Cultural
Barriers in creativity include
1. Requirement of conformity
2. An expectation of practicality and
efficiency
3. Particular arenas for competition or
cooperation
4. Expectation of politeness and following
rules of social order
5. Reliance on statistical proofs, a trust
in power of reason and logic
I
think when a person does something unconventional; he is mocked, or not
accepted by the society. In fact whoever
goes on this unconventional path becomes the rebel of the society because he
dares to try something new like never done before.
Culture
teaches us all that is considered right and wrong. I want to talk about my own example here, I belong to the Indian culture, which regards arranged
marriage. Accordingly my parents had though of getting me married to a suitable man of
their choice. However, I refused all
their proposals because I loved someone else and wanted to marry him by my
choice. I convinced my parents somehow, and in the end my parents agreed,
but were criticized in my family for encouraging me in breaking the norms of
our culture. After seeing me marry as
per my wish and my life thereafter all my cousins followed my path, and, now it
is no more a cultural stigma. So to start with, the one who breaks the cultural barrier becomes the rebel, but once he proves himself all others follow the path and call him dare devil for opting creative ways.
I enjoyed your example of your non-conformance leading to others having the strength not to conform. It must have been quite a difficult time for your parents as they were criticized for encouraging you to break the norms of your culture. And yet they loved you enough to allow you to choose your own spouse even though they knew they would be criticized. Your parents could have kept the cultural barrier up to block your marriage to the one you love. And yet they and you didn’t let it be a barrier to your happiness. What a paradigm change for your parents and your extended family!
ReplyDeleteYup! when my relatives would mock and laugh at my family for being too advanced. They accused my parents for pampering me to become a spoiled brat. My husband belongs to a southern state in India, whereas I come from central India, and no on in my big family had married a boy out of his state. But hats of to my parents who after accepting my decision went ahead and defended me in front of all the relatives.
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