Thursday, October 27, 2011
Nacirema people
On Monday we discussed the article about the Nacirema people and their culture. While reading the article you think to yourself that this culture is very strange until you realize that Nacirema is American spelled backwards and this article is talking about our culture. By wording the articles in a way, he made american culture seem alien and strange. I admit i was fooled and did catch on that the article was about us until class on Monday. This article showed an outside perspective on american life and beliefs. The holy mouth men section really got me. It seemed strange the way the author described them and how Americans really put a value on clean teeth. It made me realize how much of an effort we put into keeping good hygiene.
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Yeah and the thing is that when you do actually think about it it is very weird how we obsess with the mouth and how we pay the money that we do to keep our mouths nice. But also in a way the teeth are one of the facial features that initially stand out when you see someone and it can be distracting as well so by making it a primary focus we can eliminate that distraction and focus on what really matters. We've just been brain washed to think the way we do about the mouth.
ReplyDeleteI was completely fooled as well when I read this article. It is amazing how much wording and description can alter the way your mind perceives something. I actually found it very interesting because I got to see an outsider view of what others think of Americans in general. The fixation that we have on the mouth is very intense. It really shows how we value looks in general and develop stereotypes so easily.
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