Creating something new to eliminate the invisibility of culture

By Chantale JimenezCSMS Magazine Staff Writer” Much of culture is invisible” means that much of what we do as a culture is not seen.  As a society we go through motions without ever realizing what we are doing.  The same is true for our culture. Many of our motions are often not attributed to our culture.  The way an individual cooks, dances, dresses, believes in certain things are great examples.  One might think that the way certain people cook is who they are. But instead, I believe it has to do with their culture.  From the way it is cooked to the spices they are using, one can clearly see that it has been attributed to a unique tradition of doing things.  Each culture has a way in which things are done.     Many times those things go unseen or unnoticed, which therefore makes it invisible.  Once we learn about our own culture, we can begin to understand other cultures.  Learning about a culture means you begin to learn why things are done and said in a certain way.  When you begin to understand the ritualistic behaviors of your culture, it in turn makes you more aware of other people and their culture.  Instead of looking at individuals as weird for what they do, you begin to see it as a learned behavior that is a part of their culture.  Realizing that mere fact will make one a better person—more patient, more understanding and well prepared to navigate into our cross-cultural society.   A movie that I feel portrays the American character and culture to those who are not Americans would be the September 11 movie, The Twin Towers.  I feel that this movie portrays the American culture because it really shows our sense of pride for our country.  We are strong, passionate and helping. Although we are all unique and different, we stand in unison for a cause. To a person who is not American, these characteristics that come across in this movie can certainly help understand the American way of life.   From the way people were helping one another, risking their lives to save others, I feel that there are a lot of self-less jobs here in America like teachers, police officers, fire fighters, coast guard teams etc… The list could go on and on.  These jobs are ones that people do because they have a sense of wanting to help or make a difference in our society.  America is full of those opportunities; we are all given a chance to make a difference in this country.     America also is very family oriented; we rely on our ancestry to give us wisdom and knowledge.  But most of all, we rely on our family for strength and support.  This comes across in the movie when all the families come together to help and give strength to those that needed it.  All in all, I believe that The Twin Towers movie shows our American Culture to people who are not Americans.    My ideal culture name is Equalism.  I believe that the values that one holds has many influences such as school, churches, religious beliefs, society etc…  The values in my culture would be family based. It would be up to the family to teach the values of the culture, which would be generational instruction.  Meaning that it would be passed on from great-grandparents to grandparents to parents to their children and so forth.  I feel that the values one hold have a lot to do with how they were raised and the rules that were placed on them as a child.  In my culture, each individual would have different values.  The reason is that different religious groups have different beliefs; and that would make the Equalism culture pluralistic made up of various high moral standards.     The roles in my culture would be equal participation.  Every individual would contribute to every aspect of the culture.  For example, the home, the work place and religious organizations would be equally divided among the individuals.  The females would not be solely in charge of the home, just as the males would not be solely be in charge of the electrical jobs in the household. There would be no set of role for anyone; there would be no gender role either. We would all work together to get things accomplished.  Whatever one is capable of doing is what they would contribute.     The dress code in my culture would adhere to the moral teachings or instructions Equalismbecause this would be an equal society where everyone’s moral values are equal.  Therefore a dress code would not be necessary because we would hold each other accountable for proper attire.  As previously discussed in my culture of Equalism, each member of the culture holds one another to a high moral standard.   The Food would be of proper nutritional value, which would be good for you. This would also set the standard. That is not to say that fast food would not be available. However, these fast food restaurants would also be accountable to the same standards set earlier.    Equalism is a culture that I feel would do great things for our society.  Its values would be set forth through generations, which make it family based.  The roles are equal; we all contribute. The individual holds up the dress code and the food is good for you.  The Equalism culture is just what the word means: “equality.” Also see Culture reality: https://csmsmagazine.org/news.php?pg=20060603I113