The Nature of culture

United States, 1983

Film
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Episode number 2 of Series “Faces of culture”.
Culture is the set of beliefs and practices which enable us to adapt to our circumstances, but it is more than a survival tool as it circumscribes, filters and gives value to reality. Patterns of culture are passed on from one generation to another through symbols, example and ceremony, but as the world shrinks in size and communication with other cultures becomes commonplace, some cultures are in danger of disappearing, destroyed by other more dominant cultures. Their preservation or careful assimilation is of vital importance. Narrated by David Carradine

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Harry Ratner

producer

Ira R. Abrams

production company

Coast Community College District

Duration

00:30:00:00

Production places
United States
Production dates
1983

Appears in

Faces of culture

Group of items

Faces of culture

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Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

303406

Language

English

Subject categories

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Culture

Crafts & Visual Arts → Culture

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Acculturation

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Culture

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Acculturation

Music & Performing Arts → Culture

Short films

Short films → Short films - United States

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/82263--the-nature-of-culture/ |title=The Nature of culture |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=6 October 2026 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}