ibzonation

When I began reading the introduction to ‘Autoethnography: an overview’ by Ellis (et al. 2011), I was not prepared for the level of academic jargon I would need to sift through in order to understand a complex research topic. To my surprise, my encounter with the reading was much less confronting.

“Autoethnography is an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyze (graphy) personal experience (auto) in order to understand cultural experience (ethno)” – (Ellis et al. 2011)

To put it simply, autoethnography is about exploring and understanding your experience with another culture. Is this practice limited to academic research, or is it more common in our lives than that? Well, if you are planning to ‘systematically analyse’ this experience, then – probably. But the practice of subjecting your personal identity to a new cultural experience? We do that when…

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ibzonation

When it comes to experiencing different cultures, I have a slight advantage. While I was born in Australia and my parents have spent most of their lives here, I was still raised with both Australian and Arabic cultural practices. I was always taught about the importance of family, including all from your grandparents to your extended family.

When we watched the 1954 classic Godzilla (Gojira), one of the first things that shocked me culturally was the way female characters were treated and behaved. Growing up in a 21st Century secular Australia, I am not used to seeing women bow before men and fetch them whatever they want. In the film, it seems commonplace. Nobody questions or objects to this behaviour, which leads me to believe that it is simply a cultural practice which I have never experienced. Although it is a movie about a giant radioactive lizard monster.

The movie…

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