The world today is rapidly changing and coming together, thanks in part to globalization and the power of the internet. Communication by all means is cultural. It has the ability to draw on the many ways in which we learn to speak and give nonverbal messages. Communication between people doesn’t all happen the same as it varies from day to day, affected by individual personality, context, and the interactions of different individuals moods with the impact of cultural influence. Communication is an interactive process in which social influences are internalized to influence individuals’ choices, and effect relationship with others. Social Drama a termed coined by the late cultural anthropologist, Victor Turner, involves the process that happens in four stages: breach, crisis, redressive action, and reintegration. This is usually a cultural happening that is more prevalent in today’s society, in which cultural language or behavior is blown into a race relations PR nightmare that usually grips the attention of the audience for a week or so. In this case, the most recent public event was during the NFC Championship Game between the Seahawks and the 49ers post game rant of Richard Sherman. This particular incident was lauded with much racial angst, and cultural misrepresentation that it plays into the particular points of which this paper will make. This paper will provide an overview of cultural communication, social drama, and an analysis of the Richard Sherman fiasco.
The differences in cultural language have significance that impacts individuals throughout the world. The world is becoming more interconnected thanks to the technological advances made through the need for the internet. The demand for more interpersonal communication across different cultures is becoming increasingly clear. Language and culture go hand in hand as studied and theorized by hundreds of cultural anthropologists and researchers around the world. Language is influential in determining the way a person views the world. (Cote, 1985) Cote explains in her writing, “Language Reflects Culture” that most individuals view the world in two different perspectives that depend on the language they speak. Behaviors and attitudes are greatly influenced by the people’s culture. It has become a necessity that culture is used in the way that individuals process information and cope with their surroundings. In each culture, the concepts of references are dissimilar when it comes to ideals and objects. Many have studied the importance of culture and linguistics including Saville-Troike (1989) in the field of ethnography. He writes that in many respect, “the uses of language and speech in different societies have patterns of their own which are worthy of ethnographic description, comparable to, and intersecting with, patterns in social organization and other cultural domains.” (Saville-Troike 1989)
George Phillipsen also expounds on the ethnography of speaking in which, “the implication of this views is that to understand speaking in a particular speech community, one must come to understand how it is culturally shaped and constituted.” (Phillpsen, 1992) Culture is a learned behavior that is passed down from one generation to another in promoting social structure and the individual. It is cultivated through one’s eclectic combination of racial backgrounds that come together. Fitch (1994) describes this through her research of living amongst Columbians in which, their culture instills a social relationship where connectedness or interpersonal trust is important across the lines of social status. (Fitch 1994) Language is reflective of one's culture through different group aspects, as the importance of words is integrated from instilled values.
Nonverbal and verbal communication are differently expressed because of the differences in belief and culture. These differences are often misunderstood in intercultural communication due to the unawareness of individuals. Significantly non-verbal communication is necessary in interacting with others, as it is multiplied across cultures. Individuals take cues from non-verbal communication when verbal communications are ambiguous or unclear across different languages. (Carbaugh, 2007) Non-verbal behavior arises from our common cultural sense where ideas are seen as normal or appropriate are effective in communication. There is a level of importance within each culture where different degrees of importance are attributed to non-verbal and verbal communication. The verbal and non-verbal communication is reflective of the cultural collectivism and individualism. The individualistic cultures are shown through the aspects of the self-expression, problem solving, and come to the forefront when dealing with interpersonal problems. The collectivist culture upholds the loyalty of that through, and use face-saving techniques, and avoidance to solve problems. (Hybels, Weaver 2007)
The influence of culture is determinant on the short-term and long-term orientation. Where long-term orientation exists the values of tradition, sense of shame, persistence, and status of relationship status. Short-term orientation is present when people are undetermined by a sense of shame, value tradition, and do not feel they need to save face as it stifles innovation. (Hybels, Weaver 2007) Within every culture the barriers to communication can pose to be difficult, however it proves to be more problematic when two different cultures communicate that the gap in communication is much greater. The barriers to communication include prejudice, stereotyping, ethnocentrism, and discrimination that play essential roles in comprehending different cultures. This is commonly observed by ethnography culture is defined, “to a socially constructed and historically transmitted pattern of symbols, meanings, premises, ad rules.” (Phillpsen, 1992) Through the use of language, cultures are using different types of communication dependent on the situation. The individuals’ speech is organized differently in ways not governed by the rules of physics or grammar.
In the public arena, the collection of cultural concepts and symbols is often played out in the mass media. Social drama is, “a transcultural phenomenon by which cultures reveal their fundamental tensions, their meaning systems, and their relations to power.” (Fogo 1995) Turner defines social drama, “as an eruption from the level of surface of ongoing social life, with its interactions, transactions, reciprocities, and its customs making for regular, orderly sequences of behavior.” (Turner 1985) It is advertently a disharmonic or aharmonic social process that develops in conflict situations. The theory of social drama is a description of cultural narratives that developed through four stages that first began with the breech stage. The breech stage is a disruption or significant rupture between society and one it is participants. More often defined through social norm with liminal characteristics between an uneven stable social processes. It is the event so anomalous that the public is forced to take notice. Throughout the most recent events where this process has taken public stage, the most recent example is the Richard Sherman debacle.
The background of the situation happened during the post-game interview after the determinate game between The Seahawks and the 49ers. Erin Andrew, a sports reporter interviewed DB Richard Sherman as he sealed the deal with the last play of the game to send his team to the Superbowl. Erin Andrews asked Richard Sherman to take her through the play, Sherman responded, “Well, I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree that’s the result you are going to get! Don’t you even talk about me!” (NY Daily News, 2014) As Andrews asked Sherman whom he is referring to he continues, “Crabtree. Don’t open your mouth about the best or I’m going to shut it for you real quick!” Sherman screamed. “L-O-B!” (NY Daily News, 2014) This rant in all its glory or shame sent shockwaves through the social media. In which Twitter exploded in agreement and disagreement, that was heavily shadowed with racial undertones. The questions of humility, class, and game etiquette to center field throughout the news and mass media. While many felt that his rant was classless many furthered the narrative with comments of racial epithets, stereotypes, and biases seemingly based on his color. “Although the civil rights movement had a significant effect on changing racial interactions in this society, racism continues to plague the United States (Thompson & Neville, 1999). (Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal, Esquilin, 2007) The rupture in society was seen as the post-game rant moved beyond the talk of sports to into the realm of popular culture and racial politics. As reported by many news outlets, the comments from those on social media moved from just disproval in his actions to using the n-words, and other racial stereotypes to described Sherman, and added to the mixed graphic threats of violence. From these reactions or overreactions the people in the larger society became overly aware of the event.
The second stage within the process of social drama is crisis. The event became in the forefront of mass media on just about every platform. According to the rationale of social drama, the event was too large to be ignored, with the society having the feelings that an action must take place. This stage is where the conflict is so overdrawn with different interpretations of the facts, and the appearance of cultural symbols takes place. The Richard Sherman event breached that widened the view of society, and leaked into the public forums where the larger part of society is forced to grapple with it. The public forums were more and more clouded with different interpretations of how the rant was meant. Many included how his race was a major factor in which he was ostracized by many in the public. While many chose to describe Sherman using racial stereotypes and epithets, many took a more subtle approach in using racial undertones such as “thug or thuggish” to describe the event. As the Sue et al described, “Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or group.” (Sue et al, 2007)
While many did not consider their words to be racist, the passiveness of describing an African American as a thug when displaying disagreeable behavior is rooted in the cultural stereotypes that have been passed down from generation to generation. This is mostly represented by the view of co-cultural oppression in which it acknowledges that most people have different levels of penalty and privilege in their speech. (Orbe, 1998) This is also expressed in Rodriquez book in which his description of the ghetto black teenagers speech. “They annoy me for being loud – so self-sufficient and unconcerned by my presence.” (Rodriquez 1982) While Sherman’s rant is nothing new in the arena of trash talking in sports, the differences in white individual trash talking and an African American player trash talking are vastly different. While many view Sherman’s rant as just routine trash talking in sports, others used his race as a factor in describing his rant as classless in part because of his race, ignoring his educated background, and the concepts of sports traditions. The misunderstanding in the way athletes and largely African American athletes use banter is compared used in the way different cultures communicate. “When Black Women Talk With White Women” Houston (1997) writes on her research on how the communication between different races and the same gender can be insensitive, stressful, and turn racist. Culturally women can be more assertive in their language and speech than other cultures. This can be misunderstood and taken offensively when communication barriers are present.
The third stage through the social drama process is redressive action is the process that resolves the event. This can range from informal mediation, personal advice, public apology, etc. to effectively resolve the event through the event of the performance of public ritual. It is essentially how the public interprets, reacts, or act to the event. In the case of Richard Sherman outrage and public backlash over the overzealous reaction from social media, Sherman backpedaled on his rant. However, it was the disappointment and chastisement of those that used race as an excuse for outlandish remarks, that many found the resolution in his acknowledgement of his behavior as a penance.
The last stage is reintegration in which the original breech is eliminated by the process of validation of irreparable schism between society and the participant and social recognition. By a degree, the last stage of reintegration involves a conflicting acceptance of one’s view through a consensus or the vast majority. In this case, it was the acceptance that the public wrongfully stigmatized the actions of Richard Sherman by perpetuating the stereotype of thug, which Sherman agreed is used as a way of calling an African American the n-word. Many journalists wrote on the overwhelming reactions in which took a racial turn where several offensive and explicitly racial words were used to describe the event. While the public split in their consensus that people were being too sensitive, Philipsen expresses, “being sensitive.to experience (something that resides in, and is constructed exclusively by, the individual), is a requirement of good political communication.” (Philipsen, 1992) In which those that object to the use of language and verbal communication used to display their outrage are used in code of dignity. The other consensus was that people went too far in their assessment of the event, and used cultural and social indifferences to misinterpret Sherman’s actions.
In using Philipsen’s “Communication Ritual’s Act Sequence.” (1992) we can dissect the event as the first stage of initiation is where the public acknowledges that there is a problem that needs to be worked through communication. In this event, the media realized that the event took a turn that was mostly unexpected. The second step in acknowledgment was with both Sherman in his overzealous post-game behavior in how the public could misinterpret his football persona as a lack of humility. While Sherman also acknowledge his disappointment in some of the actions, he felt that many people were showing their true colors. Through the step of negotiation, many journalist and public agreed that while many could misinterpret traditional sports banter, some people were taking the charge to far. While listening to Sherman speak in a more intellectual tone, he was able to be heard emphatically, and nonjudgmentally as he was open to change. The last stage in in reaffirmation was that the behavior could be considered unsportsmanlike, the public backlash of the event reaffirm that there is more discussion needed on racial relations and cultural differences.
Social drama involves taking volatile or thought provoking events or episodes of social action in which forced the public to acknowledge because of the rupture routine social life.( Hall 1998) Social dramas are largely debated, deconstructed, and reformed on a more global scale as they are often played out through mass media. The cultural differences in communication and language create barriers in which different cultures are not well equipped to respond in a way which they can comprehend. Communication and miscommunication play a large role in the way people interpret cultural communications as well as behaviors. The barriers and interference in the misunderstanding of different cultures that many social scientists continue to study. Cultural communication is a pattern that ascertains the formation of individuals’ thoughts and experiences. It cultivates how people view their world and influences communication behaviors.
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