On Collectivism and Individualism in Pusing Hands

Abstract：Collectivism and Individualism are not two completely contrasting cultural dimensions and as long as the communicators try their best to find the proper orientation of their own cultural identity，then successful cross-cultural communication will not be difficult.

Introduction

Due to differences in cultural background of countries all over the world，people living in a foreign country will have cultural collision problems.（Hu Wenzhong，2004）.As one of the most popular media platforms，the film brings a different experience to cross-cultural communication.

“Pushing Hands” is a classic film which was directed by Ang Lee in 1991 and which showed the collision and conflict between Chinese and Western cultures.The film tells the story of the venerable Zhu，master of Tai Chi，immigrant to the States，a series of contradictions and conflicts between whom and whose families arise due to their differences in language，living habits，and differences in world outlook and values，but finally，their problems are eased and solved.

Through the study of the differences between the Collectivism and Individualism embodied in the movie “Pushing Hands”，this paper can provide a reference for the communicators to achieve successful cross-cultural communication.

I.Definition of Collectivism and Individualism

Values are the most essential parts of culture，and the norm of the whole social life determines the thinking and behavior of the individual or group living in it.The culture of a country is divided into five dimensions by Hofstede：Power distance，Individualism，Masculinity，Uncertainty avoidance，Long-term orientation.

According to Hofstede（1991），Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose.Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth on wards are integrated into strong cohesive in-groups.A society's position on this dimension is reflected in whether peoples self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we”.

Hofstede（1991）believed that，in countries with a higher index of individualism，family education attaches importance to the cultivation of children's self consciousness，and people usually take care of themselves and their nuclear families in adulthood，while in countries with a higher index of collectivism，children are instilled a group consciousness.

II.Detailed Analysis of Collectivism and Individualism in “Pushing Hands”

2.1 Family structures

In traditional concept of Chinese people，people hope to have lots of children and grandchildren，and enjoy the company of their families.In the film，the fact that the venerable Zhu travels all the way to America to live with his son is a concrete manifestation of the traditional concept.

2.2 Support the elder

In Chinese culture，“bring usons to support parents in their old age” has lodged themselves in the public mind.Xiaosheng，son of the venerable Zhu，feels depressed because he has not handled the relationship well between his father and his wife，and he feels deep remorse especially for he has not taken good care of his father when they meet in prison，all of these can fully reflect the distinctive tendency of Chinese in supporting the elder.

In American culture，people believe in freedom and equality，and parents and children are all equal family members，they strictly abide by the principle of respect and politeness，and respect each other's personal space and personal wishes（Chiao Joan Y，2009）.

2.3 Childrens education

As for childrens education，the venerable Zhus behavior of teaching Jemie the doggerel in his hometown is a typical embodiment of Chinese paternalism.While in the American culture that respects individual rights，Martha pays more attention to Jemies autonomy and creativity，and she takes an encouraging educational approach，therefore，she pays special attention to the development of Jemies self-consciousness.

Conclusion

This paper illustrates that as the globalization is expanding every moment nowadays，barriers between different ethnic groups exist due to the existence of cultural differences.This paper mainly analyzes the specific embodiment of Collectivism and Individualism in the movie “Pushing Hands”.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[1] Fred E Jandt（1995）.Intercultural Communication-An Introduction.London： International Education and Professional Publisher.

[2] Geert Hofstede，Gert Jan Hofstede（1991）.Cultures and Organizations：Software of the Mind.

[3] Hu Wenzhong（2004）.Beyond the Cultural Barrier.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

[4] Zhang Jiying（2011）.Cultural Differences as Reflected in the Movie Gua Sha.Journal of Henan Business College

[5] Chiao Joan Y，Blizinsky Katherine D（2009）.Culture-gene coevolution of individualism-collectivism and the serotonin transporter gene.[J].Proceedings.Biological sciences / The Royal Society.

作者簡介

孫志格（1993.01-今），女，漢族，河南洛陽，碩士研究生，研究方向：跨文化研究.

（作者單位：西南財經大學經貿外語學院）