US business culture norms today are all about action and the bottom line.  “Show me the money!”

Think about it.   If Socrates were working at a corporation in the US today, with all of his thinking and pontificating, his boss might say “he’s full of baloney…what has he actually DONE?” (or more likely, “Socrates, stop blowing hot air and get back to work!”)

What started me thinking about how time period and culture change our view of things, was the NY Times article on Sunday, “A Charlie Chan Film Stirs an Old Controversy,” about sreenings of a 1968 long lost documentary “The Great Charlie Chan,” in New York in February, and scheduled again for March 16.

My first reaction?  “I loved Charlie Chan detective movies when I was a kid.”

So I was a little uneasy when I read the author’s, Pradnya Joshi, thoughts:

“For many activists, Charlie Chan remains a symbol of Hollywood’s failure to accurately portray Asians and Asian-Americans. The character was usually played by white actors who were made up to seem Asian and who spoke English with an exaggerated accent.”

On the flipside, an earlier article from a 2006 release of a Charlie Chan collection, author Dave Kehr proffers that the films were not racist, “by the standards of their time.” 

That phrase, “standards of their time” rings to me of majority privilege, as in nobody got mad because it was okay in that time.  But okay to whom?  Or, was it actually offensive then too, but there was no power or place to voice that offense?

Beyond Chan’s character (and his son who talks like a typical American teenager of the time, for some fun generational contrast), more uncomfortable to me, from this clip from “Shadows Over Chinatown” (below) is the exaggerated personification of the African American butler, played by Mantan Moreland. (Indeed after years of success as a comedic actor Moreland was ostracized for demeaning representations as the civil rights movement grew in the 1950’s.)

What do Socrates, Charlie Chan and intercultural communications have in common?  

We are who we are, where we are, when we are.  Feeling guilty about how we reacted to things in the past is useless. Knew knowledge and exposure to multiple perspectives allows us to integrate new insights, reconceptualize our ideas, and apply them to future interactions.

For Socrates, I’m sticking to the “great man” theory.  For Charlie Chan, I think I’ll take a deeper look, particularly at how the representations reflect the society at the time, and changes that have evolved since then.

Anything unsettling popping up from your childhood?  How do you reconcile incongruities between your former and current self?

photo credit, Raphael’s Socrates, via University of Florida Philosophy Department .  Thanks to @prpc on Twitter for link to original article.

Dillon’s pick this week is the ad above for “Confederate Family Insurance.

It was so offensive, that we realized it couldn’t possibly be true.  Indeed, it is from Spike Lee’s faux documentary “Confederate States of America,” that looks at the US as thought the South had won the Civil War.

It’s extreme representations, however, provide perfect fodder for a budding multiculturalist-Dillon is 8-to hone his skills in recognizing inequities in advertising.

So, Dillon, what is wrong with this ad?

Um, at first they called him “master of the house.”  And in the beginning, a servant came to bring him his drink.  He looked at his wife and child as property, and everything revolved around him.  The gardener in the end was African American–but they were showing him really just to show it.  Plus his house looked like a plantation.

Many a parent will bemoan the stereotypic representations in children’s movies, TV, and commercials (Videos are so rife with issues we don’t even go there!), but how do you talk about them with your children?  For Dillon, he recognizes when something is sexist or racist, but sometimes doesn’t know why. 

The tricky part is when he asks me what I think–so that I allow him to form his own opinions, without potentially passing along my own biases.  But at least we are talking and forming language, and that is a great place to start.

What did you talk about with your kids at breakfast this morning?

 The anthropological approach gives each group ‘hegemony,’ the power to exist in its own right. It recognizes the inherent value that multiple perspectives bring to probelm solving and innovation.

 The idea is to know thyself first, then observe, participate, interact, to know ‘the other.’ It’s like being an ethnographer studying yourself–being keenly aware of how you communicate (as an individual or business), revealing your unconscios bias, being sensitive to how others react to you, and fine tuning your messages accordingly, with the ultimate goal to create multicultural marketing that doesn’t perpetuate stereotypes. 

Do you know your own communication style?  How do you define your own cultural identity?  If you are white, do you identify culturally that way?

There’s so much fodder just looking at stereotypes and unconscious bias in US advertising, that there’s not much time to take a look at ads in other countries, but this ad (thanks to Larry Kolb in Rgober Ebert’s Journal) is a fun peek into advertising appearances by Hollywood stars in Japan.

Having been asked at a park in Japan to pose with babies for pictures simply because I was white (in what seemed like the cultural equivalent of “can I touch your hair?”), I imagine that somewhere along the line these kind of images perpetuate stereotypes of Americans.  It seems impossible with so much readily available media images, but it was not too long ago that US Americans still had a cowboy image.  (For Chicago, we still get “Al Capone” and “Ted Bundy.”)

I remember a high school exchange trip to Paris in the early 80’s.  We were speaking to a group of students, who believed that the US was the land of plenty, and that anyone and everyone could get and had a job.  To prove a point, they asked all of the teenagers in our group if we worked.  Indeed we all did.  To them that seemed to infuse a little anger that we had things so much better off. 

Knowing that wasn’t true, I couldn’t find a counter argument at the time.  It was only later that I realized that all of the US students visiting had jobs…because only the high schoolers with jobs could afford to go on the three week exchange program.

The takeaway for intercultural communications?  1.) The US is not the only one who fabricates images of culture via popular media, and 2.) Popular/social media requires a more global thinking about decisions–there’s really no such thing as targeted marketing anymore, when any message can be seen anywhere, by anyone.

That’s a lesson that Conan O’Brien learned the hard way.

David Giantasio questioned on Adfreak, why, after becoming an ex-smoker, the “hero” of the ad (from Amercian Legacy, the NATC, the Ad Council and GSD&M Idea City) didn’t shoot higher than bowling (above) or operating a fork-lift. 

As an ex-smoker (June 24, 1986, but who’s keeping track?) the week you quit smoking  really is not the time to take on a lot of new things while you’re still in the throws of withdrawal.  So that part I get. 

But,  more importantly, did you notice that the ex-smoker was white, and all of his friends were people of color?  Reminds me a little of a Chris Rock concert on HBO where he pointed out how different things were nowadays…he had so many white friends, and his white friends had…one black friend.” 

So this “opposite” grouping is notable to me because we form unconscious bias from (among other things) images we see in media, and particularly marketing.  I think of ads that I saw growing up in the 60’s and 70’s (thanks to Mr. Classics on YouTube who seems to have captured a lot of them) that featured predominantly white actors, and certainly the voice overs or jingles were a very ‘apple pie’ genre.  Marsha Brady was the girl to aspire to be, and Marcus Welby, MD, was the voice of authority.

But think of what kids are growing up with today.  There are interracial couples (not enough that I could actually find good examples on You  Tube, other than this Old Navy clip from 2008) and families of all backgrounds.  I even…gasp…saw a Volkswagan Sign then Drive ad in January featuring …a woman car salesperson!

We can change unconscious connections and biases by making new ones, so the images kids see today are already forming their future associations. 

What’s good, and what’s bad?  What are changes you’ve seen in advertising over the years that are helping?  What’s hurting?

Twice  in two weeks I’ve been incredibly jealous when reading of projects or ventures of friends or colleagues.  But, if ‘birds of a feather flock together,” I’m glad to be in the same group as these birds.  It’s one thing to talk about multiculturalism, another to create businesses and projects that allow people to live it.

Here are a few things going on in Chicago (and one that’s across the country).  All offer specific calls to action and opportunities, events, courses and more for intercultural learning for all ages:

Multilingual Chicago

When I met Jill a year or so ago she was just “Workforce Language Services,” providing expert translation in all languages, and site/job specific language training (like for a restaurant—understanding the difference between a pinch, a smidge and a gob when someone is asking for sour cream on a burrito). 

Per her most recent newsletter, she’s grown into “Multilingual Chicago,” now offering all kinds of intercultural interaction and learning, from language classes, weekend language boot camps, Spanish story-time for kids, country specific wine-tastings, and more, covering Spanish, French, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and more.  

Brazil in Chicago

Marcelo is one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and he’s a great teacher!  Brazil in Chicago offers Brazilian language and culture courses, plus he’s expanded to offer programs for kids (e.g. like mine—US mom, Brazilian dad, living in the US…he’ll need classes to fully speak Portuguese, even if he understands it), plus English for Portuguese speakers, and Portuguese for Spanish speakers.

He includes a real social aspect to the learning experience, with outings to Portuguese movies, or great parties at the School (it’s important to taste caipirinha’s to appreciate Brazilian culture).  He also takes it upon himself to send out a monthly newsletter with everything Brazilian happening in Chicago.

One Chicago-One Nation

As it says on their website,

By harnessing the power of our nation’s diversity, One Chicago, One Nation unites people of all cultures, faiths, and social backgrounds to build communities for the common good through: digital storytelling, community conversations, leadership development and innovative philanthropy.

One Nation, a philanthropic collaborative, has partnered with The Chicago Community Trust, Link TV, Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) and Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) to develop in Chicago a nationally replicable civic engagement initiative that brings together diverse local communities to work with common purpose for the common good to uphold America’s promise of liberty and justice for all.

But I like it 1.) because anyone can sign up to be a community ambassador or participate in a variety of ways, and 2.) it’s being planned by my mentor and good friend, Laurie at Think, Inc. Stragegy and Think Art Salon.  What a great project…Go Laurie!

Partners of the Americas

Started as a person to person diplomacy effort to parallel the work of the State Department in the 1960’s, Partners of the Americas now is one of the largest not-for-profit volunteer organizations in the world.  States in the US have partner relationships with states, countries and territories in Central and South America and the Caribbean. 

Projects include University Linkages, sustainable architecture, Youth Ambassadors, and more, based on the goals of the two partnered chaptered.  Chapters have sent ambulences to their counterparts, raised money in times of crises, painted murals in rural areas, and explored developing green energy solutions.

For me in Illinois, we are partnered with Sao Paulo Brazil (our annual meeting is this Saturday, 2/27—please send me a note if you’d like details to attend!).  We’ve done fantastic music exchanges, sent a muralist to work in a rural community in Sao Paulo state, had the director of a Rehabilitation center come to Chicago to share best practices, and in March we are co-hosting with our colleagues in Sao Paulo a conference to create a sustainable City plan with government officials in Paranapiacaba, Brasil.

What are you up to?  What’s going on in your neck of the woods?  How are you converting ideas into action, and creating opportunities for others along the way?

Have you ever been in a position at work where you are working your tail off and all you hear is criticism from those around you?  As explained by a sympathetic friend to me once, “it’s like the idea of a moving target.  If everyone else is sitting around doing nothing, you running by gives everyone something to talk about.”

 I’m not saying there’s a direct correlation here, but I was surprised by the intensity and vitriol in the conversation surrounding Robin Wiszowaty and her book My Maasai Life in a disucssion on Sociological Images.  Wiszowaty left her US privileged life and was adopted by a village family in Kenya, where she lived for a year or so, wrote a book about the experience and now is on the speaking circuit.

The criticism has to do with a sense that she has romanticized the culture and avoided acknowledging the real hardships of the country (that the privileged framework of her travel allowed) and thereby ultimately did a disservice to the local culture and its people.

For a full disclaimer regarding my willingness to state an opinion about that of which I know not, I never heard of Robin Wiszowaty until my fried updated her Facebook page yesterday with a link to the discussion on Sociological Images (and suggested that it might make good fodder for Intercultural Talk.)

That said, here goes.  The power of being a multiculturalist is the hypersensitivity to multiple perspectives.  You begin to imagine how your words will be received or interpreted by others.

On the good side, it’s accepting that your orientation is not the norm but an option, and using that lens to frame thinking before you speak…thinking through the implications and power of your words.

One the flip side, if there’s a fear of always offending or belying your own privilege with your words and actions you can become paralyzed into inaction.

Immersing yourself in another culture is a fantastic first step of becoming attuned to your own biases, particularly if you are of the majority culture.   It’s the idea of being “the other”…moving yourself into a situation that allows you to see yourself through the eyes of others.  

What’s wrong this time?  Maybe a naivety—it’s true that you probably need a certain degree of privilege to make the choices Robin is talking about.  And, no matter how long you live in another culture (or even your own) I’m always wary of anyone who tries to describe “a people” as being a certain way.

My friend frames it this way:

YES, step out of our individual lives to a greater world community… but how do we white folks do this in a way that results in the greatest good, and acknowledges that access to opportunity is not equal to all peoples. How do we affect the world AT HOME? We don’t have to travel although there is much to LEARN FROM THESE WORLDS AWAY.  How do we explore cultures different from our own without limiting the richness of these cultures by romanticizing? Turn up the sensitivity of your vision to see and share the complexity , not “the simple life” as it fits it into a box of your limited perception.

But I say you have to start by acting.  Robin’s language and depth of understanding hopefully will evolve overtime.  At a bare minimum, her actions have inspired the discussion and that alone brings value.

What do you think?

Thanks to Ingrid of Earthly Sites for the link.

Have you heard the old joke that plays on the philosophical question about a tree falling in the forest?  You know the one… “If you’re in the forest and you say something wrong and your spouse (of course I’m going with the gender neutral version!) doesn’t hear you, are you still wrong?”

While seemingly innocuous, it does reveal a critical distinction that permeates all of intercultural communications:  What you do/who you are versus how you are perceived or judged against the norms of society. 

In intercultural communications and anthropology, the idea is to give individuals and cultures hegemony, the power to exist in and of our own right, from our own point of first-person expression.

The story of 7-year-old Julia Lira, selected by her father Marco Lira to be the Samba Queen for the Viradouro School in the Carnaval parade in Rio is a case in point.

One the one hand, kids know how to samba in Brazil by the age of two…it’s part of the culture (I learned at 26 from my 3 and 4 year old nieces.)  Plus, it’s not crazy for a parent to think that their child is the best in everything.  And, as Lira says, “Any man who looks at a 7-year-old child and feels any sort of excitement should go see a doctor.”

On the flip side, Carnaval costumes are elaborate yet teeny, and samba moves in and of themselves can be seen as suggestive–I’ve tried teaching it in some of my aerobic classes in the US—our hips just don’t move that way!  (although for background, anyone can come in costume or join a Samba School and participate in Carnaval.)

While she did perform, it was nearly impossible for Julia just to simply be a little girl essentially putting on a dance recital.  Her actions cannot be interpreted separate from the history of the event which focuses on women as objects of desire.  (Or maybe it’s just that the women are gorgeous and therefore desireable—like the Neutrogena commercial… “don’t hate me because I am beautiful!”)  

While serving as food for thought, writing this piece confirms why I am not wont to form a strong position about current news stories without having the facts behind the story.  While Julia may be a cute little girl, the Viadouro school apparently drew controversy in 2008 by featuring a Hitler and Holocaust survivors.  That float was ruled illegal and denied entry, but it frames the current decision as exploitative of his daughter, to gain media coverage.    

In the final competition, Julia and the Viadouro school came in last.  The Samba Queen from the winning school was four months pregnant…a soon to be mom.

Maybe for next year we’ll just work on changing the norms through which women are viewed.

What do you think?

photo credit Times Online UK