Earliest Exposure to Culturally and Racially Different People through Television Show

Outline

Introduction

            Despite profound impacts of globalization on culture, first experience of a new culture is often unexpected and maybe exciting or brings out an unpleasant feeling that can make you re-assess your culture and newly exposed culture.

Reflection of my first experience with racially and culturally different individuals

            My comprehension of diverse cultures and races is minimal since my home country Kenya is less culturally and racially diverse compared to the United States. I can reflect on my first experience with racially and culturally different individuals, to the year 2002 when I was still around 13-years-old.

Native Diverse Philippine Cultures Portrayed in the Film

            The film had a mixture of native Philippine values with western individualism and materialism for viewer captivation. One of the things that drew me to the film is that most Filipino films’ storylines center on the description of main characters overcoming all social, cultural, and economic challenges and working their way from upwards from the bottom.

Pluralistic Cultural Viewpoint

            From a pluralistic cultural viewpoint, I believe that this earlier diverse racial and cultural experience had a positive comprehensive impact on me.

Earliest Exposure to Culturally and Racially Different People through Television Show

            Today there are profound impacts of globalization on culture. It is easy to have the first-hand experience of diverse cultural values, traditions, ideas, and customs from different parts of the world through technological development. However, the first experience of a new culture is often unexpected and maybe exciting or brings out an unpleasant feeling that can make you re-assess your culture and newly exposed culture. I’m an African American, born and raised in Kenya before moving to the United States at 23-years-old. And since my background was majorly founded on native Kenyan cultures, I think my earliest exposure to culturally and racially diverse individuals through digital media was a bit shocking but, at the same time, exciting. 

           My comprehension of diverse cultures and races is minimal since my home country Kenya is less culturally and racially diverse compared to the United States. I can reflect on my first experience with racially and culturally different individuals, to the year 2002 when I was still around 13-years-old. The exposure was through a famous television show from the Philippines, known as ‘The Promise.’ It was a soap opera that was aired every weekday on one of the national television stations in Kenya and was loved by many. Because most of my family members loved watching and talking about soap operas, my interest was appealed, and I began watching it. ‘The Promise’ was a drama film series about two young Filipino lovers, Angelo – a powerful politician’s rebellious son, and Yna – a poor and straightforward retired policeman’s daughter. The two are at the heart of the soap opera and not known to them; the destiny of their love story is a reiterated dark history. Their love story is filled with struggles, pain, and achievements from the beginning to the end. The series portrayed how drama films from the Philippines display their culture associated with friendship and family relationships, socio-economic inequalities, romance, and parental respect.

Moreover, I felt that the film had a mixture of native Philippine values with western individualism and materialism for viewer captivation. One of the things that drew me to the film is that most Filipino films’ storylines center on the description of main characters overcoming all social, cultural, and economic challenges and working their way from upwards from the bottom. For instance, despite the difficulties of fighting for their love, Yna and Angelo eventually end up being together. Furthermore, I got attracted to the drama series that showed many Philippine cultures such as traditional food, architecture, music, beliefs, medicine, and clothing. 

From a pluralistic cultural viewpoint, I believe that this earlier diverse racial and cultural experience had a positive comprehensive impact on me. The credibility of the cultural pluralism perspective is the understanding of other cultures, which is a crucial aspect of any prosperous ethnic society. Today, we are in an increasingly and progressively diverse world regarding culture, language, race, religious groups, and socio-economic groups. Due to globalization and technological advancements, there is a belief that we are all equal, resulting in a common tendency of a modern individual not to pay attention to the significance of existing cultural diversities. Therefore, a pluralistic cultural perspective is significant in building a robust socio-cultural background to enhance community justice and cohesiveness.