Religion

INTRODUCTION

Social episodes are the repetitive components of the daily events that we partake in. They are the interactions sequences that repeat over and over and over again, like you are in the twilight zone. The way we communicate with each other daily eventually becomes predictable when we associate with that person and are exposed to that person daily. Even in the case of people of different cultures interacting with one another, they all do so in predictable ways. They're predictable because they way they are supposed to be participating is already structured, and therefore routine and predictable. Most people, considering they are normal like others, will go on their day with a great deal of predictability in what they are doing, how they do it, and with whom they are doing it. To every classification of a person, there is a routine that we ourselves could jot down, it is almost like each classification has an unwritten script. For example, a working mother might have the routine of, waking up, taking a shower, waking the husband up, starting breakfast, waking up the children, getting them dressed, finish breakfast and serve the family, get the kids in the car, drive them to school, drive to work, eat lunch, make phone calls, go to the bank, pick up the kids, go to the grocery store, make kids a snack, start making dinner with the husband, eat dinner, help kids with homework, get kids ready for bed, do some work, and then go to bed. We can see this script played out in movies all the time when mothers are being portrayed. The individuals who take part in the episodes will usually know what to expect from others and what is expected of them. This is so important because it helps us get through daily communication with one another and understand why someone may be happy of upset. When we are at home, we act the way we prefer to act and it is most likely dictated by how our parents acted when we were younger. And when we are in public, we know how we are supposed to act because it's programmed within us because activities are repetitive, predictable, and routine. These social episodes also lay out for us how to interpret verbal and nonverbal symbols of the interactants. People know how to interpret the actions and intentions of others when it's a social episode that they are familiar with, but when it comes to intercultural interaction, it becomes a little more difficult. Our culture shows us how to interpret the meanings and behaviors of social episodes one way, but another culture may tell their members to interpret the meanings and behaviors of social episodes another way. The interaction across cultures will become more ambiguous and the way people are expected to act is unpredictable. The social episodes are made up of five components, and all of the five play an important part in intercultural communication: cultural patterns, social roles, rules of interaction, interaction scenes, and interaction contexts. We will study social episodes and how they are used cross-culturally. More specifically, we will compare the Iranians and the American's use of social episodes in the movie, Not Without My Daughter.

CULTURAL PATTERNS

Cultural patterns are considered the way people are expected to behave, the shared judgments about what the world is and what it is supposed to be. The beliefs and values that we are all brought up with also influences the way we of a particular culture think about the world. Every culture will interpret what is happening and other's behaviors differently depending on how their cultural patterns have taught them. A good example given in the book was about two students. One student was a Chinese student from Hong Kong and the other an Australian student, both leading similar lives as students, but would interpret their social episodes a little bit differently. The way the Chinese student perceived his social episode was through his values, which were based on collective good, community, and acceptance of authority. Whereas, the Australian student would base his social episodes on self confidence, competition, and pleasure he might gain from the interactions he participated in. People become who they are by what they were taught and exposed to when they were younger.

Iranians

Betty's husband was a nice man when they were living in America. He was affectionate and understanding. However, when he got to Iran he was quickly influenced by his family and his surroundings to go back to his role as a dominant, uncaring husband. He behaved nicely in America because that is what he was surrounded by and that was what was expected of him. When he got to Iran, he repeatedly beat Betty because he knew he could get away with it. His values changed or were better hidden before because he knew he would be punished. Being in a different country, his own country brought out the typical cultural pattern seen in Iran.

Americans

Betty being raised in America had the right to freedom of choice and freedom of speech. This all changed when she moved to Iran. She could no longer speak out at her husband or any of his family members, especially if they were male. In America, their daughter was not forced to be a Muslim because in America, the children follow the mother's religion. In Iran, the children follow the father's religion. She continued to raise her daughter as a Christian when they were alone in the room. She refused to accept this life for her and her daughter in Iran. She saw her and her daughter being in America, being free, being free to choose their own religion, being free to wear what she wanted, and not being abused as the correct way of living. She did not agree with the cultural pattern in which she was being forced to live in.

SOCIAL ROLES

People of different statuses and positions are expected to behave in a certain manner, and this can be described as a social role. Some common roles that we have existing in most cultures are: students, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, service personnel, employee, teacher, manager, soldier, woman, man, and mail carrier. The role that we fit into strictly dictates the way we should act in a social episode. The way we respond to someone else depends on who the other person is and what role they are playing. If you are looking for a job, at the interview you would speak a certain way with your potential employer. And if you were interacting with a friend, you would act normal because both of you are playing similar social roles. How we respond to someone else's concerns depends on the relationship we have with them, are