In the movie, God Grew Tired of us the main story revolves around a group of lost boys who were on a journey from their country Sudan which was belabored with war to the United States through the rather peaceful neighbor Kenya. The movie highlights a few cultural values and differences between the Sudanese culture and other cultures.
Cultural Difference between the Sudanese and the American people
One of these differences is on how roles are divided or shared in the Sudanese culture. This culture has a well-defined duty allocation system for both girls and boys which are all defined according to tradition. For example when the boys are at one refugee camp, Kakuma, they do not want to cook as they believe that this activity should only be done by women. This argument is based on what culture and tradition have taught the boys. This is a major contrast to the American culture where such activities are not allocated along gender lines. It is common to see a man in the American culture cooking just as it is common to see a woman in the army doing a role the Sudanese consider to be only for men.
The cultural difference between the two communities is also seen when the boys arrive in the United States. They seem fascinated by the difference in lifestyle between the American people and their people. The difference in the types of food eaten in the United States and the different modes of dressing also come out as cultural differences between the two societies. Some of the things considered a necessity in the American culture such as clothes are a luxury in Sudanese society. The boys feel that the American culture is not all that good as some people may think of it. These boys were critical of the lack of concern that Americans seem to have for their neighbors. This is very different from what the boys see at home where everyone is concerned about how their neighbor is doing.
Culture is infectious and this can be seen in the fact that after three years in the United States the boys have adopted the American culture. This can be seen in their dressing, the piercings they have, their cars, and also in that they the boys have plaited their hair. All these are activities found in the American culture and not in the Sudanese culture.
Cultural inclusion and exclusion
The concept of cultural exclusion can be seen in this movie where the boys feel left out from the American culture. The concept involves a person being excluded from activities being done by the rest of the society. (Wilson, 2000) However cultural inclusion takes over when these boys adopt the American lifestyle. Cultural inclusion is when a person becomes involved in the activities of the rest of the society as these boys did by piercing their ears and plaiting their hair.
References
Wilson Elisabeth. ’Inclusion, exclusion and ambiguity: The role of organizational culture’ Personnel Review. Vol. 29 (2000):274 – 303 print.