Ethnocentricity

Ethnocentrism refers to the evaluation of other cultures solely through the lens and values of one's own cultural worldview. It involves judging the customs, norms, and beliefs of different societies against the standards of what one's own culture deems acceptable or superior. 

Ethnocentrism can manifest in a few key ways:

• Judging other cultures as "backward", "uncivilised" or "primitive" because they do not conform to one's own cultural ideals and development.

• Assuming the customs and values of one's own culture are universal or natural, rather than recognising them as specific to that culture.

• Interpreting and presenting other cultures through one's own cultural lens and biases, rather than attempting to understand them on their own terms.

In films, documentaries and media portrayals, ethnocentrism can be recognised through:

• Overtly derogatory depictions of other cultures as "savage" or "uncivilised" based on Eurocentric/Western ideals.

• Subtle implications that Western culture is the ideal to be attained through "modernisation" or "development".

• Interpreting cultural differences through the filmmaker/narrator's own cultural assumptions rather than with nuance.

• Focusing only on aspects of other cultures that seem bizarre or exotic from an outside perspective.

Ethnocentrism is deeply tied to colonialism and imperialism, where European powers imposed their cultural worldviews as the "civilized" ideal on indigenous populations. This cultural supremacy was used to justify colonial exploitation and oppression under the guise of a "civilizing mission."

Even international aid efforts can perpetuate ethnocentrism when they import external cultural values about gender roles, family structures, economies etc. rather than working within local cultural contexts. This can come from an ethnocentric assumption that the donor's cultural values are universally desirable.

To counter ethnocentrism, filmmakers and scholars should strive to understand cultures through an emic (inside) perspective rather than an etic (outside) one. Collaborating with indigenous voices and recognising one's own cultural biases is crucial for authentic cross-cultural understanding.

Ethnocentricity could be relevant to an analysis of the short film New Boy.

Some key ways ethnocentricity can be discussed in relation to New Boy:

• The protagonist Joseph is a new African immigrant student trying to assimilate into the predominantly white, Irish Catholic school and neighborhood. The racist bullying and hostility he faces from classmates stems from their ethnocentric worldview that their Irish culture/ethnicity is superior.

• The film poignantly depicts the casual, institutionalized ethnocentrism of the time period (1960s Ireland) where conformity to the majority ethnic culture was strictly enforced, especially in schools.

• Joseph's external "newness" highlights the ingrained ethnocentricity even among the children, who mimic the biases and prejudices of the larger culture around them against outsiders.

• Audience interpretations of Joseph's experiences may differ based on their own cultural contexts - some may more easily recognize the ethnocentricity at play, while others may be blinded to it by their own ethnic/cultural biases.

• The film can spur discussion of how ethnocentricity breeds discrimination, otherization, and cultural insensitivity which creates immense personal and societal harm.

• Analyzing New Boy specifically through the lens of ethnocentricity allows for a rich exploration of the cultural context of 1960s Ireland, majority/minority ethnic dynamics, and how personal values around multiculturalism versus ethnic nationalism shape reactions to the film's critique of prejudice.