A,Brief,Comparison,of,American,Collectivism,and,Chinese,Individualism,by,Analyzing,Pushing,Hands
Abstract：As every country has its own values，there may be communication barriers between those believe in different values.This brief thesis compares main difference of Chinese cultures and Americans by analyzing the film，Pushing Hands.
Key words：collectivism；individualism；Pushing Hands
1 Definition of Individualism and Collectivism
According to American Heritage Dictionary，individualism includes the following several aspects：belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal in dependence；the doctrine that the interests of individual should take precedence over the interests of the group.However，collectivism，according to Triandis（1990），means emphasis on the views，needs，and goals of the in-group rather than oneself；social norms and duty defined by the in-group；beliefs shared with the in-group；and great readiness to cooperate with in-group members.
Therefore，due to so many differences between individualism and collectivism，when people with those totally different values get along with each other，conflicts arise.
2 Brief Analysis of Conflicts in Pushing Hands
In Pushing Hands，Lao Zhu is a representative of collectivism，while Martha is that of individualism，and Alex has been exposed to both cultures.When they live together and many problems occur.
From my point of view，there are three types of conflicts in the film，the first one is Alex and Martha’s different opinions on supporting parents；the second one is Lao Zhu’s disagreement on Martha’s way of educating child；and the last is the unlike lifestyles of them.
Many plots have demonstrated the first type of conflicts.For example，Alex thinks as he is his father’s only child，it is his responsibility to support and pay for his father’s insurance，while Martha can’t understand this and feels restless and uncomfortable to live with Lao Zhu.The reason behind this is that individualism is an eccentric and split cultural entity，while collectivism is a unified and united one （Fred，1995）.Therefore，in Chinese traditions，people prefer to have lots of children and grandchildren.On the contrary，those influenced by individualism have preferences for nuclear family.
As for the second one，Lao Zhu and Martha hold different opinions to the way of educating children.For instance，When Jeremy shows Martha the paintings and tells her related story，she praises and encourages him although the story is lack of logic.However，when Lao Zhu teaches Jeremy the doggerel，in which there is a sentence“a man bites a dog”，but Jeremy is apt to read it as“a dog bites a man”as he thinks that a dog bites a man is more common，Lao Zhu tries to make him to read follow him without accepting Jeremy’s personal ideas.In America，parents pay more attention to nurture individual character by offering guidance，while parents in Chinese tend to be more mandatory.