A cultural essay and poem by Sahilda Minoso-Garcia The Cultural Conflict That Comes With Ethnicity--From a Caribbean Girl’s Point of View What is culture? When we hear the word, there is always that one culture that comes to mind; mine would be my own--the Caribbean culture. But why does conflict sometimes arrive with culture? My answer is that it comes from bias. When we are biased we tend to think of our culture as better than others and are not open to understanding or learning about other cultures. The difference between loving your own and having a bias is how you interact when a different one is presented. For example, conflict arrives within a culture when a person moves to another region where the social norms are different. This can also happen when someone moves to a new country. Texts such as “Two Kinds” (1989), “Barbie Chang Got Her Hair Done,” "Me Talk Pretty One Day," and “Don't Drink The Water” all talk about cultural conflict. In the novel chapter “Two Kinds” (1989), the main character, Jing-Mei, faces conflict with her personal culture, as she does not seem to understand or see her Chinese mother's perspective on success. She faces many challenges and causes what she calls “small disappointments'' to her mother, who is an immigrant, while Jing-Mei is a first generation American. This is a great example of how being bi-cultural can change one’s point of view. Jing-mei has a very American perspective--although she is biracial--while her mother has a Chinese point of view, which causes them to bump heads. In the poem “Barbie Chang Got Her Hair Done,” the author refers to the beauty standard that is created in America and the racism behind it. If you aren't skinny, blond, with blue eyes--almost Barbie-like--you aren't considered “beautiful.” The author reveals that because of her race, no matter what shade of blonde she dyes her hair, she will be seen as an outsider and never seem to meet the unrealistic expectations of the white-centric beauty standards in America. This causes a conflict that is not just cultural, but is also racial. It’s similar in the personal reflection essay, "Me Talk Pretty One Day," (Sedaris) where David Sedaris focuses on the struggle of going back to school at the age of 40 in a foreign country in hopes of learning the language. Additionally, the song “Don't Drink The Water” by Dave Matthews Band has one of the deepest meanings a song has ever had. The song interprets the brutality of colonizers and how the land was taken from the Natives. It talks about America being stolen land and it very much speaks about cultural conflict the whole time. The sources used dialogue, imagery, and emotionally-charged language. The song “Don't Drink The Water” uses diction such as “Away, away, you have been banished. Your land is gone and given to me” (“Don’t”) to show the brutality the Natives were put through and were forced to accept. For example, the song says, “What's that you say? Your father's spirit still lives in this place? Well, I will silence you.” This is a reference to the Natives having absolutely no choice in a war with an enemy who will always win. In this case the colonizers are their enemies.The song uses emotionally-charged language such as, “I will bury you” to show that if the Natives chose to stay and fight, they would be killed without remorse;;the cultural conflict between the colonists and the Natives was resolved through genocide. Similarly, "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and “Two Kinds” (1989) use dialogue to show cultural differences and conflict."Me Talk Pretty One Day" uses dialogue too and Sedaris reports that his French teacher would say things such as, “‘I hate you’ [...] ‘I really, really hate you.’” (Sedaris). He then reveals his reaction: “Call me sensitive, but I couldn’t help but take it personally” (Sedaris). This shows the cultural conflict between the narrator and his French teacher. In “Two Kinds” (1989) Tan uses dialogue when the main character Jing-Mei says, “then I wish I weren’t your daughter, I wish you weren’t my mother” (Tan 28). This dialogue shows the conflict between Jing-Mei, a first generation American, and her mother, an immigrant from China. In the poem “Barbie Chang Got Her Hair Done” the author uses the technique of imagery to describe her desire to fit in: “matching floral / barrettes glowing like a rainbow that / seemed low enough / to reach to touch” (Chang). This describes Chang styling her hair, thinking that in doing so, she would fit in with the beautiful Barbie blonds--which in the poem are called “the Circle” (Chang). All these techniques used in these works not only inform the audience of the unrealistic expectations she had for herself, but do an amazing job in showing cultural conflict. I can relate to these experiences in a way; because, when I moved to the U.S., my first year was hell. Not only did I not understand English my first few months, but the Hispanics in New Mexico would be prejudiced against me. They did not like that I spoke fast; they didn't even bother to understand some of the words that in Dominican Spanish were different, but they also called me ignorant names such as “la Cubana,” assuming that if someone spoke fast Spanish, they were automatically Cuban. I wasn't even Cuban! They would call me “the wannabe Latina'' because I was a Black-Latina, and for some reason they didn't understand that Latinos come in all races while the ethnicity is the same. The cultural conflict in “Me Talk Pretty One Day” really touched my heart because of our similar experiences. I can relate to “Two Kinds” (1989) because I've been trying to please my strict immigrant mother who seems to think that anything less than an ‘A’ is a disappointment; my whole life I’m trying to make her even just a little proud. I also relate to “Barbie Chang Got Her Hair Done” in a regrettable way. When I first moved to the U.S., I tried everything to fit in and avoid standing out. I hid my accent when I spoke Spanish to people I didn't know, I learned to speak slowly and in a low tone, and I straightened my curly hair everyday. If I could go back in time, I would not do those things; I would just be myself no matter what. Now that I embrace who I am, I use it to my advantage. Everyone sees me as a light-skinned Black girl and a lot of people don't seem to even know I speak Spanish. You'd be surprised how many times I've caught people talking behind my back in Spanish who are shocked when I respond. Lastly, I can relate to “Don't Drink The Water'' because I live In New Mexico, a state with a larger population of Native Americans than most. In fact, I attend a school where the building is shared with a Native school. I can tell you that they do not like us. Some of the boys there were spreading rumors about me--not very kind ones and ones that would not be appropriate for me to elaborate on. I don't even know who those kids were! The point is that cultural conflict is something everyone experiences and the fact that I, personally, can relate to all this works only proves it more. Works Cited "Don't Drink the Water Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 21 Feb. 2021. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/33040656/Tears+for+Fears>. From Barbie Chang (Copper Canyon Press, 2017). Copyright © 2017 by Victoria Chang. Used by permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org. Sedaris, David, Me Talk Pretty One Day. Boston [Mass.]: Back Bay Books, 2001. Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." pg 27. Radnor Township School District / Radnor Township SD, 1989, www.rtsd.org/cms/lib/PA01000218/Centricity/Domain/319/TwoKindsfulltext.pdf. Homesick
The island of Merengue, Bachata, Coffee and Joy. The unique Culture, different from others. Where friends turn into Family, And become the priority. Running from chickens just to live. My hair long and frizzy, moved by the wind, While hanging with my cousins is my favorite thing. In a Family of at least a ton, The Joy is unforgettable. I flew away and still I am Homesick. My body is not used to the dry and brown, I'm still missing my little town. Many people have Values. Integrity, Kindness and more. But the one I value and defend the most is; my Culture. People may say ¨Do you not value your family?¨ I turn and shake my head. No because I value my Culture and in my Culture, Family always comes first. Comments are closed.
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AuthorAll works are submitted by CCHS students. |