The movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Term Paper Sample)

Case: The movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding Name: Institutional affiliation: MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING The movie My Great Fat Wedding is about Toula, a Greek- American lady who is single and in her early thirties. She lives with her brother and parents in Chicago in a Greek community. They have got a Greek figurine standing outside their compound and their garage door is painted the Greek flag. She has got no plans of changing her single status any time soon. The fact that she is single really disturbs her as well as her parents. Her father (Michael Constantine) wants to send her to Greece so that she can go and look for a husband there CITATION And09 \l 1033 (Stein & Evans, 2009). Toula on her part is not interested in leaving the country. She works in her family restaurant in Chicago. The restaurant is called Dancing Zorba’s. Despite her father’s worries Toula registered for night school so that she could study computers. She eventually got herself a job in a travel agency and worked on herself to have a new look and a new rejuvenated attitude. She gets herself some make up and tames her wild hair as well as getting contacts. Once again Toula meets the handsome stranger she has spotted at the restaurant, this time the stranger requests to have a date with her. The school teacher (Ian Miller) well built, tall, smart, and handsome after a short time falls in love with Toula. The fact that is not Greek and is a vegetarian scares the family where Toula comes from CITATION Ste07 \l 1033 (Scheuer & Brill-Scheuer, 2007). When Ian proposes to Toula and she accepts she is faced with the challenge to arrange a meeting between the two families involved. Toula’s father disapproves the proposal wondering how on earth her daughter could marry a man who is a non- Greek. The Ian’s higher class parents and Toula’s working class extensive family. Toula’s mother is planning of their wedding and she is of the belief that quantity comes with quality. Different language functions are evident in the movie. There is comparing and contrasting which is seen throughout the movie when scenes of feasting are revealed for both Ian’s family who is non Greek and Toula’s family who are Greek. Persuasion is seen in the movie where Toula’s mother persuades her husband Michael to allow their daughter to take some computer studies. Questions are used in the movie for example when Maria asks Gus "so you thing you are smarter than me? Dislike is evident in the movie where Toula’s father doesn’t like the fact that she is marrying a non-Greek. Cause and effect is seen in the movie where Toula feels that she needs on her own needs and pursue a career and she finally register for computer classes CITATION Jas12 \l 1033 (Rosenhouse, 2012). The culture in depicted in the movie is that of the Greek people. It widely differs from the culture in UAE. For example UAE culture is mostly based on the Islamic religion as opposed to Greek culture, the culture practiced by the Toula’s family which is based on a Christianity background. From the movie it is seen that Toula’s family worship in the Orthodox church, where they even get married with the non-Greek man Ian Miller. Drinking liquor in the UAE culture is not advocated while in Greek culture it is something normal. This is evident when Ian’s parents visit Toula’s family and they are served with liquor to appoint when Ian’s father gets drunk and walks on his fours as his wife rides on his back. In UAE mostly the bride is the one who converts to the religion and denomination of the groom but in the movie it is a bit different when Ian converts to his wife’s denomination and is even baptized in the orthodox church. There’s an ideological difference seen in the movie whereby Toula’s family doesn’t put up with the fact that she is getting married to someone from a different background, they want her to marry within the Greek fraternity CITATION Jan05 \l 1033 (Welsch & Adams, 2005). Individualism is seen when during the family meeting of the two families Ian shows up with his parents alone on the other hand there is collectivism in Toula’s family many family members are in the occasion including her cousins and aunts. There is inappropriate use of English in the movie when Toula’s aunt asks her "what do you mean he do not take meat?" This is inappropriate use of English as she was supposed to ask ‘what do you mean he does not take meat’ because do not implies plural while doesn’t is used for singular. There are different language styles seen in the movie especially the formal and the informal. For example when Ian invites Toula for their first date the conversation between them is seen to too formal. This is because they were still new to each other. When the family members of Toula engage each other in the conversation the conversation is seen to be informal and friendly as they share a lot in common and they know each other very well. For example when Toula’s asks her if she has informed Ian of her prowess in preparing lamb, especially the roasted one, they all laugh as Toula responds. Throughout the movie, the Toula’s family is seen to hold onto their cultural background and always showing love for their valued culture as well as where they have come from. According to the Greek culture and Gus’s family norms, women like Toula who are not married are supposed to work outside their homes. That is they are supposed to stay at home or work in the family business and stay under the care of their parents and relatives. They are also considered as failures in the society. Toula comes from a family background that expects her to marry from their ethnic group just as her sister has done. The things that a each and every Greek woman is expected to accomplish in life are to get married to Greek men, give birth to Greek babies and feed the whole family including their husbands and the extended family too CITATION Jig04 \l 1033 (Desai, 2004). Greek culture is collectivistic in nature as oppose to where Toula intends to get married as Ian’s family are individualistic. In the Movie Toula tries hard to acquire the acceptance of her family and at the same time trying to come to terms with issues concerning her culture and how to stick by the rules and values of her cultural identity. In conclusion the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding reveals the valued world of Greek traditional culture. They food that they eat, their loudness and not to forget their close and very strong family ties. It depicts the major sociological issues of accommodation as the whole film portrays the essence of overcoming ethnic and cultural differences while still maintaining the beauty of our different traditions. Ian displays acculturation as he was baptized and brought to the Orthodox Church so that he could marry Toula. Culture refers to a system of knowledge, values, beliefs, customs and the behaviors acquired, used and shared during the daily life. No one is born with culture we all learn it or adapt to it. It therefore implies that no one should whatsoever what remained locked or used to a ...