The Contrast Portrayals of American and Pakistani Culture in The Big Sick Movie

Abstract

This study aims to describe the cultural stereotypes between American and Pakistani that are portrayed in The Big Sick (2017) movie. This study uses a qualitative method with a Cultural Studies approach. The analysis is done by looking at the characteristics of American and Pakistani characters by using the theory of characterization from Boggs and the theory of representation by Stuart Hall to present the cultural stereotype issues that appear in the movie (Hall, 1997). The cultural stereotype of the American and Pakistani culture is presented by some American characters (Emily and her family) and some Pakistani characters (Kumail and his family) of The Big Sick movie. The result of the study shows that the characteristics of Pakistani characters are religious and deceitful, while the characteristics of American characters are smart and straightforward. Furthermore, through the analysis of the characters’ characteristics, the writers found the cultural stereotype in the movie. Pakistani characters are associated with conservatism and close-mindedness. On the contrary, American characters are associated with modernism and open-mindedness. It can be concluded that in this movie, American culture is depicted as more positive than Pakistani.

The Representation of Character Education in the Characterizations of Lily Owens in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees

“…It can be said that Lily had lack of integrity at the beginning of the novel because she did not want to get into any trouble until she found out the truth about her mother. Despite the reason for the lie, not stating the trust is considered dishonesty [44].…”

“…Lily was afraid that August would be calling T. Ray to send her back to Sylvan and calling the police to arrest Rosaleen. Although she did that for her and Rosaleen's sake, telling a lie would be categorized as a liar or lack of integrity [44].…”