International Communication and Stereotypes

Our homework assignment for today was to write a page and a half of notes about how we are already using international communication to explore similarities and differences among our own culture and foreign cultures. I mentioned in my notes that one of the ways I learn about other cultures is by speaking with people who are native members of different culures, like my friend Nadia from Valencia, Spain. Over Christmas break, I went to visit my brother in Madrid and Nadia came from Valencia to spend time with me. While she was there, I gained a lot of insight into her perceptions of US culture.

Nadia is sick of Spanish men. She wants to travel and find herself a nice British or Aussie husband. But more than anything, she wants to come to the United States, where she expects to find a blonde surfer and fall in love. As I spent more time with Nadia, I began to realize that she really, truly thinks that American culture is that which is fed to her through Hollywood. She has never considered that Hollywood might be conveying an illusion of American culture, or maybe the lifestyles of only the rich and the famous. She honestly thinks that men in American dance clubs are like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever. And even though she thinks that Americans eat mostly hamburgers like those served at McDonalds, she still thinks they are all tall, skinny, and beautiful. I was very surprised to find that, even in Spain, a developed European country, there exists this unrealistic image of what America must be like.

I tried to debunk Nadia's misconceptions. I told her about sweat pants, morbid obesity, unemployment, and I-94. She was shocked to hear that Michigan is nothing like Los Angeles, and I warned her that she better stick to New York City in the summer or LA year-round if she should come to visit the States and expect to find what she is looking for. But when I left her off at the train station, she was still talking about her future American surfer husband....

I will admit that I knew very little about Spanish culture before I traveled there. I knew only what my cousins had told me about the nightlife and what my high school Spanish classes had taught me about cuisine and general daily routines. But I did not assume that all Spanish men were bullfighters and all Spanish women were Flamenco dancers!!

I think the key is that I had received very little input about Spain, and probably zero false or stereotypical information. I had nothing to base any misconceptions on, and therefore I was virtually a blank slate when it came to my perceptions of Spanish culture. Nadia, on the other hand, has plenty of input about American culture at her disposal, with American movies, tv shows, and music videos possibly more readily available than their Spanish equivalents. The problem is that the input she is receiving is creating a skewed image of Americans.

On this last trip, I realized how very powerful international communication, such as the kind that is distributed throughout the world by Hollywood, can be for people from all different places. And also how important it is to examine such media with a critical eye in order to avoid becoming influenced by the kind of illusion that this mass communication can create.

A New Purpose....

Hi everyone,

This semester I am taking International Communications (COMM430). I will be using my "Future Classroom Blog" to comment on issues related to our reading assignments and class discussions....and whatever else pops into my head in the process! Please feel free to add your own comments.

Allison