Monthly Archives: June 2013

Bewitched – A Fifth Column of Social Change?

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Growing up in the 1970-80’s; I would regularly watch re-runs of the television show Bewitched.  Like 97% of the male population, I was hopelessly in love with Elizabeth Montgomery (the other 3%, according to the Kinsey report were likely in love with Dick Sargent).

Recently my wife and I noticed that the show was available on Netflix and so as a bit of mindless entertainment, we have started to watch them.  Despite some breath holding early 1960’esque moments relating to guys punch each other, jealous boyfriends threatening to kill estranged girlfriends (1–25: Pleasure O’Riley) and of course the whole suburban housewife thing – Bewitch (at least the first season and a bit) was surprisingly subversive for its day.  Here are some examples from season one and the first couple of episodes from season two:

  • Darrin and Samantha shared the same bed (the first married television couple to do so).
  • Witches demanding better representation in the modern media and staging protests to do so – this being an echo of similar demands from Blacks, minorities and later gays (1-07: The Witches Are Out)
  • In a political meeting of the neighborhood, there was a cut away seen showing a black man sitting in with the neighbors – this at a time when blacks in the Southern United States just earned the right to drink from the same water fountain let alone live in the same community  (1–34: Remember the Main).
  • Corruption is exposed in local politics (1–34: Remember the Main).
  • The owner of a pizza chain tells of his passion for pizza with a speech that starts “I have a dream” (1–35: Eat at Mario’s).
  • Endora causes both Darrin and a stranger to appreciate the burdens of child-bearing and Richard Nixon is named specifically likely suffering from a curse (2-02: A Very Special Delivery).

If these seem trivial in today’s context, consider this, while these were being broadcasted (circa 1964-1965):

  • Martin Luther King ‘I have a Dream’ speech was made in August, 1963.
  • John F. Kennedy had only recently been assassinated in November 1963.
  • Richard Nixon was in his wilderness years having lost to Kennedy and sitting out the 1964 election.
  • The U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted in July of 1964.
  • Samantha’s parents (Endora and Maurice) live full lives without the obvious binding effect of marriage.
  • The Vietnam War, Watergate, Hippies, counter-cultures were stirring but still not in full bloom.

Noting the social-historical context of when the shows were written, produced and aired – lends new perspective to something I enjoyed but did not appreciate from my childhood. This is a series about an emancipated woman (Samantha Stevens) adjusting to a set of suburban norms but who was also a fifth column of social change in the homes of America.  Thus, I have new respect for the show. Of course it does not hurt that I still have a crush on the mid-1960s Elizabeth Montgomery.  So, my wife and are looking forward to reliving a bit of our past and US history through a well written television series that is still very watchable.

Language and How We Think

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In an essay found in ‘What’s Next?; Dispatches on the Future of Science‘, Lera Boroditsky discusses the evidence that how we speak influences how we think.  Being a virtual uni-lingual anglophone (who at bests butchers rather than speaks french), this has always being an area of interest to me.

Some of the research mentioned in the essay is familiar.  For example those whose mother tongue involves a gender (German, romance languages) tend to describe a noun differently depending upon their gender disposition.  For example Germans describe a key (masculine in German) in male terms where as Spaniards describe the same object in feminine terms – although in both cases they were using English to make the descriptions.

Further to this essay, Mandarin speakers think of time in an up-down spatial orientation whereas English speakers think of it in a horizontal orientation.  Boroditsky notes that  “English speakers tend to talk about time using horizontal spatial metaphors … where as Mandarin speakers have a vertical metaphor for time.”  She uses a simple experiment in which you stand next to an English and then Mandarin speaker.  In both cases you point to a spot in front of you and say ‘this is now’.  Then you ask each speaker in turn to describe, relative to that spot in space, to point to the future and past.  ” … English speakers nearly always point horizontally.  But Mandarin speakers often point vertically, about seven or times more often than do English speakers.” (p. 123, ibid).

An interesting party trick, but So What? one might ask.  There are a couple of considerations.  Firstly, this different perception in how we think is a good reason to learn a second language.  Doing so creates a different linguistic-mental-model that actually changes how you think about the world around you.  Beyond being good insurance against dementia, it is also a good way to expand one’s perception of the world around us.

The next reason is to expand one’s understanding of language as a driver of culture.  Being aware of the influence of language on perceptions may help organizations (and those who run them) reduce conflict and cross-cultural mis-understanding.

I do have a more subtle question though beyond the relatively macro-scopic linguistic level.  Do organizations also have a difference in perception because of their different use of technical-language?  For example, I have noticed cultural differences coming from a numbers and empirical world of the Ministry of Finance to a more humanistic politically orientated world of the Ministry of Health.  What is driving what?  Does the use of a local Ministry specific lingo drive the Ministry’s culture or does the culture drive the lingo?  My guess is a bit of both but what degree affects the other is the interesting question.

Alas, this last point is probably impossible to test empirically – but is nevertheless an interesting consideration as one studies organizations.

Social Networks – Value Proposition

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The Government of Alberta (GoA), my current employer by way of full disclosure, has introduced a new performance evaluation process.  A narrative form has replaced a numeric based methodology.  With strong kudos to the Corporate Human Resource (CHR) area, the forms themselves use a PDF and have some intelligence for their completion as well as an opportunity for a digital signature.  If you are keeping count, two kudos so far…

Unfortunately on my laptop – only, the form did not open.  A very ugly error appeared and it required shutting down the PDF reader application we use (hint, this does not ‘bode’ well).  Curiously my staff did not get the error and the few people I asked had no problems with the form.  I emailed CHR and the email was quickly and dutifully passed along.  However, I thought I would give the GoA new fangle Yammer-thing a try (okay, new fangle to me).  The next morning a fellow GoA’er (thanks Jocelyn) had provided a solution that was quick and easy.

I bring this up as this is an example of Social Networking par excellence.  Without consideration a person piped up and very quickly the solution has gone into the Yammer-sphere for others to consider.  In other words, this is an example of WHY organizations should support a social media and collaboration culture.  Rather than me waiting for a technical solution and becoming frustrated with the delay, the ‘digital-water-cooler’ came to the rescue.

However, there is a flip side to this which is how does an organization sustain and maintain such a culture.  How do you keep the contributors (e.g. Jocelyn) contributing, keep the malcontents managed and keep cheap Pharmaceutical buying opportunities out.  I have some ideas which I will try to put out in a future blog – but for now a quick Kudo/Brick Count is in order:

  • Kudos: 4, 1-GoA, 1-CHR, 1-Jocelyn, 1-Social Networking
  • Bricks: 1, PDF technology or my laptop