Culture plays an important role in everyone's daily lives, even if it isn't easily recognizable. Julia Wood defines culture in her book Communication in Our Lives as a coherent system of understandings, traditions, values, communication practices, and ways of living (189). The film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai has many themes related to the ideas in Wood's book. Both the film and the book have ideas of collectivism, power distance, and long-term orientation that make them relatable. The first idea from Wood's book that was seen in the film was collectivism. Cultures with high collectivism value the group's identity over specific people, and people within the group feel deeply rooted in the values ​​and customs developed over time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay This idea of ​​collectivism relates to the theme of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai of unity. This is demonstrated in the crowd mentality, according to which the formation and continuation of the crowd does not depend on one person but rather on the group as a whole. Ghost Dog, the main character, is a hitman for the American mafia and is hired by Louie to kill a man who is sleeping with the boss's daughter. He kills the man and spares his daughter when he realizes she is there, causing him trouble in the future. This is a relevant scene in the film to relate collectivism because Ghost Dog appreciates the mob mentality that women should not be harmed unless necessary in the situation. This shows his deeply rooted customs that he is faithful to in his culture. The second idea is power distance which relates to the theme of maintaining order in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Power distance refers to the gap between people who have power and people who do not (Woods 191). Cultures that have a large power gap tend to have power passed down through family and respect for those in power. This also leads to great respect for the elders/leaders of the group. This is shown throughout much of the film due to the mob culture. Mafia boss jobs are usually assigned through family connections, and you must respect the boss and his rules. As chiefs age and pass down the title of head chief, they become highly regarded elders. The final idea of ​​Wood's book shown in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai that will be discussed in this article is the idea of ​​long-term orientation. The idea of ​​long-term orientation is for the group to focus more on the history and future of the group, but not on living in the moment. This means that the group has more long-term plans, is very hardworking, and is very committed and loyal to said group. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayThis relates to the theme of commitment in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. Long term planning and hard work is shown through the Ghost Dogs line of work, as a hitman you have to plan the attack and all the situations that might happen later. This is also his way of life and it is how he provides for himself, so he has to work hard otherwise he will not have a good life. Loyalty is shown in the film at the very end when Ghost Dog is unwilling to harm Louie because Louie is his master and is indebted to him for saving his life many years ago. It is also seen from the point of view of Louie, who had to kill Ghost Dog for killing his boss. In.