Cultural Anthropology - Analyzing One Concept (Assimilation) in Schindler's List

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Core Concept to Discuss: Assimilation: Assimilation is the process whereby individuals or groups of people from one culture are absorbed into and changed by another culture. Usually this process involves the absorption of cultures by a dominant culture, but not always.

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Jane Doe ATH 1111 Milestone 3 October 1, 2017 Milestone 3: Planet of the Apes This milestone examines how an anthropological core concept, religion, effects the behavior of Dr. Honorious, the Deputy Minister of Justice and courtroom prosecutor, during the courtroom scene the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. In the Planet of the Apes, one of the defining scenes in the film occurs when the lead character, Taylor, arrives in court in court. He is accompanied to court with Zira and Galen, doctors who have been studying him since his capture (Schaffner and Jacobs 1968). Taylor’s goal is to prove that he has the intellectual capacity to both speak and think rationally in order to avoid being both lobotomized and castrated. Unlike the United States where religion is separated from the state, religion is an all-encompassing part of ape society, and influences not just the social lives of the apes, but their political system as well. In this socially stratified ape culture, orangutans (Pongo borneo) like Dr. Honorious are considered both the politicians and the religious experts. In this scene, Dr. Honorious, who is both the Deputy Minister of Justice and the prosecutor, states that Semos (the god of the apes) created apes out of his own image, making them the “Lord[s] of the planet,” (Schaffner and Jacobs 1968), setting the stage for his prosecution. In order to prove Taylor’s inadequacies, he instructs Taylor to tell the court, “What is the second article of faith?” (Schaffner and Jacobs 1968). This knowledge about ape religion is culturally specific, so the only people who would know the answer to it would be either apes, or humans who have studied this religion. When Taylor responds that he doesn’t know anything about the ape’s religion and culture, Dr. Honorious seizes his chance by ethnocentrically telling the judges that Taylor, “Doesn’t know 1 our culture because he cannot think!” (Schaffner and Jacobs 1968), thereby equating ape religious knowledge with intelligence. This scene is an example of not just ethnocentrism, but also about the cultural relativity of knowledge. Knowledge is cumulative and is learned over time. However, the ape society in which Taylor is living, believes that knowledge stems from a firm understanding of their religious laws. 2 References Cited Schaffner, F.J. (Producer), & Jacobs, A.P. (Director). (1968). Planet of the Apes. United States: 20th Century Fox. 3
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Date: December 1st 2017
Assimilation
Assimilation is the process by which an individual or a group of people from a
specific culture is absorbed into another different culture or changed by the other culture.
(Bulmer and Solomos) explain that the dominant culture usually absorbs the lesser culture.
The absorbed culture ends up resembling the superior culture. The lesser culture loses its
influence and ends up tuning itself to the superior one. There is need for the le...


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