Write a critical review of the representation of culture. In your critique please note the ways in which culture manifest itself. Discuss
the tangible/intangible cultural heritage depicted. Pay close attention to your reaction(s) (e.g., disagreement, judgment) and note these
in your reflection when appropriate. The idea is not to only focus on differences but also explore areas of commonality. Please provide
outside sources to support your argument if applicable. Conduct a thorough analysis connecting the film with intercultural and societal
concepts.
Movie Title: Babies
Out of the options to select for this paper, I decided to focus on this film because it was the only one on the list that I hadn’t
previously watched so I figured I could analyze this movie with a clear perspective. The title also intrigued me since I always have
“baby fever” and absolutely love children. This film would appeal to people like myself who enjoy being around babies; therefore, this
solidified my decision in choosing this movie. When reading the synopsis of the film, I found it interesting how it focused on four
babies from completely different parts of the world and how their cultures differ from each other while also having many similar
attributes. As I watched the trailer, I found it particularly interesting how they all behaved in the same way while also differing in
culture. Even though each child is brought up in their own distinct way, they are all still babies in the end and act as such: crawling,
crying, bickering with siblings, etc. My conclusion about this film based only on watching the trailer and reading the synopsis is that
we are all human and that culture should not divide us since we all started from the same place as naive children. I plan to watch this
film while taking notes at the same time, identifying key ideas that I think would strengthen my paper. By doing these tasks at the same
time, it will allow to me to critically analyze the film and avoid forgetting certain points. I also will be noting the answers to the
questions below.
Some key questions that I plan to answer in this paper include:
– What have you learned about Namibian culture? Mongolian culture? American culture? Tokyo’s culture? (the four countries where the
babies are raised)
– What aspects of the cultures are made obvious and stand out?
– How are the babies brought up differently?
– How are the babies similar?
– What concepts from class discussion could be applied to the film? (race, ethnicity, cultural identity, discrimination,
ethnocentrism, societal hierarchy, gender roles, etc.)