Ethnic Stereotyping
Every day, millions of people wake up in a country where the dominant language is not
their own, where signs are a confusing assortment of symbols that they do not understand and
something as simple as buying lunch can become a complicated ordeal. Through watching a
foreign language television program, one can only begin to grasp the confusion that is sometimes
caused by not understanding what anyone is saying. I watched a Japanese serial drama, which I
believe was titled "Misaki Number One." While there were certainly moments in which I felt
that I could understand the actors' emotions, everything else was largely a mystery.
Facial expressions play a large role in how we interpret other's moods and give more
meaning to
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what people say. For instance, if a person says, "you're in big trouble now!" while laughing or smiling, one would immediately think that they were not serious. Facial expressions seem universal, but are they really? When I saw one of the Japanese actors smile, were they expressing happiness?
There are certainly attitudes and emotions that can be expressed by a
smile outside of happiness, such as pride. A smile can even accompany teasing or be considered
mocking in its own right. For example, smiling after saying something hateful is not an obvious
expression of glee.
A second type of expression that can be perplexing is sarcasm and everything that comes
with it. I am not positive if every culture expresses sarcasm or even if most do, but Americans
tend to use sarcasm quite often. Even those with a slight understanding of a language do not
easily understand sarcasm. The tone of voice is generally the only indicator that someone is
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being sardonic instead of serious. Sarcasm, however, is even more difficult to grasp when one
cannot understand the language. I picked up what I thought was a sarcastic tone multiple times
in "Misaki Number One," but the tone certainly could have been something else.
A third cue is body language. Japanese people seem less emotive in certain types of
signals and downright bizarre in others. For example, women tend to cover their mouths when
they laugh or smile, which seems very odd on the surface. My understanding of Japanese
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culture is that they are more reserved, which would explain the covering of a laugh. Conversely, males do not seem to be under the same restraints, so perhaps it has little to do with emotional restraint. Other body language that Americans use often is physical contact, shaking hands or hugging, but while watching the show, I saw little actual contact between people. While a hug might express warmth or affection between friends in America, I assume it would mean much more in Japanese society.
Finally, the Japanese language lends itself to a certain confidence. While I cannot be
certain, Japanese seems to be made up of mostly declarative statements. When the actors were
speaking, they seemed very assertive and even dominant in cases; this notion runs very counter
to the stereotype of Japanese people being shy. Of course, one would seem very shy if they did
not fully understand a local language and therefor spoke little, which is most likely where the
stereotype began during the early days of Japanese immigration.
While there are obvious cues one can garner from expressions, language is essential to
understanding other people. What is a normal expression in one region might be completely
meaningless in another, or mean something different entirely. Having experienced living and
working in a country where I did not understand or speak the local language, I have great
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sympathy for immigrants across the world in a similar position. Also having learned a second
language, I am not a supporter of the concept that any immigrant should learn the local language.
Learning a language can be expensive, exhausting, and difficult. The benefits
generally outweigh the cost, but expecting every immigrant to learn a second language is outlandish at
Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists study humor because it is a fundamental culture value, but they still can’t determine why certain things make some people laugh and others not. There are “humor quotient” tests that are designed to measure an individual’s sense of humor, but these tests are questionable. These tests aren’t accurate because almost all humor depends on cultural background knowledge and language skills. Not every person in the whole world, or even in one country share the same background knowledge and skills, therefore they cannot have the same type of humor. “The fact remains that individuals vary in their appreciation of humor” (Rappoport 9). Since humor varies from individual to individual, humor lies in the individual. How successful or funny a joke is depends on how the person receives the joke, humor cannot be measured by a statistical
By now, you should have learned about irony, one of the most important literary devices used. There are many definitions of irony, but a simple definition is the contrast between what was supposed to happen and what actually happens. Irony is separated into three types: situational irony (you crave oranges, turns out you are allergic to them), verbal irony (“Oh, you are so funny!” when someone is not funny [sarcasm]), and dramatic irony (while reading, you know there is a monster in the closet, but the character does not). Many examples of irony are given in the novel Brave New World, a novel set in the future where humans are biologically engineered and conditioned for their role in society. The novel exemplifies irony because even though they have norms and regulations set, most people tend to not follow them, including the world leaders.
While communicating with another human being, one only has to examine the other’s face in order to comprehend what is being said on a much deeper level. It is said that up to 55 percent of a message’s meaning can be derived from facial expression (Subramani, 2010). These facial manipulations allow thoughts to be expressed in ways that are often difficult to articulate verbally, with the face demonstrating “the thoughts of the mind, and the feelings of the heart” (Singla). Many expressions are said to universal, particularly those showing happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and...
The term signifying refers to the playful, humorous indirection or innuendo, the talking around an implied meaning, the ambiguous metaphor, the invective that only works if the opponent lacks humor and responds in a literal fashion. Signifying is an attitude toward language, but it is also a social gambit: signifying enables the man and the woman of words to challenge and criticize without becoming committed to any particular claim or meaning: for only the response will tell. For instance, if I say, ‘Yo mama so old, her social security number is ‘1’”, and you say, ‘Fuck you, man”, you’ve lost, you took what was in the figurative and put it in the literal thus committing yourself to the fact that your mom is old. Now, if you reply, “well YO mama so old, when she was in school there was no history class”, or “yo mama so old, when God said ‘let there be light’ she hit the switch” then the signifying can continue.
Satire is defined as irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity. Twain spends most of his satirical energy attacking the French culture.
or the sarcasm justice in text. I guess the only way for you to once
For example, the stand up comic Brian Regan likes to make satirical jokes about everyday events in life. In one of his shows he talks about the long wait in an emergency room he had recently visited. He uses humor to discuss this information by saying that maybe if he moans louder while waiting he will get to see the doctor. Because most people have had experiences similar to Regan’s, his audience is able to relate to the problems he talks about and he is able to bring attention to these problems in life without his audience consciously knowing
Satire can take on many different forms, but still convey the same meaning. Techniques such as grotesque humor, irony, inflation/diminution, and parody’s are all satirical devices ("Satire", para. 1). Grotesque humor creates a tension between laughter and horror; usually called black or dark humor. Its purpose is to shock the audience, and hopefully enlighten their eyes to the subject matter. Irony can often be confused as a synonym for satire. Irony though, is a literary device where there is an incongruity between what one says and does, and what one means. Irony is a form of satire. Inflation and diminution are techniques used to exaggeration the point made by the author. Diminution is taking a real-life situation and reducing it to make it ridiculous and showcase its faults. On the other hand, inflation is shown by taking a real-life situation and blow...
Sarcasm is one of the writing world's biggest invention. With the invention of it sarcasm, writing can now be rude and interesting. Shanna Freeman from How Stuff Works states, “Writers use sarcasm to criticize everything from religion and government to philosophers and other writers.” The quote shows the immense power of sarcasm in literature. Throughout history great writers have used sarcasm to tear down traditional values. The most iconic of all is a cat named Chaucer, he was the ultimate iconoclast. Chaucer uses satire, another form of sarcasm, to get his iconoclastic view point to his intended audience in many ways.
In trying to show this however, it is necessary to first establish a viable alternative to the notion that those who fail to "get" irony are inferior and less sophisticated than those who do. This is to undermine a rather insidious line of logic that consequently supports o...
Now for the last type of irony is verbal Irony. Verbal irony is when what is said is meant different. Like when it's raining and you say what wonderful weather we're having today, or when you make a bad grade and you say oh look at this wonderful
Humor is something that everyone can relate to. It's all around us, used every day, by everyone. Below, I’ve found three comedic items that tickled my funny bone. I made sure that each one actually made me laugh, therefore actually possessing humor rather than attempting to be humorous. Although they all share a similarity in being funny, each one captures a different aspect humor. One touches the ironic side of humor, while another touches the dark side, and the other one hits the slapstick humor. Humor is all around us and should be enjoyed and embraced. Let’s jump in.
An example of this is facial expressions, “a smile can have double meaning in that it can express either joy or displeasure” ("Japan Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners." 2012). Also, with the Japanese culture being considered high context, what may seem to be small gestures can have a large impact. Such an example is eye contact, in Japan making direct eye contact can be considered as a sign of disrespect while lowering your eyes is considered a sign of respect. In addition, one should “avoid using large hand gestures, unusual facial expressions and any dramatic movements. The Japanese do not talk with their hands and to do so could distract your host” ("Japan Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners."
Japanese society is mostly homogenous with a very small of people from other parts of the world. Japan was closed to rest of the world for many years and created its own customs and traditions, though enormously copied from east and west. Because traditions were developed selectively, Japanese culture became a mixed of different cultures (Donahue, 1998). This not only distinguishes Japanese culture and society from rest of the world but also makes it hard for others to get accepted among Japanese. The concept
...tention to how people react to one another’s comments, guessing the relationship between the people and guessing how each feels about what is being said. This can inform individuals to better understand the use of body language when conversing with other people. It is also important to take into account individual differences. Different cultures use different non-verbal gestures. Frequently, when observing these gestures alone the observer can get the wrong impression, for instance, the listener can subconsciously cross their arms. This does not mean that they are bored or annoyed with the speaker; it can be a gesture that they are comfortable with. Viewing gestures as a whole will prevent these misunderstandings. Non-verbal gestures are not only physical, for example; the tone of voice addressing a child will be different from the way it is addressed to an adult.