Marriage in different cultures
The documentary Taboo: Blood Bonds enables the viewers to look at the concept of marriage in various cultures. This film indicates that arranged marriage is still very widespread. This means that in many cases, women are compelled to marry men who were chosen by their parents.
Furthermore, the family of a bride has to provide a dowry. Overall, these practices indicate that women, living in these societies, do not have the rights that are typical of Western cultures. Nevertheless, the movie shows that they can control financial resources, and in some cases, these families are matriarchal (Blumenfield, 2005).
One of the things that attracted my attention is that women have to ensure the wellbeing of children almost independently, while their spouses do not have to take many responsibilities. Furthermore, I found it difficult to understand such form of marriage as polyandry which means that a woman can have several husbands (Blumenfield, 2005). In my opinion, it is difficult for a male to accept the idea the wife may have loyalty to another man.
Overall, this discussion gives rise to several questions regarding the stability of marriage. It is possible to distinguish several factors that help people preserve marriage in our culture, for instance, affection, care and responsibility. Furthermore, one can speak about such aspects as financial stability. The marriages depicted in this film remain stable because people, especially women understand that it may difficult for them to sustain themselves without the support of the family.
The responses offered by other students highlight the idea that marriage can take different forms in various societies. Moreover, their posts suggest that sometimes women in many non-Western societies may not be sufficiently empowered. It is possible to say that their comments are both informative and insightful.
Business and family
Overall, I am opposed to the idea of doing business with close relatives. The problem is that a person may not be able to evaluate the actions of other people objectively, especially when it is necessary to evaluate the competence and responsibility of employees or business partners. Therefore, an entrepreneur may not be able to achieve success since his/her decisions can be impartial.
Nevertheless, one should take into account that in some cultures such practices can be acceptable, especially those ones with low social mobility. In many cases, family ties enable people to participate in economic activities (Nowak, 2010). This argument is particularly relevant to tribal communities in which people are members of extended families. Provided that these people are excluded from business activities, they will have practically no opportunities to sustain themselves.
Yet, the studies of researchers show that in these societies, economic activities are tightly regulated by the chieftains who are at the top of the family hierarchy (Nowak, 2010). Furthermore, judging from observations, I can say that in such an environment, the competition can be stifled. This is one of the drawbacks that can be identified.
It should be noted that the posts of other students also highlight the dangers of doing business with the members of family. In particular, they suggest that this approach can indeed result in economic stagnation. In particular, their comments show that sometimes individuals can be affected by sentiments, rather than professional priorities. Additionally, the responses of other learners also indicate that this practice is determined by the cultural environment. These are the main issues that can be identified.
Reference List
Blumenfield, T. (Executive Producer). (2004) Taboo: Blood Bonds. New York: National Geographic.
Nowak, B. L. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education.