<Change We Can Believe In >

                                      <Change We Can Believe In >

Jason JongMyong Rhee

131106
 

 

“Natives in the Nowgah Island make their salaries depending on how effectively they teach their children how to draw more circles. Frequently, these children experience severe violence by the adults if they cannot draw enough circles on TAS papers. Since these adults are really obsessed with their sons’ future, they sometimes make their children hand in TAS papers with circles drawn on it which were shipped from different parts of the land.”

 

   Understanding depends on a number of factors—not only the meaning of the words, but how certain words are delivered in a certain context. Seemingly, ‘Body Ritual among the Nacirema’ is about a mysterious, barbaric tribe in North America. Shockingly, it satirizes the Western civilization, which we enjoy its convenience and cleanliness—which the Nacirema people seem to lack completely. Primarily, this article aims to expose the stereotypes that we unconsciously have. Peeling off the layers of prejudice, perhaps we can figure out a proper way of interacting with people from different cultures.

   Frankly speaking, the body rituals of the Nacirema are the customs of Americans—Nacirema is a reverse arrangement of the alphabets of American. Similarly, Latipso refers to hospital. I was more than surprised. Unarguably, it is his rhetoric that confused me. His intentionally awkward description definitely contributed to it. Dentists are “holy-mouth-men” and tap water is “holy water made ritually pure”. On the contrary, dentists and tap water have nothing to do with ‘holy’’ in America and probably in the Nacirema, too. Illustrations like “if there is no naturally occurring holes in the teeth, large sections of one or more teeth are gouged out” nauseated me, and made me think of these people as uncivilized. I could not understand why these people practice such inhumane customs. Repetitions of words like ritual, ceremony, and magical also distanced this article from me. For instance, that magical medicine men perform latipso ceremonies was very bizarre. Last but not least, the topic anthropology and Miner’s academic voice—using big words—made the Nacirema look like it existed centuries ago.

 

But I have practiced these exotic activities daily. I was quite ashamed to find myself who thought of his own life as disgusting and ridiculous. I realized that this basically came from the stereotypes I had. I failed to take off the colored glasses that society had put on me, and that I have kept on wearing without question. Since Miner was so obviously referring to my life after all, I became embarrassed about my way of thinking and lifestyle. Where did this stereotype come from? Since when did I consider American civilization superior to others? I had no idea. But one thing was for sure—I had to change.

Frequently, we become involved in situations similar to that of the Nacirema people and us. Usually, we are in both sides. “If so, has nobody thought of me as nasty and barbaric?” I thought, after some time of self-reflection. Recalling the years in Nixon Elementary school, I have met numerous people who had great pride for their customs. Perhaps the cultural diversity of California made me unable to fully experience the prejudices. Interestingly, even this belief—that Californians are relatively open-minded—was my stereotype against Americans living in other states. Looking back through my life, the Nacirema people must not be the only ones who made me feel uncomfortable. Likewise, someone could have interpreted the activities as unique and extraordinary that I think as mundane. They must have had that look on their face.

 

We learn that cultural differences should be respected. On the contrary, we learn the opposite by the stereotypes that society puts on us. This article was published in 1956, when Rosa Park and Martin Luther King Jr. bravely led the Montgomery Bus Boycott a year before in 1955—causing a tremendous impact on America. But is there any big difference between back then and now? Discriminations against Vietnamese workers in Korea and Africans in Italy are only a few of many ‘Nacirema’ stereotypes. Without question, being aware about the lenses that the society has put on me and adjusting them so that an adequate amount of light passes through is the attitude that I must acquire from now on.