从电影《刮痧》看中西文化差异
Instruction:
The movie Guasha tells us a story about an immigrated family who have trouble in America because of different culture. In America,they treat Guasha as a way of abuse,but back in China,it's a traditional treatment. So I'll talk about their different understanding of face.
Body:
There is a scene in the movie that Datong and his boss John are in a party. And Datong' son Daniel plays with John's. But the two boys get a fight during their play time. Datong forces Daniel to say sorry to John's son.John thinks it unnecessary to do that because it's the kids' thing. But Datong even hits Daniel for he won't apologize. That behavior shocks John and his wife.
The misunderstanding happens for two reasons. First,it's common in China that parents can hit their children if they don't behave well,which is unacceptable in the U.S. because Americans think children and adults are equal. Second,Datong hits Daniel because John is his boss and best friend,he thinks he is giving face to John.But John can't understand it.He doesn't know how ingrained the face is in Chinese daily life.
Conclusion:
To avoid this kind of problem,Datong has to give up his deep thought of face and do what American do. Or he can explain why he hits Daniel after he notices that John is shocked. Meanwhile ,John should ask Datong why he does that if he gets confused. He shouldn't make judgements so easily. The two should get to know each other's culture first.
Bibliography:
[1]张伯存.《刮痧》的文化分析[J].当代电影，2002，(1):191
[2]王进.文化神话与身份政治-重读电影《刮痧》的文化冲突问题