Anthropologist Ruth Benedict stated that we are “creatures of our culture” and I believe this statement to be true. One example could be how we define beauty. In America we believe that beauty is tall and skinny, but in other cultures it could be something else entirely. But this belief is portrayed by Hollywood and this is what they call the standard of beauty. I believe that most of our beliefs are in fact shaped by our culture. When we are young we see how our parents act and believe and we absorb like a sponge what they tell us. We are told when we are younger that hard work pays off and I do believe that a majority of American people do believe this, so this could be another belief of culture.
How we as a culture could break through the limits is to question is what is going around us. Ask about beliefs about a culture and try to figure out if the idea in question makes any sense. We need to find the truth.
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I liked your point on the American idea of beauty. Unfortunately our idea of beauty is greatly distorted because of how the Media portrays it. Our unrealistic ideas of what is ‘beautiful’ have led to such great extremes like plastic surgery and eating disorders especially among American women and young girls. I’m sure most people heard about the Ralph Lauren add featuring model Filippa Hamilton greatly altered to make her appear much skinnier (unhealthily skinny) than she is in real life and was let go from the modeling agency because she was too heavy. It’s really unfortunate that such wealthy companies like Ralph Lauren have to stoop so low and feed into this false idea of beauty.
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