Non-Western media and entertainment, whether it be music, movies or books, can be essential to the lives of people who wish to connect to their heritage. It may preserve ties with family and friends who may live thousands of miles away. For second-generation Americans, it can also be a chance to learn about their traditions through these forms of media. They are able to watch and understand who they are and where they come from through the stories and entertainments of those across the globe.
In today’s multicultural world, there exists a wide variety of forms of media and entertainment. However, living in a predominantly white community can often make some people feel alienated from their own culture. This is where non-Western media can come into play in people’s daily lives.
“[Watching Chinese] TV shows really helped me with improving and learning Chinese, especially [with] conversations,” said junior Nicole Jin. “It helps me learn about my culture like Chinese New Year traditions. There’s a Chinese New Year show every year. It’s a festival and there’s a lot of performances that have Chinese traditional aspects, like Chinese traditional dance, music, instruments and it helps me gain more knowledge about the culture.”
For some students, interacting with their native language through media can make them feel closer to their culture.
“I feel like the songs are also different [from Western ones],” said sophomore Katie Yue. “Some of the same words in English might have a deeper meaning in Chinese. Chinese words tend to pack a lot of meaning into one character, so there are definitely Chinese songs that I feel are more meaningful than English ones … I think for any culture there are words that simply cannot be translated, and history and culture that just can’t be explained in a different language … I can take pride in the fact that I’m a part of this culture and I can understand the language and culture.”
“Listening to Bollywood music taught me to embrace and love my culture”
Non-Western media can offer something new to anyone, through different ways of storytelling to experiences in other countries. There are countless opportunities to explore through media.
“Listening to music or watching films in different languages and cultures shows you there’s not only your culture in the world,” said sophomore Khushi Parikh. “It’s important because you get a wider perspective of the world. Listening to Bollywood music widened my perspective of my culture and taught me to embrace and love my culture.”
Also, non-Western media can teach people about current events taking place across the world, potentially increasing awareness.
“Someone [who] has knowledge [about] a different country [is] able to better understand exactly what’s going on [in that country],” said junior Edward Gomez. “[Foreign media] gives you an insight as to what exactly is going on in [a] country.”
Non-Western media can provide some students with an opportunity to connect with their culture and for others to appreciate different cultures around the world.
I think that children from every country that has an interesting culture should be able to learn the culture and arts that are unique to their country. Nowadays people are more interested in looking for something different than looking for the same thing because it’s easy to find in every country.