VI. Creative Assignment Focus on Culture
Read Steve’s chapter insert, and answer all the questions posed. Then write a one-page reflection on what you think about the issue and how it pertains to your communication experience. Please refer to at least THREE concepts from the chapter in your response.
TOUCH AND DISTANCE
Cultures vary in their norms regarding appropriate touch and distance, some with lots of touching and close distance during interpersonal encounters and others with less (Hall, 1966). Often, these differences correlate with latitude and climate. People living in cooler climes tend to be low contact and people living in warmer areas tend to be high contact (Andersen, 1997). The effect of climate on nonverbal touch and distance is even present in countries that have both colder and hotter regions. Below, Cindy, a former student, describes her experience juggling norms for touch and distance.*
“I’m a Mexican American from El Paso, Texas, which is predominantly Latino. There, most everyone hugs hello and good-bye. And I’m not talking about a short slap on the back—I mean a nice encompassing abrazo (hug). While I can’t say that strangers greet each other this way, I do recall times where I’ve done it. Growing up, it just seemed like touching is natural, and I never knew how much I expected it, maybe even relied on it, until I moved.
“I came to Michigan as a grad student. My transition here was relatively smooth, but it was odd to me the first time I hung out with friends and didn’t hug them hello and good-bye. A couple of times on instinct I did greet them this way, and I’ll never forget the strange tension that was created. Some people readily hugged me back, but most were uneasy. Quickly I learned that touching was unacceptable.
“Now I find that I hold back from engaging people in this manner. I feel like I’m hiding a part of myself, and it is frustrating. Nonetheless, this is the way things are done here, and I’ve had to adjust. Fortunately, I now have a few friends who recognize my need to express myself in this way and have opened themselves up to it. I’m grateful for that, and through these people a piece of me and my identity is saved.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What has your culture taught you about the use of touch and distance? Are you a high- or low-contact person?
When communicating with people from other cultures, how do you adapt your use of touch and distance?
Have you ever had to alter your touching and distance to adapt to others’ preferences? How did this change make you feel?
Film: Extreme Makeover
Extreme Makeover follows the stories of the lucky individuals who are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be given a truly "Cinderella-like" experience: a real life fairy tale in which their wishes come true, not just by changing their looks, but their lives and destinies. This magic is conjured through the skills of an "Extreme Team," including the nation's top plastic surgeons, eye surgeons and cosmetic dentists, along with a talented team of hair and makeup artists, stylists, and personal trainers, led by an on-camera Extreme Makeover expert. This season will feature more "news you can use" tips about fashion, hair and makeup for the home viewers also, so they, too, can experience a little bit of the show's magic. Each self-contained episode features two people, seen first in their "before" phase, then as they undergo their various procedures, and finally, in a climactic unveiling - the "after" -when the candidates reveal their new selves to their families and friends.
Please read the assignment carefully and write a good paragraph in response to each of the questions, referring to at least ONE concept in each of the paragraphs.
Describe the hero or the heroine of the program before and after the makeover.
In addition to obvious outside changes, how was he or she changed inside?
How do her or his friends perceive him or her differently now?
What expectations does she or he have for the life ahead?
What lessons do you think you can draw from this example?