Cultural Response - Free Paper Example

Introduction

Many aspects of our daily lives are influenced by culture. The culture that we embrace defines our perception, behaviors, belief systems, and emotions. Cultural influences, together with religion, social organization, and structure of a family, gender, and relationships, define how we relate to the world. Our reaction to pain is also influenced by these factors. For instance, to the Hindus, the pain has to be endured as it is a part of the preparation for a better life to come. On sensing imminent death, a devout Hindu prepares for what they term a good death by being conscious in order to experience the good events to come. Culture can be defined as a framework that guides how people behave in different situations. This essay tackles cultural responses drawn from personal observations and examples from films.

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Observation

A recent observation that I made is the reaction of people to events with adverse effects such as fire outbreak and road accidents. It can be an instant response or a delayed one depending on the event. In situations of climate disaster or similar, cultural organizations immediately act in support of the affected communities. Such organizations do so by providing emergency expertise and sanctuary to the affected people. A good example is the Grenfell Tower incident, where a fire outbreak was experienced in the 24-storey building. People responded to the event by the direct rescue of the victims and providing refuge to the affected. Gate Theatre, for instance, opened its doors to the Grenfell tower victims and to the helpers too.

In the current society, on an event of death, the response is always mourning and solemn rituals. Death takes away loved ones, and accepting the fact that they are never gone a walk in the park. To commemorate such loss, processions, monuments, or events are organized in remembrance of the fallen person (Bridget, 2017). This type of response is usually depicted by countries when a president or any other leader passes away. Body viewing events are organized, allowing the general population to grief and pay last respect to their leader. One good example is the death of Nelson Mandela that got the whole world grieving. People also grief when they lose a social figure. The recent death of basketball icon Kobi Bryant attracted a response from not just people of his mother nation but to those who love basketball. People have gone further to write articles about the death of the basketball star. Meera Estada, a Global News specialist, argues that it is okay to show vulnerability during times of grief. She bases her argument on the speech delivered by Jordan, who had tears stream down his face during the entire speech. People felt the enormity of his pain when he said, “When Kobe died, a piece of me died.”

Arts and Culture

Moreover, I have come to realize that arts and culture tend to be holistic as compared to other modes of response. This is because they deal with materials and experiences that shift and exposes mindsets. Arts and cultural projects help in defining attitude towards our fellow beings (Bridget, 2017). The projects instill a caring heart for people and also directs one to be less materialistic. We also learn to take action for others. One real-life example is migration museums. The phenomenon has led to the creation of both new and multiple identities. Several countries opted for the creation of migration museums in order to facilitate encounters between the host populations and migrants. Such venues have also been created to enable transmission between generations. This is made possible when the migrants tell their personal stories.

Conclusion

In conclusion, culture plays a vital role in determining a response to a given situation. The cultural beliefs and values contribute greatly to the success or failure of events. The beliefs determine whether the response will be positive or negative. Cultures that stress people have a different response; it can heighten the response and lead to volunteering efforts.

Reference

Bridget. (2017). Types of Cultural Response to Emergency. The Learning Planet, np. https://thelearningplanet.wordpress.com/2017/10/22/types-of-cultural-response-to emergency/.