Introduction
Background 1.1:
Cultural self-awareness, cultural intelligence and cultural capability are essential requirements when creating safe spaces. Safe spaces are created when everybody in that particular setting engages and participates in a positive manner. In regards to an educational environment safe spaces encourages students to “…feel secure enough to take risks, honestly express their views and share and explore their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors”. Allowing students to express themselves more openly without the judgments of social challenges such as; “diversity, cultural competence and oppression.” .
Scope 1.2:
This report will focus on safe spaces in an academic setting. The 1997 movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ has been carefully selected to discuss this concept further. Specific scenes within this movie have been depicted as safe spaces and will be a primary focus throughout this report.
Aim 1.3:
This report will provide a comprehensive summary, account and analysis of the film; ‘Good Will Hunting’, and how it depicts the concept of safe spaces. It will also recommend enhancements on how to improve the safety in academic environments.
Summary 2- Video excerpt
‘Good Will Hunting’ was released on December, 2nd 1997 and stars Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck. The story follows the life and mind of a young genius, Will Hunting. An emotionally angry man, who struggles to find himself, and his place in this world .
A judge decides Will’s fate; counselling or jail- this is where he meets Sean, he’s therapist, role model and father figure. Sean helps Will break through his barriers, and eventually helps him to change his life. Will is forced to deal with his childhood challenges when he meets his soul-mate Skyler, a medical student who opens his heart to love. Through Sean’s help, Will slowly begins to honestly open up to Skyler about his feelings, imperfections, ideas, and the childhood, that ultimately defines him.
There are two key events in this film that portray safe situations;
⦁ When Will begins working with Sean, he slowly begins to break down his barriers and express his feelings, knowledge and attitudes.
⦁ When Will begins to pursue a relationship with Skylar. He opens his heart to let love in, and to give love.
Summary of Literature 3
Safe spaces are fundamental in not only an academic setting, but also in the workplace or community. However, in order to understand what safe spaces are, and how to create these environments, we first have to look at cultural self-awareness, cultural intelligence and cultural capabilities which are essential in understanding this concept further.
Cultural Self-awareness:
Understanding the nature of the term “culture” is the first step in recognizing and identifying safe spaces. Understanding culture is important in all aspects of society- from communication barriers to the perception of the social world. Three main elements that consist within a culture include; experience, knowledge and behavior, these three components lay the foundation of what is known as cultural self-awareness.
Cultural self-awareness can be defined as, “…the foundation of communication and it involves the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs and perceptions” .
Cultural Intelligence:
Through understanding cultural self-awareness one can begin the journey of cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence can be defined as “… a person’s capability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity” .
Cultural intelligence becomes apparent in various situations where one is not familiar with the specific environment. This culture shock can occur when visiting a foreign country, or when working with a group of people who are much different in age, knowledge and experience. Failing to understand the different interpersonal skills such as; body language, facial expressions and tone of voice etc. one can feel like a “fish out of water”, and will begin to go through the four stages of culture shock. The “Honeymoon” stage, the “crisis” stage, the “recovery” stage and the “complete adjustment stage”. These four stages are effectively represented in the image below.
http://erinoleary.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/cultureshock-thumb-541x271-3009.gif?w=700
Understanding communication across various cultures is fundamental when building on cultural intelligence. However, there are distinct barriers that prevent effective communication when engaged in an academic environment. These barriers can include; language, behavior and stereotypes . Although these barriers prevent effective communication, understanding strategies to overcome these communication blocks is significantly important. Some of these strategies are listed below;
⦁ Active listening
⦁ Honest communication
⦁ Open and clear questions
⦁ Avoid stereotyping
Cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence are a fundamental necessity to comprehend when trying to understand the concept of “safe spaces”.
Observations/Analysis of Video 4
The movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ depicts the concept of “safe spaces” by encouraging risk- taking, new ideas and creative thinking, this is evident through various physical and communication factors present throughout the film. These factors are concisely represented in the table below.
Scene Number/Time frame
Physical Factors
Communication Factors
Inclusion Cultural self-awareness and Cultural Intelligence
Super philosophy Scene 9 (4 Minutes, 25 Seconds) -Warm Amber colors are used throughout the scene to portray a sense of humanity and empathy.
- Will is sitting on a soft lounge chair, depicting that he is comfortable and in a safe environment.
- The room is big but warm with the two characters (Will & Sean) sitting across from each other at a distance that is “safe”
-The camera shots and close ups in this scene create an intimate atmosphere.
-Eye contact is made between both characters.
- Sean is sitting up with his legs on the table, he is in control, comfortable and confident in the session.
-A welcoming discussion starts when Will breaks the silence with humor, laughing and smiling are present throughout the scene with the expression of ideas and feelings arising around challenging issues.
- Both characters voices are soft and calm.
-Honest and open dialogue -Signs of inclusion are evident through the humor which is represented throughout this scene.
-Sean’s room is filled with books that Will loves, this gives Will a sense of inclusion. Sean understands Will’s culture, as he is from the same neighborhood. They connect with this element and Will begins to trust Sean. Sean displays both cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence.
Discussion 5
Scene’s 7, 8 & 11- Will begins working with Sean
Will begins the journey of self-discovery. Through Sean’s high level of cultural self-awareness and cultural intelligence, Will begins to feel safe and secure in Sean’s presence and begins to break down his barriers and express his feelings. Will’s initial attachment to Sean is characterized through the commonality that both characters share through their “South Boston” upbringing and most significantly, their experience with abuse as children. Sean was able to effectively understand Will’s behavior, and was able to react and respond to Will like no other person could. This affected Will in a positive aspect as he was able to gain trust and self-worth through Sean’s approach to “therapy”. Sean’s distinctive understanding of his own culture, which significantly helped him in dealing with Will, is effectively articulated through ‘Lin Vann Dyne’s (2012)’ article on the four factors of Cultural Intelligence. Factor number four ‘CQ-Behavior,’ states; in order to become culturally intelligent, one must first be able to adapt to various behavioral challenges that arise, this includes; “... having a flexible repertoire of behavioral responses that are appropriate in a variety of situations…” .
Scene’s 9 & 15- Will begins to pursue a relationship with Skylar
The beginning of Wills relationship with Skylar is trailed by lies. The initial stages of the developing relationship is built on mechanisms and coping strategies that are implemented by Will, so that too much of his life and of himself, is not revealed to Skylar. However, Skylar finds Wills flaws, and begins to instigate conversations with Will about his life. Will gets angry and frustrated, and feels he cannot trust or engage in a relationship. However, these issues are eventually overcome with positive support and non-judgments from Skylar, and open and honest communication from both Skylar and Will.
Will’s behavior and engagement to the academic and social environment is effectively represented through, Stephanie Quappe & Giovanna Cantatore’s article; “What is Cultural Awareness, anyway? How do I build it? (2005). This article provides a comprehensive overview of how we all; react, adapt and perceive the social world. Quappe & Cantatore (2005) state that “People see, interpret, and evaluate things in different ways…” this is due to the different cultural norms that people have. For example; Will’s upbringing has inevitable shaped the person he is, from how he reacts and responds to people, and his interpretations and perception of the social world. Although these elements can be changed and modified, like in Wills case with his intellectual ability, it is still very difficult to alter ones perception, experiences and values to “fit in” with cultural norms.
Recommendations 6
Throughout the ‘video analysis 4’ it is discussed that the film is depicted as a culturally “safe space”, because the film encourages new and creative ideas, risk-taking and open and welcoming discussions. All these “safe” elements are protecting Will from psychological and emotional harm.
However, the safe space scenario depicted in the analysis of this report, can also be altered to enable an even safer space. There are a couple of changes that can take place to reduce the negative outcomes Will is experiencing, which would make him more willing to open up and disclose his feelings to Sean. For example; the initial stages of the “Super Philosophy” scene, Sean is waiting for Will to initiate the first point of dialogue. Will is reluctant to talk, so he begins the conversation with a joke.
-Sean could have actively encouraged Will’s participation at the start with a smile and some simple questions, enabling Will to feel a little more secure about disclosing
- Sean’s physical behavior at the start of the session suggested that he did not make Will feel welcomed into the room, he was falling asleep, whistling and looking around the room. At that stage Sean should have made eye contact with Will, with a calm and inviting facial expression to make Will feel safe in his presence.
Conclusion 7
This report focused on safe spaces, and how to sustain culturally safe spaces in an academic environment. In regards to the film ‘Good Will Hunting’ it depicted the concept of “safe spaces” effectively through various physical and communication factors that were discussed. The colors, camera angles, eye contact, the proportion, size and layout of the space, and the sense of inclusion and belonging throughout the film supported the concept.
Although, the film already depicted safe spaces, there were still a few elements that needed to be altered and or changed to sustain and improve the space so that it was made even safer. These included; effective eye contact, calm and welcoming facial expressions and smiles.
This report supported my notions through appropriate and effective resources and academic literature that were used throughout each section. And in particular section 3 ‘Summary of Literature’ where I provided a comprehensive overview of the literature I have currently been studying in regards to; cultural self-awareness, cultural intelligence and cultural capabilities, and detail was provided about cross-cultural communication and culture shock.
This report effectively supported the film as a culturally “safe space”.
References 7.1