Cultural Systems in the United States - Coursework Example

The two females featured in Bend it like Beckham experience their gender in different ways. Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra is infatuated with football but her parents who are Indians have forbidden her to play because she is a girl. However, Juliette “Jules” Paxton's parents are okay with it, yet she is still a girl. Jess's family expects her to have a job that is suitable for ladies her age that’s why she pretends to have a job so that she can play with the Hounslow Harrier a local women’s team. Jules is allowed to follow her passion for female football. Both Jess and Julee’s parents become concerned when these two best friends fight, and they fear that their daughters are lesbians thinking that the girls’ disagreement is a lover’s quarrel.  All in all, both families expect Jess and Jules to dance at a Sikh wedding in which Jess’ elder sister is getting married.

Emergent cultural geographies: Television

In the fifty years since television became commonplace for western civilization, this one piece of technology has had an incredible impact on society ally revolutionized the way people see themselves and the world around them. The debate as to whether the impact is positive or negative has been taking place since the inception of TV in the late 1940s. Television’s potential to connect, educate and inform the public is often overshadowed by the lack of individual responsibility in using this modern-day miracle, therefore causing its impact on society to be viewed as negative.

Television provides viewers access to arts, music, religion, new technology, and information. Such technology is a venue for inspiration and enrichment and it also allows the viewer to become engaged in issues that have personal and societal implications. Viewers have been able to witness everything from presidential debates to men walking on the moon to wars being fought right in front of them. They have discovered ways to renovate their homes, look like a runway model and give their hearts to Jesus all in one afternoon. The potential for individual and societal transformation is incredible as a big chunk of life is captivated by the TV.

Television affects relationships in several different ways. It may bring a family together to watch family shows strengthening the bond between the family members. The average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day or 28 hours/week, or two months of nonstop TV-watching per year (Norman Herr). This means that an individual withdraws from society becoming antisocial since in most homes today there are at least three TVs, and many have set in every room in the house (Norman Herr, par. 2).

Television in one way has enhanced learning by bringing educational channels hence effective in educational purposes. One of the most prevalent criticisms of television is that it exposes and even anesthetizes viewers to violence, sexually graphic exploitations, and distortions of reality thus being ineffective in moral teachings.

Environmental concern: The United States and Kenya  

With United States being the core and Kenya the peripheral country, deforestation has been a major environmental concern in both. The US is addressing this issue through laws like the Wilderness Act, Lacey, Act and the Roadless Rule to protect U.S. forests and stop illegal wood products from entering the U.S. marketplace. In Kenya heavy penalties and even jail terms to those caught carrying out illegal logging. Differences in solution to deforestation is because of large disparities in the size of the countries. Similarities in both countries is that they carry out reafforestation.