Intercultural Communication is a fundamental part of our society today, allowing us to interact across cultures, and break down what would otherwise be barriers to a cohesive society. The film 'District 9,' directed by Neill Blomkamp uses an alien society to highlight certain intercultural communication issues that are relevant today. These key concepts are ethnocentrism, stereotypes and uncertainty avoidance. Human nature’s self-involved tendency leads to discrimination against the unknown, a problem that continues to be prevalent in modern society. By understanding the concepts presented in ‘District 9’, individuals, and hopefully society as a whole, may re-adjust their approach towards other cultures to be a more positive one.
Ethnocentrism …show more content…
Ethnocentrism usually degrades one's way of living through their perceptual and cognitive background (Grove & Knowles, 2008). This is an unconscious rejection; “it is a byproduct of one's socialization process and a human trait that is common throughout the world,” (Grove & Knowles, 2008). Ethnocentrism is universal and can be divided into two types - positive and negative, both of which are demonstrated in ‘District 9’. In the positive aspect, ethnocentrism promotes national pride, patriotism and a sense of belonging as well as identifying who we are and our own culture (Hammond & AxeIrod, 2006). On the other hand, the negative aspect is where there is a perception of group values and norms that others are forced to adopt. It may also “cause people to overlook or resist positive contributions of others' ways of life and it tends to impede cultural diffusion,” (Hammond & AxeIrod, 2006). The negative impact of ethnocentrism is demonstrated in 'District 9,' whereby the …show more content…
Stereotypes are defined as “the perceptions or beliefs we hold about groups or individuals based on our previously formed opinions or attitudes,” (Adilow, 2012). The information that we gather over time is “store and use to understand of what goes on around us,” which often involves the attribution of certain characteristics to individuals who identify with a particular group (Adilow, 2012). Like ethnocentrism, stereotyping has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect of stereotyping is that it reduces the threat of the unknown individual case where we can use past experience or knowledge to build an expectation of what a person or place may be like. However the downside to stereotyping is that stereotypical understandings can interfere with the reality of a situation, preventing an objective perception of a person or culture (Hanges, 2008). It is also problematic as stereotypes are often exaggerated, overgeneralized or oversimplified and can produce a warped understand of presented information (Hanges, 2008). Negative stereotypes that interpret the behavior of individuals within a group will likely prevent intercultural communication and lead to discrimination (Hanges, 2008). By categorizing the aliens as ‘prawns’, a derogatory term used in ‘District 9’, the humans placed a negative stereotype of aggression and physical deformity on the aliens as a group (Ouyang, 2001). Moreover, their inability to adopt
Ethnocentrism …show more content…
Ethnocentrism usually degrades one's way of living through their perceptual and cognitive background (Grove & Knowles, 2008). This is an unconscious rejection; “it is a byproduct of one's socialization process and a human trait that is common throughout the world,” (Grove & Knowles, 2008). Ethnocentrism is universal and can be divided into two types - positive and negative, both of which are demonstrated in ‘District 9’. In the positive aspect, ethnocentrism promotes national pride, patriotism and a sense of belonging as well as identifying who we are and our own culture (Hammond & AxeIrod, 2006). On the other hand, the negative aspect is where there is a perception of group values and norms that others are forced to adopt. It may also “cause people to overlook or resist positive contributions of others' ways of life and it tends to impede cultural diffusion,” (Hammond & AxeIrod, 2006). The negative impact of ethnocentrism is demonstrated in 'District 9,' whereby the …show more content…
Stereotypes are defined as “the perceptions or beliefs we hold about groups or individuals based on our previously formed opinions or attitudes,” (Adilow, 2012). The information that we gather over time is “store and use to understand of what goes on around us,” which often involves the attribution of certain characteristics to individuals who identify with a particular group (Adilow, 2012). Like ethnocentrism, stereotyping has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect of stereotyping is that it reduces the threat of the unknown individual case where we can use past experience or knowledge to build an expectation of what a person or place may be like. However the downside to stereotyping is that stereotypical understandings can interfere with the reality of a situation, preventing an objective perception of a person or culture (Hanges, 2008). It is also problematic as stereotypes are often exaggerated, overgeneralized or oversimplified and can produce a warped understand of presented information (Hanges, 2008). Negative stereotypes that interpret the behavior of individuals within a group will likely prevent intercultural communication and lead to discrimination (Hanges, 2008). By categorizing the aliens as ‘prawns’, a derogatory term used in ‘District 9’, the humans placed a negative stereotype of aggression and physical deformity on the aliens as a group (Ouyang, 2001). Moreover, their inability to adopt