A Brief Comparison of American Collectivism and Chinese Individualism by Analyzing Pushing Hands

陳楊

Abstract：As every country has its own values，there may be communication barriers between those believe in different values.This brief thesis compares main difference of Chinese cultures and Americans by analyzing the film，Pushing Hands.

Key words：collectivism；individualism；Pushing Hands

1 Definition of Individualism and Collectivism

According to American Heritage Dictionary，individualism includes the following several aspects：belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal in dependence；the doctrine that the interests of individual should take precedence over the interests of the group.However，collectivism，according to Triandis（1990），means emphasis on the views，needs，and goals of the in-group rather than oneself；social norms and duty defined by the in-group；beliefs shared with the in-group；and great readiness to cooperate with in-group members.

Therefore，due to so many differences between individualism and collectivism，when people with those totally different values get along with each other，conflicts arise.

2 Brief Analysis of Conflicts in Pushing Hands

In Pushing Hands，Lao Zhu is a representative of collectivism，while Martha is that of individualism，and Alex has been exposed to both cultures.When they live together and many problems occur.

From my point of view，there are three types of conflicts in the film，the first one is Alex and Marthas different opinions on supporting parents；the second one is Lao Zhus disagreement on Marthas way of educating child；and the last is the unlike lifestyles of them.

Many plots have demonstrated the first type of conflicts.For example，Alex thinks as he is his fathers only child，it is his responsibility to support and pay for his fathers insurance，while Martha cant understand this and feels restless and uncomfortable to live with Lao Zhu.The reason behind this is that individualism is an eccentric and split cultural entity，while collectivism is a unified and united one （Fred，1995）.Therefore，in Chinese traditions，people prefer to have lots of children and grandchildren.On the contrary，those influenced by individualism have preferences for nuclear family.

As for the second one，Lao Zhu and Martha hold different opinions to the way of educating children.For instance，When Jeremy shows Martha the paintings and tells her related story，she praises and encourages him although the story is lack of logic.However，when Lao Zhu teaches Jeremy the doggerel，in which there is a sentence“a man bites a dog”，but Jeremy is apt to read it as“a dog bites a man”as he thinks that a dog bites a man is more common，Lao Zhu tries to make him to read follow him without accepting Jeremys personal ideas.In America，parents pay more attention to nurture individual character by offering guidance，while parents in Chinese tend to be more mandatory.

As to the different lifestyle of Lao Zhu and Martha，Lao Zhu is used to watch TV，practice writing，and Tai Chi，while Martha likes modern devices more.Americans attach great importance to private space，which may be the reason why Martha cant write any articles after Lao Zhus coming into their house.

In the end，Martha is practicing Tai Chi with Alex，Jeremy wants to become an expert in Tai Chi like his grandfather，and Lao Zhu chooses to live in Chinatown and teaches Kung Fu here.Although many conflicts and disputes happen in the family，most are settled finally.And all of them have learned to accept each others values and cultures.

3 Conclusion

This paper compares the American individualism with Chinese collectivism by analyzing the Pushing Hands.As interaction between different countries is becoming more and more frequent，we should not only be able to speak foreign languages，but also know Americans culture as it exerts great influence on their acting and thinking models.

List of References

[1]Fred，E.Jandt. Intercultural Communication-An Introduction.London：International Education and Professional Publisher，1995.

[2]Hanvey，Robert G.An Attainable Global Perspective.Theory into practice，1982，3：10-17.

[3]Triandis.H.C.Cross-Cultural Studies of Individualism-Collectivism.Lincoln：University of Nebraska Press，1989.