Culture shocked

The other day I watched a wonderful animated movie called Sita Sings the Blues(2008). It is an Indian tale of a jazz singer called Sita. There was one particular scene in the movie, which I found to be a great example of relatable Diaspora. Because I’ve lived in Australia my entire life I can’t completely empathize with those who suffer from Diaspora, but what I can relate to is culture shock while on holidays. “Being plopped down in the middle of an unfamiliar and markedly different culture can be overwhelming, lonely and often even depressing.”(Culture shock 2012). In the film a wife(Nina) travels to India to be with her husband(Dave) after he gets a job over there. When she lands in India she runs up to her husband to hug and kiss him. He pulls away and says, “we’re in India” as this is not something allowed in public. Later that night she tries to seduce him in her underpants and he just says “goodnight” and goes to sleep. Nina then roles up into a ball. Pureness is a very important trait in Indian.

I’ve experienced this form of culture shock myself when travelling through Asia for several months. For me these were things like not being able to show any affection, having to remove shoes before going into a store, the differences in road laws, not understanding communication, feeling ripped off as from not understanding the custom of bartering etc. The homesickness we get and lack of confidence from not understanding the foreign customs is the closest thing to Diaspora for migrants.

Bibliography

http://www.cultureshock.com.au/

Sita Sings the Blues(2008)