This research probes into the Algerian students’ attitudes to culture in movies and
literature within the context of the literature and film studies classroom. Inspired by critical
categories from cultural anthropology, and deploying a mixed method approach combining
classroom observation, interview and questionnaires. It shows that students’ attitudes are
hugely shaped by the native culture, most notably, the culture of shame which makes most
students resist the predominantly popular culture of British and American movies, as well as
the erotic dimensions of classical novels such as Jane Eyre. The degree of resistance varies
from student to student according to the amount of exposure to the target culture and reading
experience of the students. the latter, move generally from cultural resistance to cultural
negotiation