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Week 3 [09-15.11.20] The DNA Journey

 

    An open world begins with an open mind.

    Nowadays globalization and open information space give everyone opportunities to become open-minded and well-educated. However, people still believe in a lot of stereotypes about races and nationalities. I want to present the momodo video where a group of people was asked to take the DNA test. It is interesting enough to observe their reaction to the test results.


    Questions:

1. What are your impressions after watching the video?

2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?

3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?


Comments

Viktor Ryś said…
1.
I thought of this video that it wasn't very informative and was only based around emotions and the reactios of the test group that a DNA has been done on them. I think
it could have been better if it presented the results more in depth and tried to explain it more apart that our DNA is mixed which is quite obvious.

2.
I think that Poles are mostly put into a category of a poor eastern european citizens, who steal cars and jobs. Stereotypes are a dumb thing and even though I know some them linked to other nationalities I don't want to spread them more.

3.
Yes, sometime in the future I would be up to do it. I know for sure that I have some German ancestory, because my Grandmother was German but without a doubt a DNA test would spread some light on some older ties to other nationalities.
1. Well, to be honest this video was really emotional for me. I knew that in results of DNA's tests we can discover that we're just in little percent who we think we are. But the reaction of these people were so touching for me. I'm open-minded and can't understand how people may claim that pure race is the best. What exactly pure race means and who belongs to it? From this video I guess nobody. How do the color of our skin, sex or origin may define us? I hope that this self-confident British guy or "more important than rest of us" Irish guy learnt something useful.

2. I've ever heard that Polish people are thieves. I don't know how this gossip arose but in my opinion it's totally fake. I've also heard (popular perhaps) opinion that Russians drink a lot of vodka. It concerns the Polish people also and unfortunately in my mind it's true because Slavic's nation like to party.


3. If I were able to, I would agree. I think I would be in majority Polish with addition to French blood.
Anastasiia Bida said…
Hi @Viktor_Rys!
Thank you for the comment. I agree with you that stereotypes are silly things.
If you want to see the results of DNA tests presented in the video more in depth, there are also a few personal videos on the Momodo channel. For example, this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYnutf0rqeY
Anastasiia Bida said…
@Milena_Dzielakowska
Hello Milena, thank you for your answers! I am also very empathetic and have shared your emotions. And yes, it was a great moment when the Irish guy has realised that he is not Irish 😆
The stereotype about vodka is true, cause Russia and Poland are on the first and second ranks as the leading countries in vodka consumption per capita in the world.
Thank you for this video! It was really interesting.
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?
To be honest, I cried. It was so heartwarming. When the girl heard that there is her cousin in this room I burst into tears.
For a long time, I used to believe in humanity. I grow up thinking that there is no racism in the US because of so many colorful people there! It turned out to be completely untrue. When I was older I realized that the world is more complicated.

2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?
There is a lot of negative stereotypes about Polish people like they are thieves or alcoholics. It is said that the French are lazy and rude. You can hear also that the British are monolingual and have terrible food. I believe they are hurtful and not true. However, stereotypes do not come out of anywhere…
There are also positive stereotypes! About Polish people, we can hear that they are hard-working and well-educated people.

3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?
Sure I want to take one! I could do this to satisfy my curiosity. My family is a mix of Polish and Ukrainian blood. I have no idea where else my ancestors might have come from. However, I think it is mainly in Eastern Europe.
Anastasiia Bida said…
Hello @Justyna_Wozniak!
Thank you for your comment. 😊
I also liked the moment when cousins met each other for the first time, it was too heartwarming. There is a full video about this girl on the channel if you would like to watch.
In the meantime about French, did you see TV series Emily In Paris? I have heard that there were shown a lot of stereotypes about French people.
Palina H said…
1. I like this video. Also, it was interesting to see how scared to open the envelope were people who said they 100% one race. And I would agree with what was said in the video, that there will be no extremism in the world if more people knew about their heritage like that. Maybe it won't end the extremism but might for sure open eyes to most of the people.

2. That Belarusians eat only potatoes and it's the national food(it's not😅). That's probably the one most common one.
And most stereotypes have to do with politics.
I try to avoid stereotypes about other nations as I can't believe that a whole nation`(I mean it's a lot of people) can be defined in behaviors. There might be some common thing for the nation but I think of it more as a cultural thing less as a stereotype that everybody is doing.

3. Oh I would love to! I think it's fascinating to find out more about yourself in such a way. I'm sure I would get some Belarusian and Russian, might be a bit of polish. But the rest would be a total surprise for me.
Agnieszka Duda said…
1) What are your impressions after watching the video?
This video warms my heart. It proves that nationality is just a label which we identify ourselves too much with. It’s funny to think that people offending other nationalities might be offending a part of themselves. This video should be played on repeat to all the people arrested in Warsaw on the Polish Independence Day.

2) Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?
I’ve heard people say that the Poles are good at achieving their goals following the path of least resistance. In other words, we work a lot, but not too much. I think all nationalities have one stereotype in common: they think too highly of themselves. What you consider your best trait, other nations may see as a flaw.

3) Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?
I think I am a combination of caucasian and north-european. I have dark-brown hair like many Slavs do, but my green eyes suggest some more western ancestry. I would definitely take the DNA test if offered a chance. I hope I have a heathy mixture of as many ethnicities as possible.



Anastasiia Bida said…
@Palina_H
Good evening Palina!Nice to see your answers!
Could you please tell more about national Belarusian food ( other than 'draniki' 😅)? It is interesting.
Anastasiia Bida said…
Thank you for your comments @Agnieszka_Duda!
I liked your point of view that every nation thinks of itself in the best way. Maybe it is true. I remebered the Dale Carnegie citation, that each nation feel superior to another and except patriotism it also breeds wars. Do you agree with this?
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?

Well, to be honest this video was more emotional than informative. However we can get a lot of not obvious facts from that. The reaction of people showed in the movie was really touching. Actually I would really recommend this video to every person that nowaday isn't as open-minded as I suppose should be.

2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?

Well classical stereotype with negative impact is that poles are thieves or poles are closed to the others. We can easly find the reason for that stereotypes but as every stereotype they arent even close to the facts. Actually a "positive" (to me at least) stereotype for our nation is that poles are dodgers - which is some how true to me, becouse in fact our nation was many times in hard times and as a nation or individuals we was figuring out great opportunities of every opression so by that we can assume that if we give, let's say a twine to the pole he can made a lot of crazy great things from that

3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?

Perhaps just to feed my curiosity but to me it isn't really important thing. I don't care who you are or where you from but what you represnt yourself and what impact you make to me or to the world
Anna Żak said…
The topic covered in the video is very interesting and the way it's presented is endearing. It seems to me that we don't think about our very distant ancestors every day. In my head I have a general picture of it, and in my mind the stories told by my grandparents up to three generations back at most. People's reactions to the test results were predictable, they were surprised and often touched. I really liked the moment when cousins were found in the group.

Unfortunately, negative stereotypes about Poles are the first to come to mind. However, this is often the case with stereotypes, they aren't always true and often harmful. I don't like stereotypes or generalizations. Therefore, I don't attach importance to what I hear about other nationalities, I prefer to actually meet someone. When it comes to Poles, I'll add something positive. I heard people like Polish food. Probably each of you has heard the admiration of foreigners over "pierogi"!

I'd like to take part in the study like in this video. It would be a very educational experience for sure, it would increase my awareness of my roots. Probably the DNA test result would largely indicate Polish genes in myself. But who knows, maybe there would also be an admixture of one of our neighbors? I'll be glad to find out as soon as I have the opportunity.
Dariia Koreiko said…
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?
I am very impressed! After this video I started to think about my own DNA.
2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?
I don’t really know stereotypes about my country, never heard anything interesting. And about other nationalities, I don’t want to offend anyone, or make somebody feel uncomfortable, so I prefer not to say.
3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?
Sure, I want to. I think in my DNA test I will have half Tatar half Ukrainian results, and maybe some other countries, which will surprise me as well.
Anastasiia Bida said…
@Michał_Jankowski @Anna_Żak
Hello Michal and Anna! Thanks for your comments!
It was interesting for me to read about positive stereotypes about Poles. I didn't know that Polish people are considered to be dodgers. And of course, 'pierogi' is a very tasty dish. 😋
Anastasiia Bida said…
Hello @Dariia_Koreiko!
I understand your point of view that you don`t want to name stereotypes not to offend someone. But, as for me, the word 'stereotype' has already made a fact about any nation untrue in general.
Kacper N said…
Very interesting video :)

I think some people vere suprised after DNA test but for me tests like that are not the case.
For me it's not important what nationality someone is based on some test, but what nationality someone feels he/she is. If someone feels that he or she belongs to the particular community and respect, cultivate their traditions, history etc that means he really is the part of the community.

Yes, I heard some stereotypes about Poles, especially negative ones, but for me most of them are quite outdated in this day and age.

No, I think I would not take a DNA test, according to first part of my comment that is not the case.
olga jaroń said…
I think that the topic itself is very interesting, but I hate how staging the video feels. Personalities of characters are exaggerated and based on hurting stereotypes, I think there was no reason to use them in this video. If the video is in fact not staged, I'm glad that the results of their DNA tests opened their minds.

I know some stereotypes about Polish immigrants who do manual jobs and how they all look the same- bald man in tight polo shirts with chains around their necks. There are also stereotypes about polish people drinking a lot and not being the sharpest tools in the shed. Citizens of the USA are believed to be stupid and rude. Similar goes for French. There are stereotypes about every nation, people love to label other people and I don't think this will ever change.


Taking a DNA test would surely be an interesting experience. I don't know anything about my older ancestors, it would be surprising to find out that some of them were not from Eastern Europe.
I guess that this video’s authors made a lot of effort to find people with such a strong sense of nationality. I choose to believe that the majority of the world is open minded.
I’ve heard that the Polish are honest, reliable employees. Moreover, Italians are great cooks, Swiss are rich and Asians are good at math ;)
I know a lot about my ancestors, including some of my family history from 18th century. I feel that I don’t need a DNA test, just like these people in the video…
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?
The video was very emotional and nice to watch. People selected for the experiment showed confidence in their roots. Dare to say that some of them were arrogant and believed that they are better because they are from a specific country. After all, when everyone get result of DNA test we watched incredibly surprised people and even crying people. They didn't expect that they weren't rooted in their native country and that their ancestors were spread all over the world.

2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?
I heard that Polish people are dodgers. We are cunning and we figure out how to get rich without working. Generally abroad, they din't speak badly about us and you can even find out that we are very hardworking. We Polish people like to belittle ourselves and we aren't so bad as we think.
Moving on to other stereotypes I heard that Romanians are thieves. Italians likes to eat frogs and Russians are drunkards. These are such banalities more in the form of a joke than serious stereotypes.

3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?
Maybe someday but I'm sure I will do it. I'm very curious about my background. I have a bit of a German personality because I'm characterized by perfectionism and attention to detail. On the other hand, my beauty is more Eastern European so I'm not sure where from I am. I don't think my genes go beyond Europe but we will see :)
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?
I have seen this video before and I remember that it truly moved me. I think that this kind of projects are really needed, especially nowadays. These days, there are still many conflicts between some nations and racism is omnipresent. This project shows that people should know their origin because it may change their way of thinking.
2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?
I don’t find the stereotypes I’ve heard about my country or my nationality interesting. I have mostly heard some which I find quite offensive like for example that Poles are considered thieves. I have also heard some stupid questions like: is there the Internet in Poland or are there polar bears. Of course, I know some stereotypes about other nationalities but I try not to stereotype and if it is possible make my own opinion.
3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?
I would like to take the DNA test. I know some facts about the origin of my family, but it would be very interesting to find out some new ones.
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?

This short video was very emotional. I totally agree with a woman in a straight fringe - such tests should be mandatory for everyone. It would eliminate a lot of national prejudices. I started wondering about my results of the DNA journey. This part of the video about the cousin was surprising and unreal for me.

2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?

Of course, I have heard a lot of stereotypes about Polish people. To be honest, I am not a big fan of stereotypes and I don't want to mention any of them. I also heard stereotypes about Norwegians, Russians, and English people.

3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?

I'd love to take the DNA test! I have no idea what nationalities could come out in the results and that's why it's so interesting!
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?

Mosly I’m curious and a little bit excited about possible history of my ancestors. It really interesting about how our ancestors would be able to reach that way. Where do they come from. What was their reason for looking a new places. Are they running from some danger like starvation or religion war or maybe they just wanted to find a virgin land to create their own society.



2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?

I know only two stereotypes about polish people and it’s rude a little (but truly for sure) - its about that we have many thieves in Poland and lots of our countrymen are stealing abroad. Another one is about polish cuisine - that is fatty.

3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?

Yea, sure I want as I said before I’m really interested about my ancestors but being honest I have literally no idea about who they could be.
Anastasiia Bida said…
Good evening everyone! Thank you for your comments! &#128522
The majority of you wants to make the DNA test and some of you don`t need it. From all answers, it can be concluded that you are all openminded and try not to judge people by the nation. And I am very pleased about it. Maybe if the majority of people would have similar points of view, there will be less racism, nationalism and conflicts in the world.

Also, it was nice to read stereotypes about your nation and others.

@olga_jaroń
But I have always thought that Americans are not rude, but on the contrary, they always try to be flatter. And for this, they are considered hypocritical.

@Adrian_Kamiński
Also, I was sure that the stereotype about eating frogs belongs to the French, not the Italians.
Ania Rzeczyca said…
I felt very nervous. I don’t know why. They all seemed to be so sure about their descent. They even described which nation they don’t like so much. I was suspected that the DNA results will be shocking. I think it is amazing. Actually we all know that first homo sapience came from Africa and all of us are descendants of it. But we still have our prejudice to other nations. Why? It is great what said lady witch French accent. “It should be compulsory, there would be no such thing as extremism in the world, if people knew their heritage like that. Who would be stupid enough to think of such a thing as pure race?” It is on point!
I don’t know any of unheard stereotypes. I know that others consider Poles as hardworking nation, very hosting, pious and that we drink a lot of vodka. It is also said that Frenchman is bighead, Jude is skinflint, American is stupid and so one. I don’t consider stereotypes as something good. It increase social distance. I don’t like that. It is obvious for me that there are no general condition to everyone in the nation. It’s nonsense. There were so cruel stories behind race or nation prejudice. So we should learn and stop judging because of this picked up nonsense.
YES! I would love to take part in such experience. Of course I would say that I am 100% Pole. But after this video I know I can’t be sure about that. So I would guess that my roots may reach to Sweden/Norway, because of my blond hair and blue eyes. I also have very pale complexion so no Asian and African country counts. But I am so curious which parts of the world it would be. And of course I would love to visit them. It’s a shame that I can’t make this test.
Mateusz Szych said…
1. Sorry, but this movie is boring for me. It carries no information, only shows people's emotions. It would be nice if more details were given about these results and how the origin of DNA is identified.
2. The only stereotypes about Poles that come to my mind are poverty, theft and hectoliters of vodka. Watching American comedies, I noticed that the stereotype that English people have crooked teeth is very popular.
3. Yes, I do. It would be nice to know my genetic origin, maybe someday I will do such a test. It seems to me that genes from around Central Europe dominate in my genome.
1. What are your impressions after watching the video?
Well, I think that this video was based more on emotions of participants and to prove point that nacionalism or xenophobia is bad and it was to obvious for me.
2. Which interesting stereotypes about your country have you ever heard of? Do you have some stereotypes about other nationalities? Which ones?
I heard that Poles are poor, alcoholic and thieves. I also heard that we live in very cold climate similiar to North Pole. But I also heard sterotype that Poles are very hardworking and can do a lot of things that anyone else couldn't. I guess it depends on person who you talking with.
I heard that Germans are very strict, and they don't have a sense of humour. Russians are drinking vodka all the time, doing cheap heroine, and party hard. Greeks are lazy and are doing nothing all the time. French are snobby and eating baguettes with wine. It's all i can think of right now.
3. Do you want to take the DNA test? What nationality do you think you belong to?
Well if someone proposed it to me, yes. I think that I would belong to Polish, German, Russian. Something like this.


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