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Why Russians do not smile (2002)

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Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#31

Post by ilamont »

In this mini-ethnography I present the main differences in perception of the smile in Russia and in the United States.

There are regional variations in the United States. In New England, NY and other parts of the Northeast, we are often quite serious/stone-faced in public, something that I have heard outsiders from the west coast and South observe. I also was struck by the demeanor of some friends from Brazil who always have a smile on their face, and seem to be more happy and upbeat even when things are not going well.

There was related discussion on HN about smiling and laughter that's worth reading:

From apes to birds, animal species that “laugh” (arstechnica.com) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27193602

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#34

Post by konart »

ellyagg wrote: post #21

Given their cultural history, is it possible Russians see the American sense of smiling as an individual asserting their superiority to others?

Nah, if anything rather find it too pushy. "Don't bring all you happiness to my kindom of Russian Doom" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgjguiFxtps

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#35

Post by [deleted] »

coldtea wrote: post #30
b0rsuk wrote: post #3

Mona Lisa was special in part because it was uncommon for people to smile. In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. That's why facial expressions in medieval imagery are so serious. Today, being surprised a lot is often taken as a sign of stupidity, whereas in ancient Greece an owl was the bird of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Because, obviously, an owl is always surprised, and surprise is…

> In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. Unfortunately 20th-century photo magazines, TV, and later Instagram and selfies changed that...

[deleted]

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#36

Post by rjsw »

nostromo wrote: post #5
b0rsuk wrote: post #3

Mona Lisa was special in part because it was uncommon for people to smile. In Middle Ages, someone smiling a lot would be perceived as stupid. That's why facial expressions in medieval imagery are so serious. Today, being surprised a lot is often taken as a sign of stupidity, whereas in ancient Greece an owl was the bird of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Because, obviously, an owl is always surprised, and surprise is…

Smiling prominently for portraits seemed to become more popular only after modern dentistry became common. I imagine most people in the Middle Ages (and much later) had chipped, missing, buckled, crooked and stained teeth. Now pristine teeth are a signal of wealth (even though they're usually 100% fake veneers, at least among actors and models) so people want to signal their wealth by smiling prominently.

Teeth in skeletons from the Middle Ages seem fine. It is later ones, after bringing sugar back from the Americas, that have lots of cavities and missing teeth.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#37

Post by inanutshellus »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #12

But really, why do Americans smile?

One of the other commenters said:

    [snip]The English used to feel pretty uncomfortable about yanks grinning away at everything[/snip]
That surprised me, since our cultural norms largely stemmed from there.

So what would account for the difference? It must've come about after we split as a country.

I wonder if it's our Declaration of Independence including "the pursuit of Happiness". See:

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Nowhere else in the world (up until then, anyway) gave as its founding commandment that being happy was an indicator of a life well-lived.

Thus, perhaps, while other places reserve the effort of smiling for the emotion of irrepressible joy, Americans -- to prove they're living a good life -- present a smile.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#38

Post by Clubber »

In the US smiling wasn't as prevalent, at least in photographs. Look at any Civil War era picture and nobody is smiling in their portraits. I'm not sure when that started. I read somewhere that back then people thought people who smiled all the time were "simple minded." Now I can't help thinking that every time I see some marketing copy with some model smiling while playing with soap or something.

Re: Why Russians do not smile (2002)

#40

Post by MarkLowenstein »

dougmwne wrote: post #13

I wonder if any Russians can weigh in if this still feels accurate. I'm familiar with Polish Culture, which is less fun, frivolous, and happy than American culture, but a smile is certainly not an attack, just reserved for genuine occasions. Service people are in no way expected to smile unless there is some honest reason to.

Not Russian but my wife is - grew up there until college age. She was saying this exact thing a couple weeks ago (which is why I took interest in this article): that smiling at a stranger will cause them to dismiss you as stupid. So I'd say Yes.
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