Differences and Similarities between Cultures

While watching Pepi, Luci, and Bom, I noticed both differences and similarities that America and Spain in the 1980s.

One thing that I and many of my peers reacted to similarly were the sexually explicit scenes in the film. I, for one, was taken aback and was so surprised to see such sexually explicit scenes that I did not know what to think of it at first. As many of my peers noticed, a lot of people in the class were uncomfortable and were either laughing or were silent. This was a difference in American culture and in culture in Spain and in Europe in general that I noticed. In America, it is not normal for people to see nudity or sexually explicit scenes on the screen, or even have dialogue with vulgar language. This is why the reactions of many of my peers including myself were shocked and taken aback. One of the first thoughts that ran across my mind was, is it even alright for this film to be shown at school? However, if you look at culture in Europe and in Spain, nudity and sex is something that is celebrated and seen as beautiful. Take for example, many French movies have nudity in them, and many buildings and statues across Europe show nudity, for instance, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The fact that the reactions to the same film being shown in two different countries are so different is interesting. If sexually explicit films, nudity, and vulgar language is "normal" in European countries, but is not of norm in America, what in America is "normal" but is not as easily accepted in European countries?

On the other hand, I saw a similarity in American and European culture--the view that women should be dependent and submissive to their husbands. In the film, there were some lines that the policeman said to Luci, his wife, that really stood out to me. One of them was "Be quiet this is man's business" when Luci was talking about how she did not understand why they bought the flat. This brought up the view that there were certain things that women should talk about and should not talk about. This brings to question what exactly is considered man's business and a woman's business? Another line was when the policeman said to Luci, "I don't like independent women...Why do you were those trousers? You know I hate them." This expresses the view that women are expected to be dependent on men and that independent women are looked down upon. This can also be seen through the policeman's comment on Luci's trousers. He did not like it when Luci wore trousers because it was in a way, a sign of independence. In his view, trousers are something that men wear, not women, and by Luci wearing trousers, it would be considered to be a sign of her trying to be more independent, more like a man, which was not acceptable to him.