Film Analysis: "New York “of the show “Meet the Natives

The episode “New York “of the show “Meet the Natives” was based on the first visit of five tribesmen from the island of Tanna, Vanuatu to New York City. It had many examples of clashing, and coinciding cultural differences. The means of travel in New York, via taxi, was one of the first surprises that the Tanner travelers had. We found it interesting that based on their background knowledge of an small community, they figure out that if you find yourself lost in the big city, you could get in a taxi and say where you wanna go and they would take you there. However, they also believed that if don’t know the name of the building you are going to, you can simple tell the taxi driver who you are staying with and he would take you there. And not only did they express their pleasure at the convenient and new way of traveling, but also they saw straight away that this service was great for those who had money, but for the poor it was useless.

The woman who was hosting the natives while in New York City, took them to her art studio so they all could do some art pieces together with different techniques. The paintings that the natives created were inspiring and all expressing their home land. Through those paints, they could explain a little bit of themselves and also homesickness. Back home, the Tanna visitors had no social class difference in their tribe society and while in New York they noticed a homeless that living in the Center Park all by himself, with no family or anyone to care for him. That was a big surprise to them because they did not understand how could be someone living in the streets if there is so many buildings to live in and so many people to help around. They them realized that the reason why was because our society is capitalist, based on money – which was different from their society where everyone work hard and help each other with almost no necessity of money to live. They continued to be impressed with nearly all they saw among their visit experience in New York City.

The food, beer, buildings, people and so on, were met with enthusiasm, amazement, and a startling acceptance. Even though they were amazed with almost all what they saw and experienced, as they left, they reflected that they all preferred their own simple, happy, and fair life style. One of the tribe men said “A lot of things we know, they don’t know. This is because they are all running after money”. With this statement then, we can see that money is not the most important thing for them, they have different values based on the general welfare of their society instead of the personal welfare as we experience in the US and many other capitalistic societies. Which also tell us how different backgrounds interfere on the way people see things.

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM6jNI-QAxM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaljMVkRlmY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upvc4QQq79k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATBP_N4FFSo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz_7FqbAH3U

Bellevue College Campus

 This picture on the left shows three of many trash cans around the campus. It shows the importance of recycling in our society. Recycling is a process where some materials (usually waste) are converted into something that will be used again. Different cans for different types of waste will be found everywhere you go. In this specific picture you can see that even what is considered recycle is divided in two different categories, aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles are separated from paper. Recycling is a national concern and the majority of the population try to do their best to help the environment. On the right is another picture of the trash cans in Bellevue college cafeteria, as mentioned before there is a section for trash that will end up in a landfill for it can not be reused, a section for recycling and one for compost. The compost bin is for food products that went uneaten that day, and will be turned into rich soil. This shows that this college is committed to becoming a more Environmentally friendly.   

This picture on the left shows a student sitting at one of the library’s table.  In this picture we observe the diversity and freedom of choices in our society. People are free to wear whatever they want to school. We also see that even though she is at the library, she is using an electronic device for her researches. It shows how powerful technology is in our society. The photo on the right shows there is diversity in the student body as well as the photo on the left with the girl having pink hair.

Bellevue college has a student-centered government, but also many different groups that anyone can join; including singing, dancing, math and so on. The students also have support groups for anyone struggling with their work. Each class has the opportunity to form study groups, small groups, and tutoring sessions

The Bellevue College classes vary in size, content, and subjects. What with over 50 teachers no class is ever the same. However there usually is a general structure to one. As shown above, the class usually sits in individual desks facing the teacher and technology. This enables them to listen to what she/he teacher, see all visual enhancers that she/he offers, and creates a sense of unity, and equality among the students; while allowing them to remain individual as well. There is also a difference from inside the classroom and outside of the classroom. In the classroom its more formal by having the students raise their hands to ask permission to have their questions or comments heard by a instructor. Showing that the teacher has more power than a student, because of their knowledge than the students.You can see Bulletin Boards everywhere in the campus. They are used to communicate with students and staff through posters. Students and staffs can post on the bulletin board about upcoming events and services in the campus, studying groups, jobs opportunity, room availability, and many others. If you have a text book that you no longer need and want to sell, you can print out an sheet information with the book and your contact information so whoever is interested in buying it will contact you. On the top right there is a close up photo of a poster offering information about studying abroad. It gives students a unique opportunity to learn their studies in a different country, with different culture. 

 

Bellevue College has a great campus. Centered in a spacious, and rustic setting all classes are divided out into separate buildings labeled A-S. Students travel from class to class in a specified order. Every class has a different classroom, and sometimes one will find them selves running from one end of the campus to the other. The courtyards in between the building are used for study and outside recreation. When it’s hot there are people studying on the grass, playing sports, and enjoying the weather. When students are outside of the classroom they interact with one another with playing music, playing games or studying. Or just sitting in groups talk amongst on another about there day at school, or work. Some may stay to themselves and do their own studies.

These two photos show that Bellevue and many other campuses offer both day and night classes to students, and that many choose to transportation through walking, biking, bus, or private by driving themselves to school. Bellevue College is an educational private institution such as most of the others in our society. Here you need to pay for education.

Vending machines are very common and you can find one in almost everywhere in the campus. They are strategically placed to make it convenient to the students, staffs and visitors of the campus. So you don't have to go too far to find one. To use them you will need a debit card or cash (usually one dollar bills or $.25 cents coins). You insert your money or swipe your card in the appropriate way it requires you to and then choose from a selection of products which one you want to buy. Typically they are selling either beverages or snacks. You can also note the technological difference in between them. Moderns' model as the Coca-Cola one, advertises through videos and also talks to you. This shows the influence of captalism in our society. Water here is something you need to pay for, such as most of the things.

 


These two pictures were taken at the BC Library.
It represents how are the books storage in the room. The room is separated by groups of bookshelves. The way books are organized in the shelves is very interesting as instead of organized by alphabetic order, title or author; they are organized by subjects under reference numbers. If you want to find a book that talks about Culture for example, you will go to one of the library's computer and use their database system to find it by tipping the subject or category "culture". All sort of books related to culture will pop up on the screen so you can choose the one you like best. If you are looking for something more specific like a specific title, author or both, you can filter your search on their system by tipping in the specifications you are looking for. At the end of each search a reference number will be given and you use that to find it in the bookshelves. That's a easy and very useful process to organize and find books.

At Bellevue College, one of the main ways to get to campus is by car. To make it easier for those who do drive cars to school, the Bellevue College staff built Parking Lots around the school. These parking are located at specific places around the edge of campus, and are available to all students and staff. All one has to do is find the lot closest to their classes; park their vehicle in an open space (indicated by white lines) and pay for using the spot. Parking lots not only enable easy storage for your car, but also help you to attend your classes on time.This picture shows a reserved parking spot for disable people, these spots are the closet to the buildings and are always surrounded by ramps to lead to a possible higher level. This is one of the many examples that shows the importance of accessibility to all students.