I recently watched the film, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” (based on the book “The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan” by Kim Barker). Tina Fey stars as Kim Baker, a bored journalist who takes an opportunity to invigorate her life by traveling to Afghanistan to cover the war. Her character is portrayed as not having an understanding of the culture or customs of the culture in which she’s entering.
Tina Fey and Christopher Abbott in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3571592/mediaviewer/rm3186957056
This week’s lesson covered global communications. While watching the film, I realized many similarities to what I was reading for class. Errors in communication can occur in simple communication, from simple noise or biases. There’s even more complication that results in interactions across language and cultures (PSU, 2017).
We can all fail at remembering people of other cultural backgrounds have different goals, customs, thought patterns, and values from our own (Moran and Moran, 2014). Luckily, Fey’s character had an interpreter who was helpful and necessary in adapting social situations. Christopher Abbott playes the interpreter. He was competent, and understood the deliberations of negotiating in his country (Moran and Moran, 2017), keeping her safe. He also shielded Fey’s character from harsh criticism like when she first arrives where a native woman yells at her to cover up her hair, or when a derogatory remark is made to her by an interviewee.
Gender roles are different across the world, and the comparison between the US and Afghanistan is monumental. As a female expatriate, Fey’s character experiences the conservative society, where women’s rights aren’t as well established (Moran and Moran, 2017). She puts herself and her crew in danger when she uses a video camera while dressed in a burka to tape an all-male political gathering.
Aside from that, the Middle East is a high context culture, while the US is low context. “Communication between high- and low-context people is often fraught with impatience and irritation on both sides” (Moran and Moran, 2014). In transferring messages, “as much as 80 to 90 percent of the message we communicate is nonverbal” (Moran and Moran, 2014). Nonverbal communication involves gestures, eye contact, posture, clothing, makeup, use of silence, and more. Throughout the film Fey’s character not covering up her hair was problematic as it was insulting to the country she was in.
These are just a few examples of how Whiskey Tango Foxtrot tied in our lesson on Global Communication.
Reference:
Ficarra, G., & Requa, J. (Directors). (2016). Whiskey Tango Foxtrot [Video file]. USA: Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Paramount Pictures .
Internet Movie Database (IMDB). (2017). Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3553442/
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. London: Routledge.
The Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2017). Lesson 4: Global Communication, screen five. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules
First, I enjoyed how you were thinking outside the box and used the course material and related it to a movie and not a serious one at that. I may borrow that technique in one my posts this semester. I have not watched the movie, but have read the synopsis. One question that was not answered is her attitude towards the people. While I realize this was somewhat comedy, did the movie portray the character’s attitude as defiant towards the local customs or was she respectful even though she disagreed.
One of the dangers for American’s in general is the perception by other cultures that we are arrogant and believe our way is best. When we act that way in other cultures, we tend to perpetuate those stereotypes (Hunt, 1981). The question this raises for me is if the character portrays arrogance, those watching may develop that same attitude when traveling abroad that could pose some issues. I am not saying that this is a huge issue, but it was just a thought that popped into my head.
References
Hunt, J. W. (1981). Applying American behavioral science: Some cross-cultural problems. Organizational Dynamics, 10(1), 55-62. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0090261681900127