The show I chose to watch was titled “Lera” and it based in Russia. Some of the cultural aspects of this show were very different than what we see here in America. One, there was a large focus on the female lead character completing school and getting her degree. It was one of the main focuses of the film. I feel this was different than American culture, because as women, we have equal rights to education. Another cultural difference I noticed was that the male characters would sometimes speak derogatory words toward and about women. I do know this happens in America too, but in America I feel that it is more looked down upon than it is in Russia. A third cultural difference that I noticed was that the surrounding areas were very, very poor. Some of the homes did not have running water and characters were depicted drying their clothes on lines outside the house.

Another difference in regards to setting was the weather. The entire movie took place in the winter and snow was abundant. It looked very cold in Russia! Another difference in setting was that the characters lived near the woods and would sometimes use those woods to scavenge for food. The characters were seen eating mushrooms that they had picked earlier in the woods. And speaking of food, their staple food choices were a bit different than ours too. After watching this show, I would say Russia’s staple foods are bread, alcohol, porridge, and tea. These characters drank vodka with almost every meal! I don’t know about you… but I typically don’t take shots of vodka with my family at weeknight dinners. Another huge difference was access to cell phones. There were only a few scenes in which a cell phone was used and it was an old flip phone in these scenes. Characters did not have iPhones and were not posting their lives on social media.

One other scene, that especially stood out to me as being different, was a hospital scene. One of the characters had gotten in a car accident and was in the hospital. The hospital was very run-down. The hospital had little to no technology, had only one doctor, and had minimal accommodations for patients. For the most part, I feel as though our hospitals here in America are properly maintained and well-kept for patients, but this was not the case in that Russian hospital.

Finally, there were some similarities between the show and our culture and mainly that was in relation to their values. The most valued thing in this show was family, and I know personally, that is the most valuable thing in my life as well. The importance of familial relationships was stressed in this film, especially the relationship between the father and his daughter. Overall, I learned a lot about Russian culture from this film, and it was interesting to compare their culture to my own.