This is a great article @whatamidoing. In anthropology, the debates around culture/society are always the most heated. From outside, it's also farcical, in that they try to separate from said to culture, to understand it.
I think the greatest way to understand culture is by placing yourself accordingly, for a culture shock.
For example, I haven't watched TV since 2001. No one I hang with watches TV. So occasionally, if I need to pop in somewhere, with someone else, and they're all sitting around watching TV, I still catch myself falling into judgement, with my assessment of the situation.
I am active within a few *sub-culture groups, one of which is the Melbourne hip-hop scene.
A common question I am asked is what is the difference between rap and hip-hop. Well;
Rap is music.
Hip-hop is the culture that is shared by it's adherents.
and it's not all the faggot, bitches, hoes, gangster crap that the mainstream media likes to portray.
This culture, differs not only from town to town, but from venue to venue.
the hip hoppers I hang with are very, globally aware, and many tracks are about the banking/political/medical/educational/ scams.
Again, a great article :)
Peace.
There is no way to really understand a culture from outside unless you’ve been inside it. That double perspective is where the real insight comes, from being able to put yourself in it our take yourself out of it at will.
I’m still quite judgemental about certain culture but it does not as tied up in bias as before, not labeling it as “bad” but rather seeing it as contradictory and willing to illustrate why on the rare occasion that someone is interested in hearing my perspective.
I really love to place myself in a foreign culture from time to time, and I don’t mean other countries cultures, I mean like a room full of people watching tv. It’s fascinating!
My ideal lifestyle would be;
5 long blacks a day,
each at a different street cafe.
Watching the world fly by, then die.
while drinking coffee, with a slice of pie.
Peace.