Birds of a feather flock together

This research is examining the relation between cultural identification with movies and cultural negotiation. The topic is inspired by our globalizing world, where an increasing number of immigrants are relocating, while the media products available for consumption are more than ever. When discussing cultural globalization, the notion of culture and cultural negotiation should not be ignored, since the latter term deals with the possible outcomes the contact with multiple diverse cultural elements might have. Understanding cultural negotiation, could provide information in the academic world to further research how media products could contribute in the best possible acculturation outcomes. However, it is essential to break away from the static notion of culture utilized in intercultural negotiation studies and adopt a more liquid approach, the one of the critical intercultural communication studies. Thus, the main research question of this thesis is “How do immigrants and ex-immigrants of the millennial generation living in the Netherlands, reflect upon cultural negotiation when discussing cultural identification and their movie consumption?” To answer the research questions, ten (10) semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with current immigrants and Dutch ex-immigrants, residing in the Netherlands. The data collected from the interviews, were analyzed with the method of thematic analysis. Eventually, three (3) main themes emerged; change as an agent, culture as an outcome, and identification as a reflector. The themes illustrated that change is a major experience in current and ex-immigrants’ lives, which, eventually, altered the notion of culture in these individuals’ minds. It was found that due to their experience with cultural negotiation processes, which is part of the change, it is hard to feel belonging to a certain group. Thus, immigrants, become culturally very open and flexible identifying solely with their experience of change. Identification with movies reflects this entire process, since immigrants (would like to) identify with learning, part of cultural negotiation, and openness when consuming movie, due their altered personal cultures.