Cultural History

 

As a christian, my idea about death is shaped mainly by my christian values and some aspect of my culture. I believe that everyone will die one day and what matters most is the legacy we leave behind for others.  I do believe in heaven and hell and the idea that once someone dies they are judged by how they lived and spend eternity either in heaven or hell. In the Asante culture, there are similar beliefs with regards to what happens to the individual when he dies. There is the belief that the soul wanders around for 40 days before going to the next world to perhaps begin a new life there. I do believe that how people perceive death influences the way they live their lives. There are certain cultures that believe in reincarnation and the idea that if you live a good life you will be reincarnated to be a better person in your next life and if you were bad or "evil" you may be reincarnated to be an animal or as a human but with lots of misfortunes due to your bad deeds. This shapes the behaviour of the individual who believes in it as the person will strive to live a life such that when he/she reincarnates he can enjoy a better life. Same for Christians who choose to live according to the Bible so as to spend eternity in heaven when they die.

The historical legacies of countries like the United States, Britain, Portugal , France, Spain and Germany has resulted in lots of countries still dealing with the aftermath of colonialism and slave trade. These legacies have had adverse effects on generations and has served as the foundation for racism  as well as the reasons for existing conflicts among groups within states. This has also led to the establishment of alliances between states and the consideration of other states as its foes.

Having an understanding of the history of your nation plays a fundamental role in how your national identity is shaped. It gives you a meaning of where you are coming from, the foundations upon which your country was built and how far you have come as a people. Without an understanding of your history, it will be difficult to build any form of identity. In the United States for example, Americans tend to celebrate thanksgiving every year. A celebration peculiar to the United States. This celebration is borne out of history due to the pilgrims in 1621 inviting the wampanoag indians to join them in a feast to celebrate their first harvest. It is believed that they feasted on pumpkin pie and turkey. (Washington Post). This is a celebration that has a historical background and forms a part of the American identity, when one understands this history, there is an understanding of how America has always been a country to be open and welcoming of others. History shapes our national identity and we cannot develop as a country if we fail to recognise our history. 

According to Clark (1969), the four stages of minority representations includes non recognition, ridicule, regulation and respect. These four stages are still applicable in our world today. With regards to non recognition, this was described as a "given minority not been acknowledged by the media". In our world today,  the issue has to do with racial minorities not been represented adequately in traditional mainstream media (Casataneda,Fuentes-Bautista,& Baruch,2015). This tend to limit how people can understand the wider world as they view others from the limited coverage presented by the media. There have been many calls over the years by the Latino as well as the black community to have more representation on the media.

Ridicule according to Clark represents how certain minority characters are projected as "stupid, silly, lazy or even laughable".  Ridicule in this context means the use of degrading and derogatory stereotypes with an intention of reassuring the majority group (Clark,1969). The American Indian for example represented as an individual who is unable to speak English  language fluently and this is done in a quest to ridicule and make fun of this group (Morris,1982,p.187). Regulation on the other hand is a way of projecting the minority on the media to be part of law enforcers or regulators. In our media, we sometimes see the depiction of minority groups acting as officers, lawyers or been part of the government. This is a way to project a mindset of inclusion to the public but may not necessarily be the reality. 

The final stage which is respect occurs when the minority group calls out how they are been represented on the media and call for a need  for there to be a stop to such representations. An example is how blacks used to be represented on the media in the past through the use of black face. However, over the years, various calls from the group has led to the people understanding the idea and history behind black face and discouraging its use on the media. 

Culture is dynamic and thus, constantly changes. What used to be the norm in the past may not necessarily work in this present day. More people are becoming vocal about the aspect of culture that does not represent them well or gives them a voice. In as much as there are good aspects of our culture, there are the negative aspects as well and it is our responsibility to learn from the mistakes committed in the past and be better people for our generation.

References:

1. Clark, C. C. (1969, Spring). Television and social control: Some observations on the portrayals of ethnic minorities.” Television Quarterly,18-22

2. Castaneda,M., Fuentes-Bautista,M.,& Baruch,F. (2015). Racial and ethnic inclusion in the digital era: Shifting discourses in communications public policy. Journal of Social Issues,71,1,139-154

3. Morris, J. S. (1982). Television portrayal and the socialization of the American Indian child. InBerry, G.L., & Mitchell-Kernan, C. (eds.).Television and the socialization of the minority child. New York: Academic Press, 187-202

4. Strauss,V. (2016). Why we celebrate thanksgiving every year. It isn't what you think. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/11/26/why-we-celebrate-thanksgiving-every-year-it-isnt-what-you-think/