Have you ever seen the film ‘Titanic’? Have you ever watched it cross-culturally? My wife and I saw ‘Titanic’ dubbed into French and seated in a packed cinema in Mali. We seemed to be the only outsiders – two white people surrounded by West Africans. It turned out to be rather an unnerving experience!

When the ship broke in two and people hurtled to their deaths, did you laugh as they bounced and skidded to eternity? That may sound like a ridiculous question but, that evening, as we sat through this cross-cultural experience that was the response we witnessed from the people around us. At the most tragic moments of the film, everyone around us burst out laughing! As we got caught up in the drama and disaster on the big screen, the people around us sniggered and roared with laughter. What was going on?

Afterwards, the more we pondered this, the more we realised that cross-cultural communication needs a great deal of thought. We need to ask certain questions, not least of which is: what is my message conveying?

We need to remember that what we say is not always as important as what our listeners hear. They will interpret messages within their own cultural context.

Cultural differences affect the message as each society looks at the world in its own way. Is what I am saying really ‘Good News’ to my listeners?

In the West we like to talk about God’s love. In Mali, and other parts of the developing world, that may not be the most important concept to begin with. Is God able to protect me from evil’ and ‘Is God able to provide for my family?’ are far more important questions. If He is, then that really is Good News. In talking with people of a different worldview, we must present the whole truth and we must present it in a way that will be understood. We must live and experience ‘their’ culture, otherwise we may miss the opportunity to ‘scratch where they are itching’.

‘Titanic’ produced a clash of cultures. The most likely reason the cinema crowd laughed is because of embarrassment. To have so many people dying on screen was no doubt a shock to a culture shielded from the violence we have come to expect from our films. They went out for the evening to be entertained. Death is not entertaining. It may well be that they were greatly troubled and laughter was a release of their tension. It is also true that laughter is often the only acceptable emotion one can show in public. Westerners might like to weep at the cinema and have no inhibitions with a real tearjerker, but in some cultures it is a taboo to cry in public and brings great shame. There has to be some outlet and if they cannot cry, they laugh.

As we talk of Christ to people from cultures all around the world, what reactions are we expecting? Are we portraying our western culture’s view of God or a more fully rounded view of the King of every culture? It’s a titanic concept. It deserves a lot of thought.

Phil Grasham, Mission trainer at the BMS International Mission Centre

December 2011