Cultural Environment Essay

Whenever we, as humans, find ourselves in a different social environment than the one we are used to, two conflicting interests seem to influence our behaviour: The social driving force, on the one hand, to integrate into said new environment, which oftentimes includes the adoption of a new culture, different values, lifestyles or even identities, supposedly stems from our desire to be part of a group. On the other hand, however, most people particularly value their individuality and only very reluctantly relinquish their own customs or culture. This very conflict of integration versus individuality also has a bearing on Gordon Sumner, known as the famous British singer and songwriter Sting, who was exposed to an unfamiliar sociocultural environment

In making contact with others, we find out more about ourselves, as we are forced to challenge seemingly normal behavioural patterns and customs we have taken for granted. But Sting’s song goes beyond this conflict and also questions hegemonic perceptions of nationality, sexuality and gender. I aim at demonstrating how Sting deals with these concepts and, as a second step, attempt to deconstruct them in order to gain a better understanding of their impact. The song “Englishman in New York” operates on four distinctive levels or layers so to speak that have to be peeled off in order to penetrate to the core. From a methodological standpoint, a four-layer-analysis allows me to examine the individual content of each layer as well as to demonstrate how they are intertwined and act together in the process of delivering the essential message: Sting critically disputes prevalent patterns in society that propagate an imbalanced view on nationality, gender, and sexuality. Furthermore he draws attention to their underlying ideology in his agenda to promote the acceptance of different lifestyles and appreciation of