Communication in a Global Village by Barnlund
by Barry Wright
Essay: Communication in a Global Village by Barnlund
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
Download Links:
• Communication in a Global Village by Barnlund.pdf
• Communication in a Global Village by Barnlund.doc
Communication in a Global Village by Barnlund
In Barnlund's essay "Communication in a Global Village" he says, "Tomorrow we can expect to spend most of our
lives in the company of neighbors who will speak in a different tongue, seek different values, move at a different
pace, and interact according to a different script (61). In Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" he gives the viewer a
glimpse of a community in which this is already taking place. He shows the struggle of people from different
cultures trying to live side by side and the way they coexist in a shared environment. Each group has it's own way
of dealing with the struggle and due to the lack of understanding and communication there arises conflict.
In one scene, the camera focuses on Sal and his son Pino talking face to face and in their pizza shop. In the
background you see the oriental couple standing outside their mini-mart as they too try and survive in a global
village. Pino is telling his father how tired he is of trying to run their business in a black neighborhood as he asks,
"Could we sell this and open up a new pizza parlor in our own neighborhood? Barnlund further explores this
surcumstance when he says, "It is a feeling of helplessness, even of terror or anger, that accompanies working in
an alien society. One feels trapped in an absurd and indecipherable nightmare" (72). I also think this is a great
example of what Barnlund refers to as "interpersonal understanding" (68), the desire of people to associate with
others that share the same views as themselves and who express themselves in similar ways. I think the
significance of this scene is the way it shows people still feeling isolated and alone in an unfamiliar culture even
though there are...