Low context culture of America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Low context culture of America - Essay Example This essay discusses that the USA has become the most influential state on the face of the earth for the last few decades. It has enjoyed the position of the strongest economy and attracted people from all nooks and corners of the world for employment. American citizenship is a dream for middle class of almost all societies. USA is the most lucrative name when it comes to lifestyle. It is increasingly becoming international because of two main reasons. People from all over the world are migrating to USA. They all have various values, belief and cultures as well. Their stay at the new place forces them to adopt the new lifestyle. The society is affected by their views as well. The blend of native values and the imported culture is making USA more and more diverse in its behaviours and culture. Also, because of a strong economy, USA enjoys strong political position in international forums. With these two strengths, it becomes the platform where rest of the countries discuss their issue s for solutions. Because of increased cooperation with the powerful nations and influence in the developing nations, USA is successful in absorbing others in it. So accordingly, these two points pave the way for dynamism at all levels in the country. Yet, it is important to mention that USA is not diluting its culture in the imported cultures. It is rather giving birth to an international culture in which all the people find room for themselves and rigidity for traditions is over. Having a considerable population of foreigners in various states of USA, its culture has overall become a blend of all cultures. Likewise, this characteristic of American culture which gives room for all others to adjust makes it a low context culture. It is a low context culture because of the presence of highly diverse population who have different perceptions, viewpoints, lifestyles, choices, family and educational backgrounds, social systems, religions etc (Kennedy and Everest, 191). It is impossible t o unite all of them under the same attitudes hence the culture has reduced its contextual rigidity and gives all of them the freedom of speech and action. The formality is replaced by informal ways which bring convenience for people to adjust. People working in low context culture need to talk clearly and pass instructions without any misunderstandings (Treven, Sonja, MatjazMulej and Lynn, 108). On the other hand in high context culture, people expect their converser to know what the message of the communication was, without being specifically told (Beer). Great importance is placed on decorum, ambience, manner of delivery and the relative status of the participants in the communication (Goman). America is a low context culture, mainly because of the variety of different cultures and nationality of people residing there. With so many people from such diverse cultural differences, the message needs to be clear, thorough and precise to be understood by all. That will be the only way t o communicate effectively in the workplace (Huckins, 73). This paper is about a particular American artifact or belief and its comparison with other countries. Artifacts are defined as tangible signs of the culture (Saunders & Skinner, 14). The artifacts are common in culture and give the culture a sense of identification. The artifacts can be historical as well as recent. Among historical artifacts, there are numerous archaeological patterns and architectural styles that help identify the particular culture. For example, the sign of triangle reflects Pentagon. Artifacts can be seen in various aspects of life like household items, office fixtures, technological tools, scientific instruments, medical instruments, farm tools, calculators etc. There is an artifact known as American eagle. The paper discusses the various

Mormonism in Tony Kushner's play Angels in America Research Paper

Mormonism in Tony Kushner's play Angels in America - Research Paper Example The relationships between Louis and Joe are in focus while talking on the contradiction between Judaism referring to Louis and Mormonism relevant to Joe. There is something more interesting in the play which designates the place of Mormon religion. Tony Kushner was accurate in choosing these two religions reflected on the reactions by two characters in the play. The question is that the religion of Jews is among the oldest on earth whereas Mormonism was created and established by Joseph Smith at the early ages of the American sovereignty. This is why it is a so-called controversy between the tradition and an isolated devotion toward something new. That is to say, homosexuality is opposed to the mainstream ideas. It is well illustrated on how Louis reacts on Joe’s confession in that he is a Mormon: â€Å"I cannot believe I have spent a month in bed with a Mormon† (Kushner 201). This is where the conflict starts and where it has all chances to progress in the future. A gr eat contribution by Kushner is that he once had realized the potential of the contemporary social issues and concerns. Then he incorporated them into the realistic and unique talk on the problem through the art of drama, as the â€Å"lines between gay and straight become very blurred† as of today (Meyer 1249). Thus, the way in which the play signifies the lives of two couples and how they interact is all about the realistic picture of people’s anxiety in their search for real identity. It is well supported by the idea of being gay among cruel individuals around. Back to Mormonism, it is necessary to note that it has less popularity among the privileged Catholic and Protestant churches in America. This is why there is a straight-forward connection to how the society perceives the idea of close relationships between two men especially when one of them abandons his wife for a new male-partner who, in turn, abandons his boyfriend for the sake of such union. Thus, in its se paration from the larger society, Mormon religion is symbolically set by Tony Kushner so as to lay emphasis on its American decent notwithstanding less popularity. It is the same for homosexuals. Along with their sexual prerogatives, homosexuals are not void of the rights and freedoms once proclaimed by the Founding Fathers which follow the genuine standards of a democratic society. Furthermore, Kushner masterly embodies the â€Å"national themes† with the idea of status, race, gender, sexuality, and political affiliation of the characters. Once again, Mormon religion is set to demonstrate why people become closeted or latent in their likes and priorities in life. Joe tried to find out a good moment to confess before Louis, but it was in vain, as the national stereotypes seem bigger in minds of individuals, even though they are of minor sexuality. The liberated gay movement got through the tremendous change due to the advent of AIDS and them to be automatically listed in the risk group (Longolius 3). It is another motive to speculate on why gay relationships suffer. Louis would never abandon Prior, if everything went great. Judging from Louis’s impulsive state of mind, religious preferences of Joe, as a