Going to the movies is something commonly done, both in the US and India. Even the movies we watch are the same. On this day, my Indian friend and I went to see Harry Potter (me, for the second time, because it was just that good).
When going to the movies in India, one confronts many things that create the feeling of being in an incredibly strange place, though in reality they are small details that only contradict a lifetime of social conditioning.
1. The line to the box office: The idea of a line in India seems, from my own experience, to be respected until about the first five people, at which point you need to be somewhat aggressive to a degree that would be considered socially offensive and rude in the US. Also, you get a seat assignment, like a play, with your ticket.
2. Security: After the IEDs in Mumbai this July, Delhi has been on heightened alert. Everywhere you go, markets, metro, tourist places, there are things that look like metal detectors with people manning them. The confusing part is, you walk through, they go off, and no one seems at all concerned. At some places, such as this movie theatre, you also get a pat down and your bag searched (there is a special line for ladies).
3. Food you can get at the concession shop: Here I have to say, India is winning. Mostly because they have Haggian Das (how do you spell that?) ice cream pints.
4. Intermission: All movies have an intermission, when you can go and get food, or they come around and take your order.
5. Cell phones: I always liked the new "silence your cell phone" announcements in the US theaters, when there is some famous scene up and half of it you hear the lines and the other half of the lines are supposed to be someone's conversation in the audience. Never in the US have I ever heard a phone go off in a theater, let alone someone answer it. Maybe texting, but here, I've been to two movies, and during each there was someone who started having a conversation, not bothering to leave the theater or hush it up at all, and thats just a bit strange to me.
What I may have experienced as far as what I would consider to be rude, has to be compared to the culture of sharing. I was socially conditioned to respect the line, not disturb others in public places, etc. My sharing teaching ended after elementary school's "did you bring enough for everyone?" Here, I may be in a classroom with people I've never talked to, but if they have crackers, everyone, EVERYONE, gets crackers. You like a necklace? Here, wear it for a while. I bought a new skirt, come borrow it from me whenever you want.
Or most strikingly, I was explaining how I don't like breakfast in the mess (I'm near religiously opposed to white wonder bread, pale yolked eggs, and corn flakes with a heaping spoonful of crystalized sugar, generally looking on these foods as somewhat of a moral failing) so I bring my own cereal. A girl responded that she wants to do that, but doesn't bring her own because she doesn't want to share. It never occurred to me to offer cereal to people with plates of food at breakfast. And this was after I (American) was coming back from an ashram and she (Indian) was coming back from the mall. So thats a confusing cultural situation right there.
When going to the movies in India, one confronts many things that create the feeling of being in an incredibly strange place, though in reality they are small details that only contradict a lifetime of social conditioning.
1. The line to the box office: The idea of a line in India seems, from my own experience, to be respected until about the first five people, at which point you need to be somewhat aggressive to a degree that would be considered socially offensive and rude in the US. Also, you get a seat assignment, like a play, with your ticket.
2. Security: After the IEDs in Mumbai this July, Delhi has been on heightened alert. Everywhere you go, markets, metro, tourist places, there are things that look like metal detectors with people manning them. The confusing part is, you walk through, they go off, and no one seems at all concerned. At some places, such as this movie theatre, you also get a pat down and your bag searched (there is a special line for ladies).
3. Food you can get at the concession shop: Here I have to say, India is winning. Mostly because they have Haggian Das (how do you spell that?) ice cream pints.
4. Intermission: All movies have an intermission, when you can go and get food, or they come around and take your order.
5. Cell phones: I always liked the new "silence your cell phone" announcements in the US theaters, when there is some famous scene up and half of it you hear the lines and the other half of the lines are supposed to be someone's conversation in the audience. Never in the US have I ever heard a phone go off in a theater, let alone someone answer it. Maybe texting, but here, I've been to two movies, and during each there was someone who started having a conversation, not bothering to leave the theater or hush it up at all, and thats just a bit strange to me.
What I may have experienced as far as what I would consider to be rude, has to be compared to the culture of sharing. I was socially conditioned to respect the line, not disturb others in public places, etc. My sharing teaching ended after elementary school's "did you bring enough for everyone?" Here, I may be in a classroom with people I've never talked to, but if they have crackers, everyone, EVERYONE, gets crackers. You like a necklace? Here, wear it for a while. I bought a new skirt, come borrow it from me whenever you want.
Or most strikingly, I was explaining how I don't like breakfast in the mess (I'm near religiously opposed to white wonder bread, pale yolked eggs, and corn flakes with a heaping spoonful of crystalized sugar, generally looking on these foods as somewhat of a moral failing) so I bring my own cereal. A girl responded that she wants to do that, but doesn't bring her own because she doesn't want to share. It never occurred to me to offer cereal to people with plates of food at breakfast. And this was after I (American) was coming back from an ashram and she (Indian) was coming back from the mall. So thats a confusing cultural situation right there.
The sharing bit depends from person to person. How they are brought up and what values they have.
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