You have got to watch this video from TED about the cultural differences of myth between India and the West. It is a real eye opener.
http://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html
We live in a subject truth based on our cultural narratives.
Devdutt Pattanai does a wonderful job discussing the cultural narratives through our mythologies. He uses mythology to explain the different business practices of India and the West but this can also help us understand the many other practices of our cultures. Can we use this understanding to help the communication between cultures on a global stage.
We are becoming a global society with more informal conversations between cultures, we can create a new narrative that could include the preservation the planet. Our Western culture is all about concur and take what you need NOW before your death. Other cultures, like India, belief in multiple lives therefore you have to preserve the earth for your next life. (I might be wrong here)… but it is exciting to learn about how other cultures view ‘the world’.
Technology can help facilitate the communication between cultures. Social media and social networking allows all voices to be heard. Educational Technology can connect students from differently countries to discuss and learn from each other.
Will we transform/change our Western narrative if we listen to other narratives? We will become a melting pot or a tossed salad of cultures. It may be our digital generation that moves our cultures together to create a new narrative.
