A Communication and Cultural Analysis of The Wedding Party 2
The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai is the sequel to The Wedding Party, a Nigerian movie. While part one centers on the wedding of Dozie Onwuka and Dunni Coker, part two focuses on the marriage of Dozie’s older brother, Nonso Onwuka, and Diedre Winston, Dunni’s college friend. Nonso is a Nigerian from the Igbo culture while Diedre is British with royal blood.
Nonso accidentally proposed to Diedre, his then girlfriend, while on a date in Dubai. The couple then separately informed their parents of their engagement. One of Diedre’s requests was that the families observe the process of the Nigerian traditional engagement ceremony. During this ceremony, conflict occurs and Diedre’s dad, Geoffrey, insults Nigerians. The conflict is resolved, and the couple agree to move the wedding from Nigeria to Dubai in order to reduce conflict. In Dubai, Diedre finds out that Nonso accidentally proposed to her. She confronted him and then cancelled the wedding. With the intervention of friends and family, the wedding eventually takes place.
This paper will comparatively address the core cultural themes of ethnocentrism, power distance and collectivism-individualism. I will then address the Nigerian and British communication styles using the characters of the film as a case study. Lastly, this paper will suggest ways conflict in the film could have been avoided.
Ethnocentrism
This is the belief that one’s ingroup culture is better than the culture of other people. From class, we learnt that people have ethnocentric views for different reasons like thinking that one’s ingroup is superior, wanting to preserve or protect the ingroup culture from the outgroup or thinking that one’s ingroup culture is universally applicable. For this movie, the first reason for ethnocentrism is the most relevant.
The first encounter we have with ethnocentrism in the movie, is with Diedre’s dad, Geoffrey. When Diedre informs her parents that she is getting married, her dad assumes that she is getting married to Edward, Diedre’s British ex-boyfriend who she separated from four years prior. Because Diedre is British, her dad assumed that she will get married to someone British. When Diedre informs her parents that her fiancé is Nigerian, her dad replies, “Nigerian? Why would you marry a Nigerian?” He then proceeds to talk about how Diedre is from the royal bloodline (3,265th to the throne), implying that he wants to protect his superior culture from the outgroup of Nigerians.
Geoffrey is not the only ethnocentric person in the movie. Although not as pronounced as Geoffrey’s, the Nigerians in the movie expressed a degree of ethnocentrism. During the traditional engagement of Diedre and Nonso, Nonso’s side of the family only spoke Igbo, a Nigerian language, even though they could speak English and they knew that the Winston’s couldn’t understand Igbo. Yes, it is tradition to speak the native language during the traditional engagement but being other-oriented means making compromises. The impending marriage is between two people of distinct cultures so a compromise should have been made to communicate in a language that both parties understand. The Onwuka family showed ethnocentrism because of an assumption of the superiority of their native Igbo language.
Watching the movie exposed me to a truth that I had never considered- ethnocentrism can exist within a larger culture. Nigeria is made up of over 350 ethnic groups with distinct languages, beliefs and practices. Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of one’s ingroup so it is possible that different ingroups of ethnic groups within the larger Nigerian culture, can have ethnocentric views. Nonso’s aunt, Adanna, exemplified this possibility. During the traditional engagement, Adanna questioned Nonso’s parents, “So not only are you content to marry our second son to a Yoruba person, you are marrying our first son out. Is that good?” (She is referencing Wedding Party 1 where Nonso’s brother got married to someone from a different ethnic group). Adanna holds ethnocentric views because she believes that foreigners could dilute the culture and her Igbo culture should be protected from those from other cultures.
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Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions for the United Kingdom and Nigeria
Purple- United Kingdom , Blue- Nigeria
Power Distance
This is one of Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions. Power distance is the degree to which members of a culture are comfortable with power or status inequality and hierarchy. A culture could either have low or high power distance. In the movie, we see that the Nigerians have high power distance while the British have low power distance.
Upon trying to exit the airport with many pieces of luggage, a Nigerian customs officer stopped the Winston’s to inspect their luggage. He picked up a spray from their luggage and sprayed it. Geoffrey then informed the officer that the spray is for personal use and the officer shouted, “Are you going to be the one to tell me what is for personal use… you want to teach me my job” (Akinmolayan, 2017, 16:52)? In Nigeria, people in positions of power like the customs officer, are masters who cannot be questioned, or it is seen as disrespectful. Geoffrey is used to his British culture of low power distance where leadership is a collaborative effort, he was not aware of the culture shift.
Throughout the movie, Nigerians use “sir” and “madam” a lot to refer to people in higher positions professionally and socially. Nigerians also bow or curtsy when greeting superiors as a sign of respect. British on the other hand, shake hands to greet people. In Britain, anyone can initiate a handshake. In Nigeria, it is preferred that the superior initiate the handshake (Global Affairs Canada, 2018).
In one scene, Nonso’s mum, Obianuju, and Dunni’s mum, Tinuade, are discussing wedding plans with the Nigerian wedding planner. Both mothers are sitting while the Nigerian wedding planner stands. The mothers were dissatisfied with the wedding planner’s ideas and Tinuade shouted at her to come up with better ideas. In a different scene, Geoffrey and his wife are meeting with the British Wedding planner. Both the parents and wedding planner sit down. When they didn’t like the British wedding planner’s ideas, Deidre’s mum simply asked the British wedding planner to submit a different proposal. In Nigeria, it is common for the subordinate to stand while the superior is comfortable, but in Britain, everyone is permitted to sit as there is less pronounced hierarchy.
Individualism — Collectivism
Part of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Individualism — Collectivism, identifies how integrated into groups, people within a culture are. The Nigerian culture is very collective and family oriented while the British culture is more individualistic (Tower, Kelly, & Richards, 2011). When the Winston’s arrived in Nigeria and asked to be taken to their hotel, Nonso explained that he made arrangements for the Winston’s to stay with his parents. Also, while planning the wedding, Tinuade referred to the wedding as “our wedding” (Akinmolayan, 2017, 46:09), exemplifying the Nigerian culture of “we are all in this together.”
In Nigeria, people say “it takes a village to raise a child.” This means that everyone from neighbors to extended family, contribute to raising a child. A Nigerian tradition is paying “bride price” where the husband to-be pays a stipulated amount, which differs by ethnic group, to the family of the bride as a token of thanks for helping to raise the woman. Geoffrey, who is from an individualistic culture, responded to the request for a bride price, “You must be mad to think I’ll bargain for my daughter like a pound of ham” (Akinmolayan, 2017, 31:30). Nonso’s dad explained that it is tradition and Diedre said, “Dad, they’re not trying to buy me. They’re trying to show me that they value me and want me as part of their family. It’s symbolic” (Akinmolayan, 2017, 31:53). The Nigerian culture values the group’s wellbeing over that of individuals while the British culture values individual wellbeing over that of the group.
Another situation where this dimension is shown is when the families meet to discuss how to proceed with the wedding after Geoffrey insulted the Onwukas and Nigerians, saying, “Your family is beneath my daughter… Your entire country is not worthy” (Akinmolayan, 2017, 39.58). (Geoffrey’s outburst was in response to Nonso’s aunt expressing her disapproval of the interracial marriage.) During the Onwuka’s family meeting, over 15 people of extended family were present. This shows the extent to which Nigerians value collectivism. In contrast, only Diedre and her parents were present for the Winston’s family meeting, showing that they don’t need many people to weigh-in on the situation, only immediate family.
Communication Styles
The Nigerian communication style is more expressive than the British style. Nigerians gesticulate a lot and use a lot of illustrators while speaking. The Nigerians, especially Tinuade, speak louder than the British- about 30% higher than the norm (Global Affairs Canada, 2018). Different Nigerians have different accents depending on where in Nigeria they reside and their exposure to foreigners. With eye contact, Nigerians are less expressive. They often look away especially when addressing superiors (Global Affairs Canada, 2018). Lastly, Nigerians are comfortable touching others, even strangers (Global Affairs Canada, 2018).
The British communication style is less expressive. In the movie, they did not gesticulate as much as Nigerians but when they did, it was mostly illustrators. The Winston’s had a much lower volume and they maintained eye contact when speaking. Articulation was clear for the Winston’s but this might not always be the case in reality. The British in the movie barely touched other people. They preferred to keep their hands to themselves.
How Conflict Could Have Been Avoided.
Get information from credible sources- Step one of avoiding conflict is to arm yourself with information. In the scene about bride price, conflict could have been avoided if Geoffrey researched Nigerian weddings and took a cultural relativist view of understanding the practice of bride price within the Nigerian culture. Step two of getting information is ensuring the information gotten is from a credible source. Diedre drank the palm wine meant only for her husband, seen as an abomination, and caused conflict. Her defense was that she saw it on the internet. It is important to get information about cultures from authentic and credible sources.
Be open-minded- Geoffrey and Adanna, Nonso’s aunt, were not open minded. They did not like the idea of an interracial marriage and they caused conflict. When encountering a culture different from yours, remove prejudice and ask questions rather than assume.
Go further than toleration- Seek to understand cultures and accept people with their nuances. It is not enough to tolerate or permit something. It is important that people from other cultures feel comfortable enough to express themselves. While you might not agree with everything a culture does, it is not right to discount people because they have a different culture. Adanna and Geoffrey could have avoided conflict if they practiced this.
Discussion Questions:
1. What does it mean to be culturally competent?
2. How can we build cultural competency?
3. What are the advantages/disadvantages of having relationships with people of different cultures or races?
References
1. Akinmolayan, S. (Director). (2017). The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai [Film]. Netflix; Ebonylife Films; FilmOne; Inkblot Production; Koga Studios.
2. Country Comparison. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/nigeria,the-uk/
3. Global Affairs Canada. (2018, September 19). Cultural Information — Nigeria: Centre for Intercultural Learning. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://www.international.gc.ca/cil-cai/country_insights-apercus_pays/ci-ic_ng.aspx?lang=eng
4. Tower, R. K., Kelly, C., & Richards, A. (2011, June 6). Individualism, collectivism and reward allocation: A cross‐cultural study in Russia and Britain. Retrieved February 27, 2020, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2044-8309.1997.tb01135.x?casa_token=vgskhCaVWs4AAAAA:5HSieyU-V04X2PxpUH76La-fIAMoHNH8ZOsXZkqLQ5l8QXE9dVVlBa5RMOC8X_GwheYAnsY0w286ZOJO
