SOC207

Hassan Omar Jr

Culture Clash

SOC 207

Ms. Holly

January 31, 2009

Culture Clash

Culture clash, what is it? When two different ways of life and ways of thinking collide and the differences are apparent, these cultures clash. The real determinate of that is can they understand one another and respect their views. In MTV’s episode of Exiled

a young American man by the name of Bjorn is relocated to a tribe of people in Morocco, North Africa. The tribe he is set to coexist with is a tribe of Berbers. The young man must learn a different way of life to see that the world is not always about handing you things; you must earn them.

Bjorn is met by his host in Morocco. His name is Said. Said is a Muslim and has a completely different way of life than what Bjorn is used to living here in the US. The first thing noticed is Bjorn’s culture shock. He noticed the great difference between the landscapes in Morocco and back home in the US. His statement “There is not a mall in site”. This can be taken as complete culture shock. Bjorn is not used to being in this kind of area. When Bjorn is acquainted with Said’s parents and siblings, then shows him his home. Bjorn is shocked to see the conditions they live in as if it is unacceptable. In the US a toilet is up off the floor and the sink is clear of bugs. Said being from the area and the region and knowing no other way of life sees nothing wrong. He sees the conditions he lives in as suitable and good.

Next Said introduces Bjorn to the appropriate clothing to be worn in the region that they live in. Said explains why they wear what they wear, Bjorn is resistant to wear the clothing. Said shows him how to wear the clothing and how to put it on. Bjorn then asks many questions as to the nature of what they will do that he needs to wear this clothing. Said explains that they need to go out and collect camel dung to use for fire. In the United States the use of feces is looked at as unsanitary and culturally gross. Said sees nothing wrong with collecting camel dung and knows its uses. He is aware of the reasons it is necessary for survival in the region.

Said then shows Bjorn what they will need to do in order to eat dinner. Said explains what they need to do in order to eat, they must catch and kill pigeons. Bjorn is in shock that they have to kill an animal to eat. In the US all you have to do is go to a local market. Said seeing Bjorn’s reactions to what he must do to eat were not taken so kindly. Said saw it as a sign of disrespect and that Bjorn is not cut out to be a Berber man. The next day Said tells Bjorn they have to collect fossils to exchange for money. Bjorn was capable of understanding the task. The part he did not comply with was the distance they had to travel and way they got there. Said explains that it is a bike ride up into the mountains that will take 3 hours. Bjorn is not used to having to travel in this fashion. In the US people are accustomed to traveling by a car or by public transportation. In third world countries these types of commodities are not available. They must travel by foot, by animal, by bicycles, or what ever they can use to get them to where hey need to be.

The fossils they must collect are found deep down in caves in the middle of the desert. The amount of work that needs to be done just to have the simple commodities that Bjorn is so accustomed to in the US is an eye opener. The differences in culture are very vast in some areas and very small in others. For example, collecting dung, in the United States it is not a culture norm to collect animals’ feces we look down upon it. However in Morocco amongst the Berber people collecting dung is a way of life. You need it for heat to keep you warm and cook food. In the United States its a culture norm to have gas or electricity flowing through your house to heat and cook food. The Berbers way of watering crops and collecting water is rather strange to a person from a Post Industrial Country.

To the Berber people many of the tasks and ways they do things are governed by their beliefs. Hard work and commitment are a part of their ways of thinking. They see the value in the work they do. It is custom for them to wear the clothing that they do and speak the way they do amongst others with the same beliefs. This is all apart of their individual culture. The Berbers language is also very in tune with their religion. The Berbers being Muslims they are more than likely to have Islamic views and customs along with speaking Arabic.

The way the people greet each other the United States is going to be different than the way Said would greet someone in Morocco. These types of things are classified as folkways. In this culture, Berbers, where survival is the most valued thing there is and individuals’ personal expression is not as important. In our own culture survival is valued but not as much because we have many programs in place to make sure people in the US have what they need to survive. In the United States the fact that we have a lot more technology at our disposal makes our way of life easier to coupe with. The major thing that the culture we have in America is a material based society where objects have value. Whereas in a third world country the people within their society have more value than any item they possess.

When Bjorn would not participate in catching the pigeons and killing them for dinner. Said found it to be offensive. Why? This was because it was seen as a cultural mores. Mores (MOR-RAYS) are cultural taboos and things you just do not do. Bjorn complaining and not participating in the task at hand was offensive to Said. In the US we have similar views of things like this. For example, if in class a group of students are working on a project and one student refuses to do anything at all the other group members would look down upon that act and say the person was lazy.

The major thing to remember is that Bjorn is from the US and sees the world as if it centers around his way of thinking and culture. Said also sees the world the same way yet from the view point from his culture and way of thinking. Meaning both of these young men have an ethnocentrism stand point. These two people are meeting and exchanging ways of living. They are experiencing what we here in America call multiculturalism. Bjorn is brought up in a society that sees all ways of culture are equal and they should be respected.

My reaction to the video episode of Exiled was rather cliché. I found the episode to be way too cliché. Bjorn’s reaction to the way they live was too over the top for me. I am not saying that I would be happy to pick up camel dung or kill a pigeon. However I would not have disrespected Said’s way of life as Bjorn did. I thought the person they choose to be placed in that area was not the right person to send there. He was over the top and in my opinion he was not the kind of person that would take away from the situation he was put in. He would not change the way he views life or the way other people live. In all honesty I did not like the story. I liked the fact that they showed people in the US how people in other countries live. However I did not like the way the person personified the way Americans are.

References

Macionis, J.J. (2008) Sociology (12 ed)

Uppersaddle river, NJ Prentice Hall