will perish together. To be able to work together to mend the leak, we must first understand the cultural differences and respect them.
I saw this on twitter. 'The panda said, "Racism is stupid. I am black, white and Asian, yet lovable". If we could all integrate different cultures into ourselves, then harmony would prevail.
Hi Shawn,
:) I like the comment! Black, White and Asian. Yes, I don't think it matters what color one's skill is in survival situations. Everyone's blood is red. Only when people put their difference aside, can they work towards achieving a common goal
Hey Terence!
I like your example used in this post- it is a very well-known movie you used for this example, yet very apt.
In addition to spending time to immerse oneself in the foreign culture, one must also have the willingness to learn and fit in, and not assume that one's own culture is the more superior one and then work towards changing the environment! I think this is the case for Jake's organization in the movie- instead of respecting and understanding the culture of the Na'vi like how Jake and the other female professor did, the organization thought themselves to be superior and used force to obtain what they wanted. The humans came to a sorry end, but doesn't it make you wonder what would have happened if the humans and the Na'vi managed to sort out their cultural differences and come to a compromise? (but then, this would mean that the movie might have been a box- office flop haha)
Hello terence!:)
YES! I believe AVATAR is really one movie that almost 90% of the people would have watched! This is really a good example to share about inter-cultural behaviors and perspective! I really like your style of blogging where you always shared a quote or photos relating to what you want to share with us in your blog post :D thanks for the efforts terter(haha)!
I believe communication barrier is often the hardest to overcome as we need to communicate to express and convey our perceptions to our receiver. haha still remember our first lesson to effective communication? :) yup, only when the receiver can relate to what the speaker is trying to convey successfully, an effective communication is forged. I agree with you that breaking a language barrier is never easy.
I guess only through making an effort and having the willingness to understand, learn and respect one and other’s culture would be the fundamentals to break that barrier! :D
Doris: Thank you for your comment. Yes, I think it would be a box office flop if they managed to sort out their difference at the start of the movie *laughs*.
Huiting =) : Thank you for your compliment! Its an encouragement for me to come with even better post. Probably a grand finale for the last post ;P.
Doris + ting: If you do an in depth analysis of the movie, it actually contains a lot of hidden messages that it wants to portray to the audience.
1)The rare metal "unobtainium" could actually be representing natural resources like oil and first world countries are trying to exploit the less developed countries for it.
2)Technological advancement vs mother nature
What other themes can you think of?
Thank you for the comment John!
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