EVERYDAY CULTURE

D. DUNAJSKI, T. LEWIS, & M. MATHEWS

Culture. It surrounds us, whether we think about it or not. It is an integral part of each of us. It
defines our identity to ourselves and to those around us. Culture is so engrained in our lives that
it forms the very foundation of our belief systems.

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary:
cul·ture [ˈkəl-chər] customary beliefs,
Put another way, culture is a social
social forms, and material traits of a racial,
construct that can be defined as the
things or qualities that determine religious, or social group
the way a person identifies
themselves within the world around
them. There are certain values and traditions that are common amongst certain groups and
subgroups that are widely identified and common. Culture consists of and is derived from these
values. This article will compare two culturally relevant artifacts across American and Japanese
culture: commonly-issued government drivers’ licenses and shopping bags. Let’s explore what
each communicates about its respective culture.

AMERICAN & JAPANESE DRIVERS’ LICENSES

As seen in Figure 1, the first and most striking difference is, of course, the alphabets used for
each language. Although the argument could be made that there is a link between culture and
writing systems, for purposes of this comparison, we will not be considering this aspect of
culture but, rather, will focus on other differences in content and appearance.

Figure 1: (left) sample American driver’s license (right) sample Japanese driver’s license

There are several differences in the appearance of these documents that perform a very specific
function. The US driver’s license includes a colored background and a second facial image.

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Many states also include a hologram to aid in authenticating valid IDs.. These three features are
used as a preventative measure against altering or falsifying these documents. Falsification of
drivers’ licenses is a common crime that is committed for a variety of reasons in the United
States.

Japan does not appear to be plagued with this problem to the same degree as the United States.
Japanese collectivist culture is, by most accounts, very law-abiding, and this is reflected in the
design of their government-issued IDs.

Most of the information presented in these drivers’ licenses is quite similar – with only two
important differences. The American driver’s license includes a physical description of the
license holder. The physical description includes eye color, hair color, height, and weight. There
is no complementary section on the Japanese license. Japan is a very homogenous culture: hair
and eye color would be nearly identical for all Japanese citizens. For this reason, it would be
considered useless information when determining the identity of the license holder. The United
States is a multi-ethnic, individualistic culture, and in addition to describing the characteristics of
the individual, American drivers’ licenses reflect this aspect of the United States and its culture.

The second important difference is the band color running along the upper portion of the
Japanese license. Japan classifies its drivers into categories: New, Normal, and Superior. Each
category applies different regulations to each license holder. In a minor fender bender in Japan,
police are encouraged to determine who is at fault and assess a fine immediately at the scene of
the accident without ever going before a judge. The color-coded ranking category on the driver’s
license is meant to aid policeman at the scene of an accident to determine who is at fault or to
make other judgements about the driver(s) with whom s/he is dealing.

Japanese and their collectivist culture holds a different view of authority than Americans and
their individualistic culture do. In effect, Japanese culture wishes to honor and reward good
behavior in a public way, such as with color-coded categories identifying and separating
responsible drivers from irresponsible drivers. This is in stark contrast of US cultural and
historical perspectives that justice is blind or, in the very least, that authorities should be
discouraged from any bias. Officers in the United States can get information about a driver’s
history when searching a driver’s unique license identification number, but the idea of marking a
driver as “normal” or “superior” would undoubtedly offend many Americans.

Paper or plastic … or reusable?

Americans no longer need to answer this question when grocery shopping. Standardly, American
grocery stores provide plastic bags as a courtesy for shopping in their stores. American culture
emphasizes and even praises disposability of many of its products, including the courtesy
grocery bag at stores. As depicted in Figure 2, American grocery bags are typically very flimsy
and thin.

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 Figure 2: (left) sample American shopping bag (right) sample Japanese shopping bag
Contrastingly, Japanese grocery bags are sturdy, reusable bags. Sometimes they come insulated,
and quite often, they are made from recycled materials. In eco-conscious Japan, you either bring
your own reusable shopping bags or you purchase one during your shopping trip. There is no
option for wasteful, disposable grocery bags in Japanese culture. Japanese culture is
tremendously protective of its ecology, and the idea of manufacturing millions of disposable
bags every year is seen as careless.

Comparatively, the United States is a very commercially-driven society. And in typical

American, fast-paced style, high value is placed on items of convenience. Although some
consumers in the United States carry reusable bags, the vast majority never even consider it.
Paper or plastic? was once so commonplace in America that most consumers rarely ever
considered the ecological footprint left behind with each grocery shopping trip.

AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISTS
VS.
JAPANESE COLLECTIVISTS
American culture values autonomy, convenience, efficiency, and speed; Japanese culture values
self-responsibility, self-accountability, and respect and honor for the self, others, and the
environment we all share. American cultural values reflect its individualistic-emphasized
standards. Japanese cultural values reflect its collectivistic-emphasized standards. As discussed,
minute nuances can seem innocuous at first glance, but upon closer inspection, cultural standards
and values are always represented and conveyed within cultural artifacts. You just have to ask
yourself, “Paper or plastic … or reusable? And why?”

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 REFLECTION
We chose a serif font throughout this document except for the font to label the figures. This
maintained consistency throughout the document and accented the figures’ smaller-sized text
labels. The heading is a 27-point, bold-face font; subheadings are 22-point, bold-face and
italicized font. This choice allows the heading to be emphasized as the main idea of the entire
document while the subheadings receive less emphasis.

The title and authors’ names are left-aligned so as not to distract the reader from the article’s
main content. For similar reasons, authors’ names are reduced to first initials and surnames. To
further deemphasize the authors’ names, the font size used is smaller and not bold-face.

The Merriam-Webster.com dictionary definition for culture is used as a visual element and
placed on the right-hand side of the document to not only emphasize its importance to the main
idea of the document but also to give the reader a break from the monotony of textual content.
This choice visually stimulates the reader and piques interest in the overall content.

Visual comparisons are made using side-by-side images. The intention of side-by-side visual
elements is to create a sense of direct comparison of these cultures for the reader. Similarly, the
conclusion’s subheading incorporates the word “versus” to further demonstrate and support these
side-by-side comparisons within their cultural contexts. Furthermore, the conclusion’s content
not only summarizes the article but also binds the entire article together by embodying the main
thesis of the document.