HMNT 3001C

CULTURE: SOCIAL ISSUES AND ARTIFACTS

Nedje Cineus

Walden University

Many cultures have different ways of doing things based on the set rules or guidelines. The rules are mainly based on the nature of the agreement made, and they are meant to be followed by the whole cultural audience. Failure to follow the rules by the cultures ay affects the individual and may also attract severe consequences. There are very many social issues relating to the cultures. Some of the problems include violence and gender-based issues. Again, there are consequences related to these issues. Certain artifacts are used to correct or pass any message that the culture wishes to give to the audience. This paper will briefly explain the social problems, messaging, access and distribution, and the artifacts' effects.

Gender discrimination is widespread in the present world. It refers to citizens' systematic and unfavorable treatment regarding their gender (Nandal, 2019). The chosen categories of animations help in reaching out to the people and identifying relevant topics to discuss. Animations include cartoons (Berber & Sowerby, 2017). They target people of all ages and gender and apply to any country and culture. Over the years, the animations were meant for young children, but this has changed. Therefore, the animations' audience is global. On the other hand, printed materials refer to books, magazines, or any other published or non-published materials about a particular topic that helps understand the concepts in question. Over the years, the audience has changed. In the past, the printed materials were only accessible by few individuals, whereas for now, almost everyone can purchase a book. Therefore, going global.

Many artifacts try to warn or pass a message on how things should be done in every culture. For example, Bible manuscripts try to communicate to the believers or the Christians in the Christian culture. In the case of gender inequality, various artifacts/expressions apply and they sometime use animated or printed material to communicate culture and believes. In week 3 I mentioned that the animated and printed material artefacts assist in the sharing of meaning by the use of symbolic messages that reach a wide audience and the regional community at large. It becomes hard sometimes to get the difference of the messages conveyed since individuals can share some messages that are only meant for particular recipients in given region. The way some gender based information for instance is distributed to the receivers could cause an overlap of communication and the final message shared out. The distribution affect how people who belong to the same level such as working class receive the information and their utilization of it to derive some idea on issues that affect them regionally. Through the enforcement of the federal law on obscenity, indecency and profanity, the content that reach an intended audience in a certain region may be shared in a restricted manner such as late hours of the day to avoid reaching the young children for instance. An example is the animation 'White Chicks Trailer.' In this animation, two men wear female outfits to impersonate two rich women to help themselves in solving a case with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (White chicks trailer, 2018). Another artifact is an animation, 'I thought you said you were a top.' In this animation, racial and gender issue is outlined. A gay man who is a YouTuber wears an outfit that makes him look like a woman and enters an institution requiring some assistance, and 'she' is prioritized (I thought you said you were a top, 2019). Afterward, he comes in as a man and is told to wait in line for others to be served. The last expression is an article written by Jaya Saxena with the title, 'Women Aren't Ruining Food.' In this article, some foods are meant for males, and other foods are meant for the female gender. The situation brings about the issue of inequality to the people (Saxena, 2017).

The social issues affecting the culture are very many. Another issue that affects the culture is racial discrimination. Racial discrimination refers to the strategic favoring basing on where one is from and the race. The black, the white,and the list go on. An excellent popular expression that explains and portrays racial discrimination is the animation with the title, 'I thought you said you were a top.' In this video, a black man wears an outfit that makes him look like a white man and receives tremendous respect, while in the real sense, the black race is considered without any regard.

Access and distribution of any information are essential in ensuring that the information reaches the desired target. However, there are some limitations in the distribution process in my choices on animations and printed materials. Some of the limitations in the distribution of the animations are very common. First, the cost of producing the animations is significantly higher and therefore posing an issue. Second, there may be some misunderstanding in the communication due to different meanings of pictures. On the other hand, the printed media distribution also has some limitations. First, print media is hard to distribute over a large geographical area and may incur many expenses if possible. Second, there are minimal chances of translating the material to many languages for the message to be understood. Therefore, it may not be accessible everywhere (Berber & Sowerby, 2017).

Many bodies control any communication being delivered to the people through any channel. Some bodies are responsible for managing any content that is being shared with the public. For instance, there are very many certified publishers in print media, and they ensure that whatever they are publishing meets the standards. On the other hand, any visual content must be verified by relevant bodies for it to be passed to the media.

The artifacts send a powerful message on the way things should be done and demonstrate the need for change in some of the

issues being identified. Some social values are also incorporated in the artifacts as learning lessons. Some of the lessons include honesty and justice. Thus, the artifacts mainly aim to communicate to the audience the correct social values in the culture.

The artifacts and expressions are significant in shaping personal and social values. Some personal values like peace and harmony are depicted in many artifacts and therefore change personal values. An example is the journal by Jaya Saxena on the 'women aren't ruining food.' In this journal, the individual values connected include trust and faithfulness.

References and the Artifacts

Berber, S. M., & Sowerby, K. W. (2017, August 4). Visual presentation of abstract theoretical concepts using animations in communication systems courses. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cae.21860?casa_token=sXZBZWl1bisAAAAA%3AxMmCQeoX0n3QgEDAycivZCjkIY9Fm6I-sRbA8RjNG_UFqvJthH9cVNex_IxWEYF3k_UYHvaGxnyypxZhCQ

Bright, J. (2018, August 17). Visual communication. Hosbeg.com. https://hosbeg.com/visual-communication-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-visual-communication/

I thought you said you were a top Video]. (2019). Tumblr. https://iamchinyere.tumblr.com/post/159177626409/this-is-why-i-dont-dance-anymore-tbh

Nandal, S. (2019, May). Gender inequality and culture. ResearchGate | Find and share research. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Surender-Mor/publication/329754068_Culture_of_Learning_and_Experimentation_for_Well-Being/links/5c6eb3fb92851c1c9df3f69c/Culture-of-Learning-and-Experimentation-for-Well-Being.pdf#page=134

Saxena, J. (2017, October 30). How men elevate, and women ruin, the foods they love. TASTE. https://www.tastecooking.com/women-arent-ruining-food/

White chicks trailer Video]. (2018). Movies | Showtimes | Movie Tickets | Theaters | Moviefone. https://www.moviefone.com/movie/white-chicks/16341/vide