Interpreting "The Spanish Apartment"

            Though this sounds like a tremendous generalization, I’m fairly certain that anyone who has ventured into a foreign country has engaged in some sort of interaction that might qualify as an interpretive approach—assuming said traveler did not quarantine his or herself inside the hotel room for the duration of the stay. Even without the goal of understanding communication, we automatically begin to learn about cultural identities and patterns the moment we start conversing with individuals whose life experiences differ dramatically from our own. Not only does the interpretive method provide intimate details from respondents’ experiences, but it’s also the method most likely to result in friendships as a byproduct of the communication (Martin and Nakayama 61). For this reason, I was thrilled to learn we’ll be adopting this approach in our semester projects for cultural observation.

            To reinforce the notion of interpretive study, I chose to re-examine a favorite film of mine, L'Auberge espagnole, or “The Spanish Apartment.” This adorable comedy follows the story of Xavier, a young French man who travels to Barcelona, Spain to work as a prerequisite for a prestigious job in France. The roomies he acquires have ventured from countries as distant as Germany, England, Italy, Andalusia, France and the US for various purposes, and as a result, the movie contains dialogue in a handful of languages. Thank goodness there’s subtitles! 

            In any event, the movie presents a wonderful image of intercultural interaction and the mishaps that occur when communication is misunderstood. The three cultural identity patterns I’d like to discuss are as follows:

            1. Ethnic identity:

Martin and Nakayama note that ethnic identity refers to both “ideas about one’s own ethnic group” and “a sense of belonging to a particular group” (192). As the film’s actors represent a handful of different regions and ethnicities, ethnic identity plays a key role in the presentation and dynamics of the characters. Each of the roomies self-identifies with their particular region and cultural group—especially when it comes to language, so there are some unique challenges posed in their communication. For instance, answering the telephone becomes hilariously difficult. In the following clip, Wendy, and English writer, attempts to answer the phone for Xavier. Notice the translations of messages posted by the phone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGuwifAgDE&feature=related

            2. Sexual identity:

The students who occupy the Spanish apartment are all unmarried and relatively young. These conditions prompt various relationships and affairs to spring up, which implicitly incorporates notions of sexual identity. The fact that the sexuality of the characters is fluid and a non-issue conveys the message that labeling one’s sexuality is less important than pursuing relationships that make us happy. In the following clip, Wendy’s boyfriend, Alister, surprises her with a visit, which is problematic because she’s currently entangled with her American lover. This scene shows the comedic collaboration of the roommates who want to prevent Alister from learning Wendy’s secret. Their solution is to allow Alister think that the American is Wendy’s brother’s lover…despite the fact that the brother is incredibly heterosexual. I apologize for the length of the clip, so feel free to skip around to speed things up.

                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwDfJjsb4z0&feature=relmfu

            3. Gender Identity:

Xavier’s experience in the apartment is as much about personal growth as it is about gaining professional experience. One of the ways in which Xavier matures is through gender identity. Prior to moving in, Xavier is shown to be a womanizer of sorts, but his mentality shifts dramatically after befriending Isabelle, a Belgian lesbian who expresses her distaste for society’s imposition of femininity. Through their interactions, Xavier learns to embrace a more feminine approach, abandoning his crass, overconfident attitude. In one particular scene, Isabelle instructs Xavier on how to seduce a woman, emphasizing gentle, passive tactics.

I chose this movie because it shows informal examples of interpretive action going on as the roommates learn about each other. One of the key aspects of the interpretive approach is that culture is created through communication.  In this movie, that’s certainly the case. A group of strangers who represent different ethnicities and languages collectively create a new culture within the apartment—one that embraces the differences among the friends and allows friendships to flourish. The interpretive approach, then, allows observers to witness firsthand the sheer complexity of intercultural communication. The limitations of this approach, however, become evident if the observer does not integrate his or herself into the culture or if the researcher does not take into account his or her own personal biases (Martin and Nakayama 66). In the context of L'Auberge espagnole, communication would have been hindered and friendships would not have developed had any of the roommates failed to integrate themselves into the international culture by, say, closing themselves off from the rest of the group.

In conclusion, the interpretive approach seems to me the most plausible for studying intercultural communication. I’m now even more excited to get going on our cultural observation projects.



Sources:
Klapish, Cédric, dir. L'Auberge Espagnole. 2002. DVD.
Martin, J.N, & Nakayama, T.K. (2009). Intercultural Communication in Contexts, (5th edition).