CUC107 Applying Cultural Capabilities Report: Video Clip Analysis

This report analyzes a video clip from "Black Comedy" to assess the cultural capabilities displayed by the characters and the safety of the space. It focuses on Tiffany's behavior, which involves mimicking a black woman despite being white, and its impact on intercultural communication. The report identifies issues such as lack of empathy, cultural insensitivity, and stereotyping. It uses observations of physical and communication factors to evaluate the cultural safety of the environment. The analysis covers empathy, intercultural communication, awareness of body language, and culture shock. Recommendations are provided to improve Tiffany's behavior and promote a more inclusive and respectful environment. The report concludes that Tiffany's actions created a culturally unsafe space due to her exaggerated and stereotypical imitation.

Running head: Applying Cultural Capabilities 0
Applying Cultural Capabilities
Report
STUDENTS NAME:
1/4/2019

Applying Cultural Capabilities 1
Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background.......................................................................................................................1
1.2 Aim...................................................................................................................................1
1.3 Scope................................................................................................................................1
2. Summary and Observations...................................................................................................1
2.1 Summary of the Video Clip:.............................................................................................1
2.2 Observations:....................................................................................................................2
Table 1 Physical factors......................................................................................................2
Table 2 Communication factors..........................................................................................3
3. Analysis..................................................................................................................................4
3.1 Empathy............................................................................................................................4
3.2 Intercultural Communication............................................................................................4
3.3 Awareness of Body Language..........................................................................................5
3.4 Culture Shock...................................................................................................................6
4. Recommendations..................................................................................................................6
Summary and Conclusion..........................................................................................................7

Applying Cultural Capabilities 2
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
This report aims to discuss in depth about a video clip named “Black Comedy: Black White
Woman, Part 1” with respect to the cultural capabilities and space shown in the video.
1.2 Aim
It will aim to analyse this video clip which will consist of description of the characters and
judgement of their behaviour according to the norms of cultural and social
acceptance. The space in the video clip obviously seems to be unsafe in terms of
cultural capability and safety, the report aims to prove the same. The report will also
aims to provide a list of recommendations for the betterment of behaviour of the
characters in the scenario according to the results, in order to establish an
understanding of what is right and what is wrong when in such situations in real life.
The observations of physical and communication factors of the scene to prove the
level of safety with respect to cultural capability will be provided in a tabular manner.
1.3 Scope
This report will focus on a video clip called “Black Comedy: Black White Woman, Part 1”,
the report will consist of the description of the entire clip that consists of 2 scenes and
focuses mainly on the female character called Tiffany. The report will describe how
her behaviour is racist with respect to the scenario.
2. Summary and Observations
2.1 Summary of the Video Clip:
The video clip was published by ABC Indigenous the official Youtube channel of ABC TV.
The name of the video is ABC Black Comedy: Black White Woman, Part 1 published
on 19th November 2014 (ABCIndigenous, 2014). It is originally extracted from the 3rd

Applying Cultural Capabilities 3
episode of the 1st series of an Australian television series named Black Comedy which
aired on 19th November 2014 (IMDb, 2019).
The scene is set in the garden balcony of John’s home that has a lot of greenery. The scene
begins with a conversation between John and Charlie. John tells him about his
girlfriend Tiffany and that she is a keeper. Soon after Tiffany comes in the scene and
begins to talk in an over exaggerated black people accent and behaves like a black
women in spite of actually being white. She does this in order to show to prove to her
boyfriend and his family that she has accepted and blended well in their culture. Her
behaviour shocks John’s brother. In the 2nd scene of the same video Johns entire
family can be seen in the setting of a backyard family party where Tiffany talks to
John’s niece and gets upset on being told that she is white. The key character in the
clip is Tiffany.
2.2 Observations:
Table 1 Physical factors
Scene description
with time
Size of space Layout of space Position of people in the space
0:01-0:18
Conversation
between John and
Charlie.
Small balcony Green, calm and well
kept.
John and Charlie are sitting on
chairs and facing each other.
0:19-1:00
John calls Tiffany
and introduces her
to Charlie.
Tiffany comes and sits beside
John.
1:01-2:42
Tiffany gets upset
over being called
white by Johns
niece.
Big backyard Green, places to sit on
are randomly
distributed, cooking
space in centre.
People are sitting in different
places. Tiffany sits beside her
niece.
2:43-3:22
John hides and
Small balcony and Big
backyard
John hides in his balcony and
Tiffany moves around all over the

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Tiffany gets upset
and over reacts.
backyard.
Table 2 Communication factors
Scene
descripti
on and
time
Signs of
empathy or
negative
behaviour
Body
language
Voice Tone Signs of inclusion
or exclusion
lack of cultural
intelligence
0:01-0:18 John shares
personal
emotions with
Charlie and
Charlie seems
happy about it.
They talk in a
friendly and
frank
manner.
Charlies tap
on Johns
knee shows
playful nature
of their
friendship.
Both speak in
a cheerful
tone.
Both seem interested
in the conversation
hence no exclusion.
None
0:19-1:00 Tiffany speaks
with a heavy
accent imitating
to be a black
woman which
shocks Charlie.
She does not
greet him very
respectfully.
Tiffany
seemed
ignorant
towards
Charlie.
John and
Tiffany held
each other
and
showcased
affection.
Tiffany has a
very heavy
accent, volume
and tone of a
black woman
and seems
racist and
exaggerated.
Charlie feels
excluded when John
and Tiffany are busy
in a funny romantic
talk.
Tiffany’s
behaviour seems
extremely racist
as she forcefully
enacts a black
women in an
over
exaggerated
manner.

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Charlie sat
quite in
shock.
1:01-2:42 Tiffany talks to
her niece in a
manner that
upsets her.
She over reacted
and created a
scene when her
niece said she is
actually white.
Tiffany hugs
John’s cousin
violently.
John’s niece
looks
uncomfortabl
e.
Tiffany is loud
and rude.
John’s niece feels
insulted.
Tiffany feels
excluded from the
family.
Tiffany lacks
cultural
intelligence as
her behaviour is
rude and racist.
2:43-3:22 John hides in
spite of
correcting
Tiffany.
Tiffany’s
behaviour in an
extremely rude
manner and
looks at her niece
with anger.
Tiffany is
violent and
overdramatic.
Family
members
ignore her
out of shame
and irritation.
Tiffany is loud
and rude.
Tiffany feels
excluded from the
family.
John lacks
capability to
stop Tiffany
from behaving
racist.
Tiffany fails to
understand the
true meaning of
cultural
acceptance.
3. Analysis
3.1 Empathy
A considerate amount of empathy was displayed in the opening scene of the clip when John
and Charlie where conversing. Their friendly and respectful body language depicts
comfort and positivity that made the place culturally safe (Neville & Wilson , 2009).

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3.2 Intercultural Communication
Tiffany is actually white and behaved and talked in a manner that is traditionally believed to
be exhibited by a black woman. She obviously respects the culture John is a part of
and that is why she is forcing herself to be a black women but her unnatural behaviour
and talking tone seems to be significantly racist and offends people (Johns family)
who are authentically black.
Accepting and loving a culture that a person does not belong to does not have to be
showcased by it’s over exaggerated enactment (Hebdige, 2012). This is what Tiffany
fails to understand. An accent or behaviour of a person who belongs to a particular
community is what they inherit and grow up top become, no outsider can accurately
imitate that and the imitation seems to be extremely racist and rude (Judith &
Thomas, 2012). It is highly offensive when a culturally different person imitates the
tone and behaviour of your own culture as it seems like they are making fun of it
(Carbaugh, 2009). Loud greeting and aggressive tone in communication also depicted
how she stereotyped the tone of a black woman.
Tiffany was also culturally wrong as she made up her mind about a particular stereotype
about black women although it is obviously evident that not all black woman talk in
that manner. Stereotyping a particular culture and its people is not only wrong but is
also disrespectful for the people of that culture (Lun, Sinclair, & Cogburn , 2009).
Tiffany claims to be a black woman and gets upset over being denied of this fact by Johns
niece this is not only offensive to the black community but also to the white
community as she exhibits disrespect for white culture by disowning it completely. A
person is obviously free to choose his/her own religion (Strauss, 2017) and the culture
they want to follow but disrespecting any other culture is obviously offensive (Brislin,
Worthley, & Macnab, 2006).
The fact that absolutely no body in the clip tried to correct her behaviour and educate her
about what she was doing was wrong. Lack of positive intercultural communication is
exhibited throughout the clip. Even John prefers to run away from the situation in
spite of taking hold of it and resolving the issue his woman is creating seems to be an
ignorant activity exhibited by him.

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3.3 Awareness of Body Language
Awareness of body language was seen in the opening of the clip while the conversation
between John and Charlie was going on. They looked comfortable, friendly, frank and
cheerful.
The little tap on the Johns knee given by Charlie showcased their level of comfort in the
company of each other. Small, light and friendly physical gestures display comfort
while conversation (Knapp & Daly, 2011).
Tiffany’s loud greeting and heavy accent left Charlie in the state of shock and discomfort.
Tiffany totally ignored his presence which was an extremely rude gesture on her part.
While in a room full of people it is disrespectful to leave anyone alone and unnoticed
because it leads to their discomfort.
When Tiffany greeted John’s cousin brother with a violent hug his discomfort was evident in
his face. Tiffany was not very much known by John’s entire family and in spite of that
fact, her over friendly physical gesture that was also violent was not at all a respectful
manner of greeting a person. Any physical gesture between any sorts of individuals
must be consensual and must portray respect and love rather that over friendliness and
violence (Forsell & Astrom, 2012).
John’s niece’s body language exhibited a huge amount of discomfort and irritation while she
listens to Tiffany’s racist talks. Her facial expressions depicted the fact how hugely
offended she was by all the comments Tiffany made about her and about blacks.
Tiffany’s angry glance at John’s niece not only scares her but also puts other family
members in disgust of her behaviour, including John.
3.4 Culture Shock
Tiffany’s behaviour as imitation of a black woman in spite of being white came across as a
cultural shock for all. Over exaggerated and stereotypical imitation comes across as a
cultural shock (Flanja, 2009).
It is extremely wrong when a person stereotypes the people of a particular community and
mocks them by mimicking them (Bruhn, 2005). This is no why showcases a person’s
love or respect towards that community but seems to be offensive for sure.

Applying Cultural Capabilities 8
A safe space is created when all the people in it are comfortable and feel respected and
relevant (Holley & Steiner, 2005). Tiffany’s behaviour in the entire clip made the
space culturally unsafe.
4. Recommendations
 Tiffany must been herself and not imitate to be black woman in order to impress John
and his family.
 She must have greeted Charlie politely and in a friendly manner and included him in
the conversation in spite of only talking to her boyfriend.
 She must have greeted John’s cousin with a handshake and in a gentle tone.
 She must have talked to her niece politely and made a light hearted frank conversation
with her in spite of passing racist comments.
 She must not have gotten upset over John’s nieces statement because what she said
was not incorrect.
 John must have corrected Tiffany and not hide from the problem. It Tiffany fails to
understand that her behaviour is offensive and racist as a partner John must take hold
of the situation and corrected her.
Summary and Conclusion
This clip is an exact representation of over exaggerated and stereotypical imitation of a
person of a particular culture by a culturally different culture. Tiffany did the same in
the clip. Her intension was to please her boyfriend and his family but her behaviour
turned out to be irritating, racist and offensive. Her reactions to situations in the clip
made it culturally unsafe. If she decided to be she and not do any false imitations and
John corrected her mistakes in spite of hiding away from it the scenario would have
been made culturally safe.

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References
ABCIndigenous. (2014). ABC Black Comedy: Black White Woman, Part 1. Retrieved
January 4, 2019, from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H33cPuwsY48
Brislin, R., Worthley, R., & Macnab, B. (2006). Cultural Intelligence. Group & Organization
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Bruhn, J. G. (2005). Culture-brain interactions. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral
Science, 40(4), 243-254.
Carbaugh, D. (Ed.). (2009). Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact. New York
and London: Psychology Press.
Flanja, D. (2009). Culture Shock In Intercultural Communication. Europaea(4), 107-124.
Forsell, L. M., & Astrom, J. A. (2012). Meanings of Hugging: From Greeting Behavior to
Touching Implications. Comprehensive Psychology, 1(13), 2-4.
Hebdige, D. (2012). Subculture Meaning of style. London and New York: Routledge.
Holley, L. C., & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom
environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49–64.
IMDb. (2019). Black Comedy. Retrieved January 4, 2019, from IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3697996/
Judith, M., & Thomas, N. (2012). Intercultural Communication in contexts (6 ed.). United
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Knapp, M. L., & Daly, J. A. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE Handbook of Interpersonal
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Lun, J., Sinclair, S., & Cogburn , C. (2009). Cultural Stereotypes and the Self: A Closer
Examination of Implicit Self-Stereotyping. Basic and Applied Social Psychology,

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31(2), 117-127.
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Strauss, A. L. (2017). Mirrors and Masks (2 ed.). New York: Routledge.