Similarities in Culture and Distinctive Cultures

     As much as I know you think your culture is SO different than others... it's not!!! Many cultures are very similar. I will show you a few similarities from each of the cultures shown in the "Babies" film. Both Ponijao and Bayer live in rural areas, Ponijao lives in the middle of a desert in southern Africa. Bayer lives on a grassy farm in Mongolia. The environment they both live in is perfect for animals to live in. Both babies are exposed to animals whether it is goats, dogs or cows. With that said, the level of hygiene is poorer. They have limited access to toys and mainly their mothers take care of them. They both wear some kind of clothes but "lower class" clothing. Above is a picture of Ponijao and a dog, as well as below is a picture of Bayer and his adventure with the cows. In the film, the dog licks Ponijao to say hello. Ponijao didn't know how else to respond but lick the dog back. This was very humorous because his mother didn't do or say anything to him about his behaviours.

 
     Hattie and Mari live in industrialized areas. Japan and The United States of America are two of the most technologically advanced and "richer" countries. Both babies had easy access to many toys, books and even technology at a young age. The pictures below shows Hattie playing with a cell phone at a young age. Both girls have both parents taking care of them and wear "middle class" clothing. One similarity I found very interesting was the mommy groups. These mothers would get together and do specific activities together. A few examples of these are exercise (polities or dancing), play dates, walks in the park. The other picture attached is Hattie doing polities at a couple of months old. I found this kind of funny because it shows that we always need to be in groups and need help parenting and or socializing.

   I personally think that Ponijao and Bayer' cultures are more distinctive than the American and Japanese cultures. I think this because the way parenting and life is done is so special. In Hattie and Mari's culture it seems that the right way of parenting is by bubble wrapping your children. No I don't mean that literally, but it seems parents start when their child is at a young age. They want to protect them from every little thing. Personally I think this is creating people that need to be spoon fed to do work. They aren't getting the positive and negative experiences needed to live a full life. Bayer and Ponijao seem to live there lives to the fullest and truly enjoy life. They go on adventures or try new things. They get to experience life! I think that is what true happiness is.