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The Three Levels of Culture in a D&D Setting
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9053016" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>I think it would be more useful, for the D&D context, to re-phrase these layers. That is, I think they are more useful as:</p><p></p><p>(External) Stereotypes</p><p>(Overt) Protocol</p><p>(Internal) Values</p><p></p><p>External stereotypes often (though <strong>absolutely not <em>always</em></strong>) arise from something that is true of at least a significant portion or visible slice of a culture. For example, stereotypes of Americans paint us as loud (which may of us are), obese (which many people <em>everywhere</em> are, it's a worldwide pandemic, but America is somewhat moreso than other countries), and uncouth (which may say more about differing etiquette standards than anything else.) They rarely give any amount of nuance and paint whole groups with very broad brushes, often in a condemning or judgmental way. Other, less judgmental examples include things like the British "stiff upper lip," the extreme emphasis on politeness in Japan, or the idea that Canadians excessively apologize. In fantasy cultures, this is usually the "Hat" that each race wears in a Planet of Hats.</p><p></p><p>Overt protocol--which does not mean it is always <em>explicit</em>--is observable, but often requires a lot of explanation to an outsider. It's the part of the culture you really have to be "taught," as opposed to simply observing, which you can easily do with the previous layer. Building off the Japanese example, this would be where you get explanations of things that seem really inexplicable elsewhere, like the reason fire-starting fans are weapons in anime (they're a <em>Journey to the West</em> reference, which most anime reference to one extent or another), or the idea of children arriving through some sort of plant or rock generating a child (Momotaro and Princess Kaguya, who came from a floating giant peach and a cut bamboo stalk respectively.) Or more etiquette-related things, like how the way you show politeness in some contexts is by <em>allowing</em> your host to be <em>more polite than you</em> so they get the chance to show they're good hosts (which may apply, for example, in restaurants.)</p><p></p><p>Internal values are of course the hardest level to reach, because they require deep, nuanced understanding and can often be very difficult or even impossible to effectively communicate without direct experience. Again building off Japan, I just watched an excellent video essay about why JRPGs so frequently end by killing a god or gods, <em>usually</em> alien ones who have done something horrible, offered some sort of false bargain, or proven themselves incapable of actually living up to the mantle of godhood--and that the very <em>idea</em> of "godhood" simply means something <em>different</em> to most Eastern cultures (where it is heavily affected by the concept of "cultivation") from what it does to most Western cultures (where it is heavily affected by Greco-Roman and Abrahamic religious concepts of dispensation, for lack of a better term.) This requires really getting to <em>know</em> a culture, seeing it in action, watching how it reacts to similar but not identical circumstances and how subtle effects can lead to significant changes in behavior. That's difficult, and often takes years of acclimation even in a real place.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 9053016, member: 6790260"] I think it would be more useful, for the D&D context, to re-phrase these layers. That is, I think they are more useful as: (External) Stereotypes (Overt) Protocol (Internal) Values External stereotypes often (though [B]absolutely not [I]always[/I][/B]) arise from something that is true of at least a significant portion or visible slice of a culture. For example, stereotypes of Americans paint us as loud (which may of us are), obese (which many people [I]everywhere[/I] are, it's a worldwide pandemic, but America is somewhat moreso than other countries), and uncouth (which may say more about differing etiquette standards than anything else.) They rarely give any amount of nuance and paint whole groups with very broad brushes, often in a condemning or judgmental way. Other, less judgmental examples include things like the British "stiff upper lip," the extreme emphasis on politeness in Japan, or the idea that Canadians excessively apologize. In fantasy cultures, this is usually the "Hat" that each race wears in a Planet of Hats. Overt protocol--which does not mean it is always [I]explicit[/I]--is observable, but often requires a lot of explanation to an outsider. It's the part of the culture you really have to be "taught," as opposed to simply observing, which you can easily do with the previous layer. Building off the Japanese example, this would be where you get explanations of things that seem really inexplicable elsewhere, like the reason fire-starting fans are weapons in anime (they're a [I]Journey to the West[/I] reference, which most anime reference to one extent or another), or the idea of children arriving through some sort of plant or rock generating a child (Momotaro and Princess Kaguya, who came from a floating giant peach and a cut bamboo stalk respectively.) Or more etiquette-related things, like how the way you show politeness in some contexts is by [I]allowing[/I] your host to be [I]more polite than you[/I] so they get the chance to show they're good hosts (which may apply, for example, in restaurants.) Internal values are of course the hardest level to reach, because they require deep, nuanced understanding and can often be very difficult or even impossible to effectively communicate without direct experience. Again building off Japan, I just watched an excellent video essay about why JRPGs so frequently end by killing a god or gods, [I]usually[/I] alien ones who have done something horrible, offered some sort of false bargain, or proven themselves incapable of actually living up to the mantle of godhood--and that the very [I]idea[/I] of "godhood" simply means something [I]different[/I] to most Eastern cultures (where it is heavily affected by the concept of "cultivation") from what it does to most Western cultures (where it is heavily affected by Greco-Roman and Abrahamic religious concepts of dispensation, for lack of a better term.) This requires really getting to [I]know[/I] a culture, seeing it in action, watching how it reacts to similar but not identical circumstances and how subtle effects can lead to significant changes in behavior. That's difficult, and often takes years of acclimation even in a real place. [/QUOTE]
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