Kiley Breen Nacirema Critical Thinking Questions 1 What is Nacirema spelled backwards Where are they located on the map Who are they really Nacirema spelled backwards is American They are in North America between Canada and Mexico being the United States They are really Americans 2 Why do the customs of Nacirema seem so bizarre when they are written about in anthropological style They seem bizarre because they are somewhat bizarre and written in a way that we cannot recognize them It also seems bizarre because it is written in a kind of exaggerated but truthful sense For example when it was talking about our mouth and teeth American s are obsessed with our teeth being white and straight but we would not see it has being a supernatural influence We do not think that we would lose our family and friends but it is something that we might think would cause us to have a harder time to make friends 3 Having read the article do you view American culture any differently If so how I do not really see American culture that differently The part that discussed getting treatment for illnesses where they must give gifts to be able to enter and leave did make me think of how silly the way we give treatment is in America especially since the costs are so high However I do have a drastic change of view because people aren t stripped naked and is not as under supported as the article makes it seem 4 Has this article helped you to see other cultures differently I think that this article acts as a warning to those who want to judge another person s culture I also believe that it shows people to be careful when they are describing another person s culture and that they need to do it in a fair manner However I think that some cultures have rituals that are known not to have the effect people think it does and therefore I still think people can make fair judgments against other cultures 5 If this article has distorted American culture how difficult is it to render objective descriptions of other cultures I am sure that it is very difficult Especially since people tend to disagree or ridicule things that do not make sense to them Therefore it is important to try to understand the reasoning behind it and to not assume that one knows everything or the correct answer
View Full Document