Language and Culture: Comparison - Movie Review Example

Language and Culture (Movie Comparison) Student’s name Institutional affiliation Abstract The purpose of this paper is to compare two movies; an original American movie, Pretty Woman by Julia Roberts and an Arabic movie that is adopted from the pretty Woman. The paper will compare various features, characters and the style used in the two movies in order to find the similarities between the two. In the American movie, the main character is Julia Roberts whose stage name is Vivian Ward. Vivian is approached by a wealthy businessman by the name Edward Lewis to accompany him in a business trip. Edward is aware that Vivian is a prostitute but he falls in a love relationship with her and pays her all the charges she makes Cameron, 2002). On the other hand, the Arabic movie is just like the American movie but the career of the main character changes from a prostitute to a maid. In the Arabic movie, Ahlam plays the same role as Vivian while Tofeeq plays the role of Edward. Below is a comparison of the features and the characters in the two movies. Discussion Culture The two ladies, Vivian and Ahlam play the same role in the two movies. This is because the two women are associated with wealthy businessmen Edward and Tofeeq respectively. The Arabic culture is very strict in issues relating to a woman’s life. Prostiution is not acceptable by the Arabic culture since a woman is only supposed to sleep with her husband only. This is one of the reason why the career of the main characater is changed from a prostitute to a maid since one cannot play the two roles in the Arabic society unlike the American scenario. According to (Haeri 2007), the law that protects the culture of the Arabic society is very strict on matters relating to a woman’s morality. A woman who engages in sex before marriage is likely to be rejected by her society or can easily be murdered by her father or brother if they discover that she has been engaged in an act of prostitution. A family whose one member has been involved in prostitution would face rejection from the other members of the society if such a case occurs. The rejection in this case occurs in the sense that one members of such a family can marry any other family. As such, Ahlam faced a very severe punishment if it was discovered that she slept outside. Just like the Arabic culture, prostitution is also not legal in the American society. Supporting this view Grazia (2006) argue that the only difference in the two cultures is that the law that protects the culture of the Ameriacns is not strict. This was the main reason why Edward needed a lady to accompany him to his business trips freely. Before finding Vivian, Edward Lewis had broken up with his girlfriend the main reason being that she did not want to be at his beck and call while he attended business parties. After meeting Vivian, Edward paid her $3,000 a week to stay with him in his hotel at Beverly Hills. This implied that the two would stay as a couple for the few days. On the contrary, this is not acceptable in the Arabic culture since no man is allowed to stay with a woman whom he has not married. It was clear that the two stayed as a couple since they did not hide that the lived together and they would as well join friends in parties and business functions. This is the reason why Gould (2007) refers the American movies are being alienated. The culture of the American is weak as portrayed by the American movie. The reason why Edward Lewis broke up with her girlfriend was because the lady was not ready to be with him anytime he needed her. This implied that the relationship between the couple was not bonded by true love but rather by the prevailing occasions. In addition, Edward’s girlfriend was also independent to do what she wanted without being influenced by her boyfriend. As such, if she felt like not joining Edward in his journey no one would question her. This is quite different from the Arabic culture where a woman is supposed to stay tight with her husband since the law protects such relationships. According to Gould et al. (2007), movie makers are very keen when making decisions on how to portray the culture of the intended society. Cole et al (2007) accept that it was no doubt that money plays a major role in relationships in America by the way the relationship between Edward and Vivian worked. Edward paid Vivian all that she needed and requested that she would be to him at beck and call with any string joining them together. Vivian could not refuse to do what Edward wanted since everything was being paid for. It was clear that Vivian’s roommate, Kit was not opposed to what Vivian was doing since she received some of the money to pay their house rent from Vivian. Therefore Kit was aware that Vivian was out with a man and thus she would not mind what was happening as long as they would be capable to pay their house rent. This is contrary to how Ahlam’s roommate would react upon discovering that Ahlam had slept out of the house. Ahlam’s roommate is portrayed as a lady with a good career and would therefore respect their culture very well. When Tofeeq met Ahlam, he had gone to visit his uncle when he met the elevator guy who was trying to convince Ahlam to sleep with him. However Ahlam was not ready for such an encounter and she even accused Tofeeq for not coming to his rescue. The elevator guy felt jealous because he had noticed that Ahlam was falling in love with Tofeeq. The elevator guy suspected that Ahlam blocked him since they belonged to the same level and after the wealthy Tofeeq came, Ahlam started falling for him. It was a clear that money played a major role in the two movies. However, after the elevator guy proposed for Ahlam, she agreed. It was thus clear that Ahlam did not know what the elevator guy wanted from her since she valued her culture that prohibits sex before marriage. However, she still finally agrees to go with him after discovering that the guy was planning to sleep with her. Language Language is the method of communication that is used by two parties when conversing. The use of the appropriate language is what that matters if effective communication is to take place in a movie. When a character has not acquired the effective skills to communicate, such a character is likely to deliver the wrong information (Dirk, 2000). In the American movie, formal communication is employed whenever two characters are having a dialogue; as such, direct communication is used (Malloy, 2000). After Edward and Vivian met, they became close to each other and could hold open discussions. At one point, Edward asked Vivian how much money she made per night. Vivian replied with a genuine answer that she made a hundred dollars per hour. This form of communication is direct since Vivian gave a straight forward answer based on what Edward was asking. The close association between Edward and Vivian could be associated with the direct communication between the two characters. They became open and shared light moments of how the met each other and how they could stay together. Characters who have proper communication skills are likely to come into a consensus very easily (Warwick, 2008). This is what would have taken place between Edward and Vivian in the American movie. The Arabic movie is associated with the use of a polite language and courtesy. The characters in Arabic movies are very careful when using language. When Ahlam was trying to reach Tofeeq from her apartment she was kindly begging. In addition to begging, she was also praying for help from Allah. This is an indicator of how the Arabic movies apply religion. By praying for help from Allah, it meant that Ahlam was very spiritual. In the American movie, characters do not mind their language and they fail to reflect any religious believes (Schiffman, 2008). There only people who are treated with respect are the wealth class. It was for that reason that Edward was treated with great respect by the hotel manager since he knew that he was an important client who would spend quite some good amount of money during his stay in the hotel. It also happened the same for Vivian when she went to Rodeo Drive to buy some clothes. The saleswomen were not willing to sell their clothes to Vivian she was just looked like a hooker. It was a clear indication that there was a bitter exchange of words between Vivian and the saleswomen since Vivian felt that really deserved some services from them since she had money. After Vivian failed to buy appropriate clothes, she went back to the hotel manager who, Barnley who threatened to stop her from entering the hotel since she was not appropriately dressed. The only reason that Vivian could be allowed into the hotel was because she was Edward’s guest. However, Barnley would later assist her to buy the dinner dress. Such a treatment in the American movies is associated with the size of the wealth an individual has. Wininger & Hagemann (2009) argue that such people are adressed using a polite language. This was clearly demonstrated when Edward accompanied Vivian back to the clothing shop to buy some more clothings. This happened after Vivian explained to Edward the treatment she received from the saleswomen when she was alone. This time they were able to buy all that Vivian admired since Edward would pay. According to Cole (2007), the influence of wealth was also exhibited in the Arabic movie. Tofeeq was a famous man who was respected for his billion-empire Egypt. When Ahlam saw Tofeeq she really prayed for his help since she knew that Tofeeq would be heard and respected. It was after that when the elevator was forced to apologize after referring Ahlam as just a maid. The influence of wealth in the Arabic movies is high recognized. Supporting this view, Haeri (2007) attributes honour and respect that is awarded rich characters to their vast wealth. It is for this reason that those people who have wealth are able to control the society. Whenever a person is addressing a rich man, he must use a polite language and carefully select the best words. Conclusion It has been found out there exist a difference in American and Arabic movies. The culture and the language of the characters play an important role in differentiating the two scenarios. Morality is a major issue in the two cases. The Arabic movie seems to uphold good morals as portrated by the characters while the issue of morality is not taken seriously in American movies. In addition, the language used in Arabic movie is associated with politeness while direct communication is used in American movies. References Cameron, J. (2002). Julia Roberts Film Review. New York: Orpheus Publishers. Cole, M. et al (2007). The Cultural Context of Learning and Thinking: An Exploration in Experimental Anthropology. New York: Basic Books. Dirk, D. (2000). Translation and mass-communication: Film and T.V. translation as evidence of cultural dynamics. Journal of mass communication 35, (4): 193-218. Grazia, Z. (2006). Mass culture and sovereignity: The Ameriacn challenge to European Cinema, 1920-1960. Journal of Modern history 61 (1): 53-87. Gould, S. et al. (2007). Product placement in movies: a cross-cultural analysis of Australian, French and American consumer’s altitude towards this emerging international promotional medium. Journal of advertising (29 (4): 200-223. Haeri, N. (2007). Form and Ideology: Arabic sociolinguistics and Beyond. Annual review of anthropology 4, (29): 61-87. Malloy, J. (2000). Second language Issues and Muilticulturalism. Reading reaserch quarterly 42 (4): 490-497. Schiffman, H. (2008). Linguistic culture and language policy. New York: Routledge. Warwick. J. (2008). The Cultural and Intercultural Identities of Transnational English Teachers: Two Case Studies from the Americas. TOSEL Journal 42, (4): 617-640. Wininger, .M. & Hagemann, J. (2009). An ideological approach to Grammar Pedagogy in Education Course. English education 31, (4): 260-265. Read More