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Let alone, children too often rely on parents for money essential to a marriage,
such as housing. Parents play an important role in one‟s life, so their opinions can
hardly be ignored. Ross‟s statement might shock senior viewers.
Meanwhile, it indicates that the US has an individualistic culture, in which people
tend to focus on their own decision making power. They are willing to make decisions
which might not receive support from their parents, friends or other members of
ingroups they belong to. In making decisions about marriages, for example, American
people might follow their feelings rather than conceding their decision making power to
their parents.
Another scene illustrating this is found in Season 2, episode 18, scene 3.
a) Description of Scene:
In this scene, Richard, Monica‟s boyfriend, is to stay at Monica‟s overnight. They
kiss each other. Ross is around and becomes embarrassed.
b) Line:
Monica: “Ya know, I was thinking. You know how we always stay at your
apartment? Well, I thought maybe tonight we‟d stay at my place.”
Richard: “I don‟t know, I don‟t have my pajamas.”
Monica: “Well, maybe you don‟t need them (starts to kiss and hug Richard).”
Ross: “My baby sister, ladies and gentlemen.”
c) Possible clues for cultural differences.
In this scene, it is clear that American people are more likely than Chinese people
to express their feelings by acts, such as kissing and hugging. Although Ross is
not comfortable with Monica‟s acts showing intimacy, Monica has chosen to do it
and also asked Ross to “shut up”. This is to show that in an individualistic society,
people are more likely to show their feelings and emotions than those in a
collectivistic society, who are more likely to conceal their feelings and emotions
in an attempt to keep them similar to the emotions of other members of the same
intergroup.
In China, kissing in public especially in a place like a coffee shop, which is filled
with people, is a rare scene. People have been raised to conceal their feelings and act as
other people do in public. Chinese people are raised in an environment where kissing,
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