Analyzing My Big Fat Greek Wedding Movie - Essay Example

? 01 December My Big Fat Greek Wedding: My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the of a critically acclaimed movie which focuses on the story of two people from entirely different cultural backgrounds. The movie presents a humorous but accurate approach to understanding how a rift between two cultures can rapidly stretch into an abyss when people are not willing to abandon certain cliche stereotypes. Nia Vardalos has directed the movie and she plays Toula. Through her honest representation of myriad issues encountered by immigrants coming to America, she compels the audience to seriously think about the gravity of the situation. The immigrants have to deal with a variety of problems because holding on to their home culture in a foreign land is not an easy task particularly when the children born there show no interest in their parents’ old cultural values and would rather identify with only one culture. In this essay, I will contemplate how Toula along with her love interest Ian Miller attempts to handle many arduous challenges from courtship to marriage and eventually defeats the cultural myths which are famous with her family. Toula’s family, in stark contrast to that of Miller’s, is full of zealous energy and obsessively committed to holding on to their Greek cultural values. The cultural lessons repeatedly told by Toula’s father have a preponderant effect on the entire family given how every little thing is done in accordance with Greek values. It is because of such obsessive commitment with Greek culture and zero tolerance for other cultures that marrying a non-Greek man is totally out of question in Toula’s family. In fact, saying that showing love interest in someone who is not from Greek background makes for a taboo subject would not be an overstatement. It is quite interesting how Toula and Miller are both adults and free to make their decisions as they like, yet Toula is weirdly caught up in the clutches of her culture and remains in acute distress since beginning her relationship with Miller. Though she willingly embarks on a romantic journey with the man she loves, still the deep guilt and remorse she experiences every time she is accompanied by Miller almost as if she is committing a crime compel the audience to think hard about the role played by cultural differences. The struggle to keep one’s culture alive is portrayed as a never-ending battle in the movie, one which has huge repercussions. The effects of this cultural battle are not pleasant of course because unfortunately, Toula has to deal with many challenges in her home after getting caught by her cousin with Miller in his car. Many obstacles are depicted in the movie in the way of the Western romantic ideal which stresses that an adult should have freedom to marry whomever he/she pleases (Haviland 209). Clearly, this ideal is not followed by Toula’s family which has little regard for anything that falls outside the territory of Greek culture. In some cultures as the one shown in the movie, both marriage and starting a family with someone are critically important issues which have to be left in the hands of the parents and not that person who is to be married (Lehman 53). So, finding someone on your own and that also from entirely different cultural background are the kind of things which if on one hand are the source of happiness for her, then on the other hand are also a source of scary grief given the way her father reacts. Though her mother does not get as hysterical as her father after finding out about Toula’s affair with a non-Greek man, yet she does everything in her power to motivate her daughter to abandon her plans of continuing a relationship with Miller for real. The movie is an attempt to highlight exactly such sort of unjustified attitudes and actions which stem from cultural differences and stereotypes, and work to destroy the dreams of people whose only fault is that they believe in the culture of love. It is suggested that such opposition by families of origin can be quite effective “at ending a potential relationship” (Karis & Killian 8). Toula’s resolute decision to keep Miller in her life despite her mother’s arguments and pleadings is not her way of integrating into the American society because she does not love Miller to achieve that purpose. However, her family is misled by flawed perceptions that Toula wants to marry a non-Greek man to become a pure American and escape the discriminatory attitudes which are often faced by immigrants. They are also misled by such twisted ideas that by marrying Miller, their dear Toula will most probably become a part of a degenerated culture which does not have values as rich as they have and the little values the Americans have lack credibility. It is often wondered if people can make it in marriage when they come from very different cultures (Lehman 53). Toula’s family also wonders about Toula’s choices in accordance with popular stereotypes that the culture of an American family lacks vigor and strong associations. All members of a family are painfully detached, are not in the least concerned about one another, and live independent lives. There is remarkable alacrity evident in the way the movie attempts to promote this misleading American stereotype. But, research also suggests that it is a very common pattern in which one partner comes from a very open culture like Miller and “the other from a more family-oriented one” (Karis and Killian 15) like Toula. Toula’s father has an ardent love for his culture and he religiously believes in this idea that by letting his daughter marry Miller, all his hard work invested in raising his child according to his culture, which by the way is the only real culture in his mind, would go wasted and he cannot afford to see that happening. The entire movie portrays Vardalos’s (Toula) real life experiences showing the audience what difficulties she had to face in real life when she decided to marry out of family into a different culture. It was earthshattering for her family to realize her decision and equally painful for herself to go against her parents’ wishes. But, it is attempted to convey this message to the audience that she like Toula and many other girls in the society was only trying to live an American life which promotes the message of freedom in life. The movie digs with acute intelligence into exploring the conflicts born and distress created by them when people try to live an American life while also holding on to their cultural roots. Though for quite a long time, Toula’s family particularly her father continues to give her a very hard time especially by their attempts to set her up with Greek men all of whom are unbelievably ludicrous, but eventually they manage to stomach the idea of accepting a nice man who is not connected to Greek culture in any way. Finally, instead of their cultural prejudices and false assumptions they value this idea the most that their daughter will be well taken care of and that is all which matters the most. The movie shows at length how cultural differences can play a powerful role in shaping people’s perceptions and their way of thinking. It can become very tough for two people from different cultures to share a relationship when there are such gigantic differences in the values they have been taught by their parents all their lives. The hardships and turmoil experienced by Toula is portrayed with such acute intensity that the viewers cannot help but automatically relate with the pain felt by the character. Works cited: Haviland, William A. Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge. 14th ed. Cengage Learning, 2013. Print. Karis, Terri A., and Killian, Kyle D. Intercultural Couples: Exploring Diversity in Intimate Relationships. Taylor & Francis, 2008. Lehman, Jerry D. Understanding Marriage, Family, and Intimate Relationships. USA: Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2005. Print. Read More