Learning About Culture Using the Film Outsourced Presentation developed by Meg Girard and Dennis White
Outsourced is about the manager of an American call center, or order fulfillment center, in the US. They process orders for novelty items from a catalogue. Todd’s department has been “outsourced” – that is, the jobs have been moved to India where labor is less expensive.
Todd must go to India and train the local employees in the “American” way of doing business. And he must get the average length of each call to under six minutes. Even though he really does not want to go, he has experiences very similar to those of exchange students.
Culture Shock 1. Initial Excitement 2. Irritability 3. Gradual Adaptation 4. Integration
Culture Shock Cycle Months Pre-Departure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Return …... Normal Level of Feelings
When most exchange students depart, it is a very exciting experience. In Todd’s case, he really did NOT volunteer for the job. But the newness is exciting anyway.
Nevertheless, the disorientation and “shock” of new and very different things happens to Todd as it does to all travelers
The advice from the friend in the train station is a metaphor for how Todd can be successful… Just Jump!
He’s willing to try new things – like the frozen beverage – which leads to another kind of shock - later on
But it’s all still new and different. As an outsider, he notices things his “guide” doesn’t because they are commonplace to him, or because he is ignoring them.
Not being familiar with the culture, he starts making mistakes right away. His first mistake is thinking everyone understands his version of English
He uses American Slang as if it is universally understood. Words like “kitsch”, “redneck” and “schmuck”.
So now “schmuck” means “nice guy”!
Trying to be agreeable, he is very forcefully talked into going to a boarding house, Auntie Ji’s, instead of a hotel.
This not only exposes him to more of a host family atmosphere, which is similar to that of an exchange student…
It also reveals a strong cultural value when Puro tells him “you won’t be lonely”.
So he meets his new “host mom”, Auntie Ji
But instead of the usual “small talk” an American would expect, he is subjected to very direct, intimate questions, right away
He begins to make subtle mistakes of social etiquette. Behaviors where he doesn’t have a clue that he is doing anything wrong.
Eventually the Gollah, frozen beverage, catches up with him and he learns for himself why the left hand is considered unclean
Todd is beginning to experience Ethnocentrism: Indian Ethnocentrism – and American Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the universal tendency for any culture to see its own practices as correct – sometime even the only way to do something
Examples range from Puro insisting that Todd stay at Auntie Ji’s so he won’t be lonely, which we already saw…
To the servant putting lots of sugar in his tea despite his requests for her to stop…
He is even surprised that his “host mom” Auntie Ji irons his underwear!
Todd’s own ethnocentrism keeps him from seeing that he has to adapt to the culture. But he does begin to see he isn’t getting anywhere doing what comes naturally
And he keeps making mistakes that alienate his employees
And he continues to be shocked by the directness and intimacy of Auntie Ji’s questions
He gets in more trouble when he tries to explain the American cultural values behind some of the novelty gifts
And he really gets in trouble when he shows absolutely no sensitivity to the tradition of the Sacred Cow of India
Finally, he hits the wall, or as we say, “the honeymoon is over” when he is confronted by an employee
At this point exchange students are usually very uncomfortable and try to make themselves more comfortable by seeking what is familiar, and so does Todd
But when calling home doesn’t work, he accidentally finds what he thinks is a familiar comfort food – McDonalds
So he hires a taxi to take him there, but has no awareness that the taxi driver is trying to bargain with him
Since he won’t bargain, the taxi driver does it for him, as if Todd is haggling as he should!
And then he finds that what he thought was familiar wasn’t exactly what he thought it was
So he has run into a fellow expatriated American who has obviously successfully adapted to India, and - has a sense of humor.
Making fun of or criticizing the host country is a typical Inbound behavior – sometimes part of what is called the Inbound Syndrome
But his new friend really has some wonderful advice – really the key to succeeding there
The advice – Give in!
This becomes the turning point – where he slowly changes to a more Ethnorelative point of view and gradually adapts to the Indian way of doing things
Ethnorelativism means accepting that there are many different ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, and that the many ways cultures do things are not right or wrong, just different.
And he begins to show some developing skill at listening to them as he works at it
He even accepts the cow right in the office!
His success with his employees is apparent as they begin to include him in their culture
This in turn leads to a deeper discussion of cultural differences, such as when Todd and Puro discuss their very different attitudes toward parents and family
Throughout the film, Todd has been looking with curiosity over the wall surrounding Auntie Ji’s.
When he is actually invited over, he is now prepared to accept the invitation with an open mind and many more social skills than when he started
He gets invited to a family meal
This time, he is able to see all the differences as just that – differences, not right or wrong. They are things that “work” for that culture
How about that wiring system, and an electric frying pan made from a Volkswagen hub cap!
But we see that he fits in with the proper etiquette, that he is at ease - and they clearly let him know he has succeeded
We know that often exchange students are not aware of how much they have integrated into the host culture until they are confronted with someone from their own culture
Especially someone who doesn’t know what to do and makes the same mistakes they did when they were new to the culture
Todd’s boss shows up in India, as clueless as Todd was a short time ago.
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