How Love Conquered Marriage in Culture - Assignment Example

Culture affiliation Culture Question One Culture looks at the traditions, customs, and s which are consideredto be the characteristics of a group of people, community, or nation. Canada has no single culture. There are many cultures found in this country as seen in the picture below, each of which if valued and crucial, and all of which form the country. The diverse culture is as a result of migration of people from other countries who have intermarried in the country. This is also because of the media and time which has influenced the culture in this country.

Multiculturalism Each culture in Canada is unique, but contributes to the general values and way of life in Canada. Multiculturalism in Canada is often seen in towns and cities when they hold festivals that celebrate their individual cultures. An example of such festival is Folk fest which shows different cultures that include heritage, cuisine, and dance. These kinds of festivals give Canadians a chance to understand and appreciate different cultures that make up Canada. Canadians are known for their friendly culture.

They appreciate that the country is made up of so many cultures and respect each culture. Question Two Marriage Marriage is viewed differently in different cultures because arranged marriages are accepted in one community while in others, people are expected to choose their future life partners (Coontz, 2014). These behaviors are impacted by the historical background of a culture. This history moves from one generation to the next and is accepted by the group. The behaviors are also impacted by the religious background of a group.

For example, in the Muslim community, parents are obligated to arrange for their children’s marriage. Different cultures also view love differently. Communities that support arranged marriages view love as infatuation. Countries that follow this culture have low divorce rates. On the other hand, communities that support individual arrangements view love as the basis of marriage. What an individual’s family might feel to be best for the individual may not be best for him or her. Communities exhibiting these behaviors can be classified in the cultural dimension model because the cultures are differentiated based on the difference in national cultures.

Public displays of emotions Different communities have their own interpretation of public display of emotion. In some communities, public display is a norm and people believe that this helps other people understand a person. However, this is not the case in other communities who believe that the public display of emotions especially, from those who hold power is sign or weakness. This is clearly seen in countries that have royal families. Kings are a symbol of strength and are expected to show no weakness to their people.

These behaviors can be classified in the High Context Low Context approach that argues that features of communication are dependent on the social-relational environment, physical environment, cultural environment, and perceptual environment. The environment affects how people communicate their emotions (Scollon, 2012). Question Three Cultural appropriation involves members of one group, usually dominant, exploiting the culture of groups which are less privileged. This occurs when members of one group borrow the culture of the minority group without their input (Young, 2010).

The dominant group often has little understanding of the history, traditions, and experience of the minority group’s culture. They don’t understand what makes their modes of expression, art, and cultural symbols significant. Cultural appropriation is different from cultural appreciation where, cultural appreciation aims at respecting and honoring the culture of origin. This is different from cultural appropriation that aims at misusing and offending another culture. This is mostly seen in the music industry where white artists replicate black musicians without understanding the meaning of some words used by black musicians.

The video of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team that shows them performing the traditional Maori haka dance before the match is a good example of cultural appreciation. This is because the team included some people of Maori descent, who appreciate their culture. The performers also understood the dance which was performed before a battle. This dance was applicable for the occasion because the team was about to go into a battle with their opponents on the field. Cultural appreciation becomes appropriation when people start to misuse a culture and start to offend people who understand the real meaning of the culture (Young, 2011).

Members of the majority culture usually profit from exploiting the minority group. The culture becomes associated with people from the dominant group. History has a big role in the appropriation and appreciation because it helps people understand a culture. Once people understand the minority culture through history, they stop appropriating and start appreciating the culture. Bibliography Coontz, S. (2014). Marriage, a history: How love conquered marriage. New York: Penguin Books. Scollon, R.

, Scollon, S. B. K., & Jones, R. H. (2012). Intercultural communication: A discourse approach. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Young, J. O. (2010). Cultural appropriation and the arts. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Young, J. O., & Brunk, C. G. (2011). The ethics of cultural appropriation. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.