The key to understand a culture is to be able to speak, read and understand that culture’s language. This allows you to comprehend the literature, news, and history of a place- the gateway to learning a nation or people. Several years ago I wrote about using literature to understand a place in my work titled Transform from Tourist to Traveler.
But many people do not yet have the requisite language skills to read high-level literature in a foreign language, so films or television programs can become a secondary way to “know” a culture. Even if you are highly skilled in a second language, films can still be a very useful supplement to improving your existing skills and learning in an enjoyable way.