Wow, great video. It really shows you that your perception of the world isn’t always going to be factual. I guess if you grow up believing a certain thing to be true, you’re never going to know anything different unless you see it differently. In our society today, we have created stereotypes for every ethnicity, culture, gender, religion, etc. People aren’t bothering to learn about other cultures, because they think they have all the information they need from television shows, and newspapers. We need to get back to the basics, and take the time to actually learn about one another and not assume things to be true. Not all Asians are good at math; I am terrible beyond words at math. Not all Italians eat pasta every single night, and not all Hispanics like Mexican food. It’s crazy how all these stereotypes come about, and even more crazy how many people actually believe them. When people meet me, I don’t want them to assume things about me that they think are true. Like that because I’m from Clovis I love the rodeo, or that I eat rice with every meal, just because I’m Asian. I absolutely hate the rodeo, and rice gets super boring after a while. I want people to discover the things about me that are unique, and that separate me from everyone else.
A couple of summers ago we had a foreign exchange student from France come and stay with us, and she was very surprised to learn that we didn’t eat at fast food restaurants every night. In France, and many other European countries, America is perceived as this country with fat people that eat McDonalds every night. We here know that’s not entirely true, but those who have never traveled to the U.S. don’t know that because they have never seen it for themselves. I think it’s all in the way information is delivered. If on a foreign television show, they portray everyone in the United States to have blond hair and blue eyes, image the surprise many people would have when they come to discover that not everyone has blond hair and blue eyes. This video made me realize that I need to think before I make an assumption about a specific topic or person. Not everything that is said/written is true; we need to take the time to hear every side, for everyone is going to have different stories and experiences.
Very nice point of view. I really like the way you approached the video. Your writing flowed and was not all chopppy, which made it easy to follow and read. Your comparisons and contrasts really helped support the concept you were trying to get across. I think pointing out several different stereotypes gave many more people the opportunity to connect their own life experiences. Bringing in your personal experience with your foreign exchange student and their perception of Americans before they came here, was kind of an eye opener. It gives the reader a chance to think for a moment if they have give any kind of stereotype to another country or group of people. Again, I really like the way you stated your views.
ReplyDelete