1) Look at the artwork of the screen. Please choose THREE adjectives to describe its physical features/appearance
Unnatural, agressive and scary
2) In your own words, define the term “exotic”. Please give an example of what you might deem an exotic event, person or place.
Exotic to me means something that is excitingly or significantly different from what we are used to, in any sense. For example, an exotic food to me would be a food which tastes, looks, feels, smells, etc. very different from the foods I am used to eating. Similarly, an exotic person would be someone who lives a live very different to my own, who peruses very different values and engages in very different customs
3) In your own words, define the term “primitive”. Do you think this word holds a negative or a positive connotation? How might something or someone look if it/she/he is “primitive”?
In my opinion, the word “primitive” signifies someone who does not live according to the values prescribed by modern society. They may not possess modern technology, civilized mannerisms or a more “evolved” outlook on live. “Primitive” can also refer to one’s disposition, behavior or bearing. For example, someone acting in a socially unacceptable manner might be described as primitive. However, it can also refer to more explicit things, like dress, self-ornamentation or living accommodations. Simply, “primitive” refers to something or someone which/who’s nature is akin to something of early history.
4) What were your initial reactions/thoughts to the “Miner” article? What is its main message about how we view cultures outside of ourselves? In particular, how might we try to change the way that we think about cultures we deem as “primitive”?
My initial reactions consisted of those expected of anyone reading about seemingly ‘barbaric’ practices of more ‘primitive’ societies. I felt horror at the tortuous acts described in the article, piety at the delusional people submitting to ritual torture at the hands of those meant to help and a since of relief that ‘my society’ is more evolved than that. Of course, the society described in the article was in fact that of contemporary North America. I was thus forced to either turn what I had concluded about the ‘primitive culture’ on myself or admit that by conclusions were the produces of learned biases against other ways of life that should be discarded to better appreciate other cultures. I think that this is very illuminating about how we view outside cultures because this article highlights the initial and almost instinctual reaction of assume cultural superiority when it may not be justified. I believe that, especially in todays era of global awareness, when viewing cultures drastically different from our own, we would strive to look at them with as objective a lens as possible. While acknowledging our own biases, it is important, if we wish to learn from other cultures, that we do not act on them, thus discrediting other societies simply because they are different from our own.