Category Archives: Cultural Exchange

Asian American, Cultural Exchange, culture, entertainment, Language

Exploring East Asian Culture through Film

By Gina Samec

“Ugh, I hate subtitles!”

Each time I encounter someone with this attitude, I’m disappointed because the scope of great film extends far beyond what is churned out of Hollywood. While the disliking of subtitles is understandable, I encourage anyone who has this sentiment to go outside their comfort zone and watch some foreign films. Watching a movie is an easy way to explore another culture. This is not to say that movies are representative of real life, but they are often a reflection of society. These movies are not for everyone but here are some recommendations of East Asian films I have enjoyed watching!

Memories of Murder

This Korean film from 2003 starts out as a murder mystery but the plot unfolds in an unconventional way. Apart from the main conflict of finding a loose serial killer, a side conflict between the protagonist, Park, and a volunteer detective, Seo, keeps the story interesting. However, one of the best aspects of this film is the cinematography. The thoughtfulness of how the movie was shot adds another layer of depth to it. So any fans of the crime genre or anyone who has an appreciation for brilliant cinematography should give this film a shot.

Secret Sunshine

This 2007 Korean film centers around a widow, Shin-ae, who moves back to the town where her husband lived. While this already sounds like a rough start, Shine-ae’s life dives into a downward spiral from there. What makes this film different from anything I’ve seen, is the exploration of religion. Most movies are too afraid to do so because it is a touchy subject but Secret Sunshine takes this risk. This film depicts the journey of a woman who is not religious in the slightest, encountering Christianity for the first time. I should put a disclaimer that there is some critique of religion so it is not for everyone. However, it is quite refreshing to see a female-led film showing someone trying to overcome a low point in their life without pretending to have all the answers.

Sweet Bean

This Japanese film from 2015 is much more sentimental and family friendly than the previous two. This film is about a symbolic family: the bond that is formed between three generations centered around a dorayaki pancake shop. These three people, an old woman, a middle aged man, and a young teenage girl are all somewhat outcasts from society. Together, they find purpose through their shared love of dorayaki. The film has breathtaking cinematography and brings out the beauty in the simple things. If you enjoy heartfelt movies then this is a good go-to.

A Touch of Sin

This Chinese film from 2013 follows four different characters each in a different storyline. On the surface, this film seems to be mostly about violence but there is much more going on than there appears to be. Each character is being oppressed by society in different forms and protest against it through different methods. What makes this film stand apart is the complexity of the characters. Usually protagonists are righteous and principled. However, these characters are a mixture of good and bad and often their actions are questionable. This film is full of symbolism so for me, it was fun to watch with friends because we all had different interpretations of certain scenes. If you enjoy action-packed movies and don’t mind violence, this is a riveting film that is surprisingly meaningful.

Featured image from Pxfuel

Gina is a sophomore studying Communication at the USC School of Annenberg.  She attended five schools but mostly grew up in Piedmont, California. Although she only attended a French bilingual school for two years, she has continued to pursue fluency in the language. She loves playing volleyball, watching movies, and thrift shopping. Never having left the country has fueled her love for learning about other cultures and meeting people from different backgrounds.

Cultural Exchange, culture, Language, New Experience, Outlook

How Are You? Does it Matter?

By Samantha Wong

It’s always fascinating—illuminating even—to take a step back from the comfort of our daily interactions and to ask, why? Why do we do some of the things we do? 

During one of my first sessions leading as a Conversation Partner, an international student asked me, “How do you respond to how are you?” Immediately, I reacted with the oh-so-familiar reply, “Good; how are you?” Unconvinced, the student questioned why people respond that way even when they are not good. Like an automatic reflex, it seemed to her as though people ask and return this ostensibly benevolent greeting without any genuine interest at all. 

This inquiry into the utmost timeless greeting focused my attention on to the standard of politeness that Americans have become accustomed to. Why do we continue to blindly ask each other “how are you” when we simply expect a moderate variation of the same answer 99% of the time?

In America, I believe we come to ask each other “how are you” because, frankly, we are afraid to come across as impolite otherwise. It is due to our crippling fear of appearing “rude” or “crass” that we ask a question that does not seem to bear much weight anymore. Indeed, when we ask this question, we more often than not are returned by a one-word response and a dreadfully long, awkward pause… Consequently, we need to move beyond these greetings that yield one-word answers to unlock opportunities to stimulate dialogue we are sincerely interested in. It is only then may we bridge meaningful relationships.

Across all cultures, we hope to reciprocate both courtesy and respect during our interactions with new people. For, every day, we inevitably cross paths with dozens of new faces under distinct circumstances. Particularly as USC students, we have the unique ability to meet and learn from hundreds of different perspectives through a simple “hello” and informal introduction. With one of the largest international populations on campus, we truly are a melting pot of diverse and similar stories waiting to be told. Thus, why should we waste our perfect opportunities to engage in thought-provoking conversations by asking a question that leads to nowhere?

In reference to a Forbes article, there are countless questions to ask that can prompt dynamic and distinctive conversations. What has been the best part of your day so far? What are you looking forward to this week? What has inspired you recently? Truly, the possibilities for good questions are endless. 

With this untapped reserve of productive conversation starters, we can (and should) begin exchanges with positivity, purpose, and ultimately, genuine interest! After all, who wouldn’t want to make a great first impression?

Let’s do ourselves a favor and ask better questions. Who knows, perhaps we can gain something more valuable during our conversations!

Featured image by Sawyer Bengston on Unsplash

Sam is an undergrad business student at Marshall School of Business. While raised in a small town in New Jersey, she loves to explore diverse cultures through travel and unique eats (particularly, desserts). Since flying 3,000 miles across the country, Sam has continued her passions for consulting, interacting with students across cultures, and helping others! Sam is greatly involved in the Marshall community (AIM Marketing Consulting, Marshall Business Network), and is an enthusiastic American pop culture follower.

Cultural Exchange, culture, Family, Outlook, Travel, Uncategorized

Understanding Diversity

By Tahrima Bhuiyan

I am the child of two Bangladeshi Americans. Every summer until I was ten years old, my family would visit our relatives back in Bangladesh– and then again, when I was fourteen, and then again this past summer, at eighteen.

I grew up travelling. I had visited a number of countries by the age of ten. To me, differences were normal– different colors, different cultures, different foods, different clothing, different religions. This was further reinforced by the fact that I was brought up in a very diverse community in Dallas, Texas.  

I have been raised amidst every possible race, culture, sexuality and religion. To the left of our home, there lived a Chinese family, to our right an African-American couple, and straight across, an old Colombian couple. In high school, my best friends represented every possible ethnicity. On Tuesday, my Vietnamese friends and I went to eat pho; on Friday, my African American friend’s mom gave me a dashiki, and on Saturday, I learned to do the salsa (even though I’m not good at it).

Diversity was a significant part of my experience; I was naive growing up, for I thought it was as normal to embrace differences for everyone else as it was for me. However, as incomprehensible as it was to me, discrimination soon became impossible to ignore. The older I got, the more I noticed misogyny, Islamophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia and intolerance. It was sad to see my friends and peers experiencing hatred and prejudice due to their skin color. It was difficult to experience it myself. It was heartbreaking to interact with refugees from places such as Yemen, Syria and Myanmar and hear their stories of hardship and injustice and watch the world fail to care. I witnessed a lack of accessible healthcare, education and, many times, of basic human rights in developing nations abroad. These experiences led me to want work with NGOs; I have been working with UNICEF for three years and I hope to continue to work with  NGOs to address human rights violations.

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