Name: ________________________________
Mrs. Blasofsel
Honors English IV
____ ____________________ 20____
Introduction to Cultural Criticism
Through the Lexicon Photo Essays, we now have a better understanding of what YOU bring to the table
individually, but what about a group of people with similar interests, skills, abilities? Cultural Criticism is
a form of criticism that examines how different religions, ethnicities, class identifications, political
beliefs, and individual viewpoints affect the ways in which texts are created and interpreted. Cultural
Criticism suggests that being a part of—or excluded from—a specific group or culture contributes to and
affects our understanding of texts.
The following statements reflect four common ideas about the use of Cultural Criticism as a lens for
understanding literature:
1. Ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual identity, and so on are crucial components in formulating
plausible interpretations of text.
2. While the emphasis is on diversity of approach and subject matter, Cultural Criticism is not the
only means of understanding ourselves and our art.
3. An examination or exploration of the relationship between dominant cultures and dominated
cultures is essential.
4. When looking at a text through the perspective of marginalized peoples, new understandings
emerge.
Cultural Criticism examines texts from the position of those individuals who are in some way
marginalized or not part of the dominant culture. To marginalize someone is to relegate or confine that
person to a lower or outer limit. A dominant group is the more powerful one, and it may perceive the
marginalized, or subordinate, person or group as having a lower social status.
Language Awareness: When speaking to someone outside of your “village” or cultural atmosphere it is
paramount that they understand the language you use.
Each group has an object in a bag. The bag has a sense (taste, smell, audio, touch) on it. Your task is to
describe the object to the rest of the class WITHOUT using this sense or even terms/language that you’d
need to understand if you had that sense. BUT… before you begin, let’s
practice with visual. What do you see? How would you describe it?
Now what if you were trying to describe it to someone with a visual
impairment, someone who had never seen color? Watch Excerpt from
Mask (1985). 1:26:40-1:32:28
1. What village is present in this clip?
2. Who is the stranger?
3. Who breaks the communication barrier? Note: for success, one or the other has to be the first
to step forward and bridge the gap in communication.
4. How does the “village” ensure that the stranger understands the language?
Now it’s your turn. Open the bag (be careful to make sure that no one outside of your group sees your
object!) Slyly (so that other groups can’t hear you) figure out a way to describe this object without using
the sense on the bag. When you describe this object to the class, you’ll need to notify them of their
disability (i.e.: “As an audience member, for our description assume you can’t…. hear, taste, smell, or
feel (no nerve endings!))
How did members of these villages, bridge the gap of understanding for you (the stranger)? You do not
have to fill in your own here.
Taste:
Smell:
Touch:
Hear:
1. How did you bridge the gap in your language differences?
2. How did it feel to be a part of the village? The stranger?
Speaking with Hands
By Luis J. Rodriguez
There were no markets in Watts.
There were these small corner stores
we called marketas
who charged more money
for cheaper goods than what existed
in other parts of town.
The owners were often thieves in white coats
who talked to you like animals,
who knew you had no options;
who knew Watts was the preferred landfill
of the city.
One time, Mama started an argument
at the cash register.
In her broken English,
speaking with her hands,
she had us children stand around her
as she fought with the grocer
on prices & quality & dignity.
Mama became a woman swept
by a sobering madness;
she must have been what Moses saw
in the burning bush,
a pillar of fire,
consuming the still air
that reeked of overripe fruit
and bad meat from the frozen food
section.
She refused to leave
until the owner called the police.
The police came and argued too,
but Mama wouldn’t stop.
They pulled her into the parking lot,
called her crazy . . .
and then Mama showed them crazy!
They didn’t know what to do
but let her go, and Mama took us children
back toward home, tired of being tired.
Applying Cultural Criticism:
How does examining “Speaking with Hands” through the
Cultural Criticism perspective help you interpret the poem?
Consider the stranger, the village, and the communication
gap. Be sure to include a clear argumentative thesis that
addresses the prompt, develop your ideas with relevant
well-chosen evidence, and organize your ideas clearly.