Femi Osofola's Wizard Of Law

1428 Words6 Pages
Abstract This is the paper examines the cultural variables found in the Femi Osofisan’s Women of Owu and Zulu Sofola’s Wizard of Law; two African plays which are adaptations of two European plays Euripides’ Trojan Women and “pierre pathelin” respectively. The premise of this discourse is that even though cultures differ, there is no denying that there are similarities in the way people relate and create existence for themselves in terms of rules, order of worship, communication processes and interpersonal relationship which makes up the essence of a society. This probably accounts for why over time many European plays have been adapted by African writers to account for happenings and issues in the African societies. Often times, the African…show more content…
Symbols represent the most superficial value and the deepest manifestations of culture, with heroes and rituals in between. Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning which is only recognized by those who share a particular culture. New symbols easily develop, old ones disappear. Symbols from one particular group are regularly however is founded on the belief that one’s own culture is superior to that of other cultures. Cultural ethnocentrism is a form of reductionism that reduces the ”other way” of life to a distorted version of one’s own. Anthropologists suggest that most cultures fit into two basic types of social organization: individualism and collectivism hence the concept of Individualism and Collectivism; In individualist cultures, success and well-being is usually measured by individual accomplishments, cultural rituals are centered on the individual and social goals are aimed at empowering the individual while In a collectivist society, the individual is subordinated to broad societal goals, cultural rituals tend to generate social connections and even affective relationships like marriage are arranged with the good of the collective in mind. These two poles create a continuum into which most cultures can be placed, with the nature of the society becoming a determining cultural variable for even everyday…show more content…
A masculine culture, for instance, tends to value strength, ambition and direction, while feminine cultures tend to accent affection, compassion and emotion. There is also the concept of power distance which generally speaking refers to the ways in which power, wealth and prestige are distributed in a culture. In a high power distance culture, these factors are highly concentrated in a few members of the society, whereas they are more broadly distributed among members of the society in a low power distance culture, this factor is a critical cultural variable. Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the capacity of a culture to avoid anything that is not concretely known to it. Cultures that exhibit a high level of uncertainty avoidance, for example, tend to exhibit active social behaviors, while Cultures with low levels of uncertainty avoidance, on the other hand, tend to be more contemplative, more accepting of social and personal risk and somewhat more accepting of deviant behavior copied by others. Thus the outermost layers of a culture are represented by

    More about Femi Osofola's Wizard Of Law

      Open Document