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Diversity Professionals Explore Cultural Competency at George Mason University Meeting

by Michelle D. Anderson , July 20, 2009

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Earley played a clip from Steven Spielberg's “The Terminal,” a film starring award-winning actor Tom Hanks, to spur a discussion about effective and ineffective cultural communication. In the film, the main character – an East European with limited English-language skills – arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York but is not able to enter the U.S. because the country from which he originated undergoes a change of leadership because of a coup. This development voids the man’s passport, visa and other official documents. The lack of cultural competency at the airport immigration services makes the stranded man’s interaction with the director of Customs and Border Protection difficult.

 

The immigration agent failed to step outside his comfort zone to accommodate Hank's character, Earley and other participants noted following the clip’s ending.  

“You have to be aware of your own capabilities and limitations,” Earley added.

 

Other session topics examined the research-practice gap, collaboration building, and how individuals can identify and manage their biases and privileges.



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