Changing Values And Culture Shock

Changing Values and Culture Shock

The cycle of change in culture dates back even to times when what we now call ‘our culture’ and ‘our ethics’ were not even formed. It is evident that man has constantly felt the breath of changing values and cultural shock breathing down his neck, following him relentlessly over ages and posing him the same apparent danger that we claim to face today. Many have felt it, seen it, hated it and feared it. Everything around us is changing. Change -as we maintain- is the side effect of growth: growth, which may be physical, mental, economic, social or just plain overall development. But, the change that we talk of has a wider connotation and a much greater role to play in our lives than any other kind of transformation. I would rather term change as both the result and the precursor of growth. Growth depends on man’s willingness to change, to take risks and to dispose of damaging beliefs.So this change in culture or values can be either adverse or favorable.

In the south the western clothes are considered immoral, however decent they may be because they are not products of our culture. On the other hand salwar kameezes are acceptable as they are considered traditional. Isn’t it ironic that these clothes aren’t exactly traditional to south India, but in reality they are the attire of Punjabis? So where is the prospect of changing values when we are not sure ourselves of what these values are? When you delve deeper, most of the things, which we identify as traditional, may be seen as vulgar in other societies.

Traditional values are changing. While Hollywood is extolling the history of their own people and making movies like ‘Gangs Of New York’, ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ and other epics, Bollywood is busying itself with desperate attempts to make amateur ‘American teen’-like movies and Hollywood flicks. While we concentrate on remixing songs and duplicating English videos, we are slowly stepping away from the path of originality...