Analysis of My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Movie Review Example

MOVIE ANALYSIS Movie Analysis: My Big Fat Greek Wedding Word Count 590 (6 pages) Introduction In the movie MyBig Fat Greek Wedding, there are three key (and particularly effective in terms of communication) scenes that are great examples which are significant to the outcome of this movie. First, there will be a description of the movie, and then an analysis describing three scenes in detail, including effective communication techniques used—the Greek engagement party; when Toula meets Ian’s parents; and Toula’s wedding day. Description The main characters of the movie are Toula Portokalos and Ian Miller. The location of the movie happens in a large city. There are several various facets of interpersonal communication that happen in the movie in three scenes, which are: the Greek engagement party; when Toula first encounters Ian’s parents; and on Toula’s wedding day. As Toula’s father Gus notes, there are two types of people: “Greeks, and everyone else who wish they w[ere] Greek” (My Big Fat Greek Wedding—Memorable Quotes, 2011, pgh. 8). In Toula’s family, as will be demonstrated in these three scenes—there is a ton of interpersonal dynamics going on—and many of these scenes are excellent examples of interpersonal communication techniques. The central theme of these three scenese are the various types of interpersonal communication involved in such a large family and the integration of Ian Miller into Toula’s family and Toula’s integration into his (at the engagement party scene and when Toula meets Ian’s parents), which finally culminates in both sides coming together the day of Toula and Ian’s wedding on Toula’s wedding day. Analysis The Greek Engagement Party The Greek engagement party scene is filled with ample examples of effective communication. For example, Ian (Toula’s betrothed) shows much effective listening. Ian genuinely hears knows how to communicate through listening, in Floyd’s opinion (2008, pp. 264). Many times in the movie, Toula’s relatives are basically ‘listening, but not hearing’, also called pseudo-listening (Floyd, 2008, pp. 270). Mannerisms are very common in Greek culture. Especially common are gesticulations and emblems (Floyd, 2008, pp. 223). Different aspects of the voice are used in Greek culture—including levels of loudness, which vary from family to family. These are the particular vocalics of a family (Floyd, 2008, pp. 226). Proximity of the relatives to Ian during the engagement party is closer than what he’s used to—being from an Anglo-Saxon culture where people generally maintain more distance than in Mediterranean cultures like Greece. Toula’s relatives fawn over Ian. When Toula mentions that Ian is a vegetarian, it causes a small uproar. Aunt Voula says, “What do you mean he dont eat no meat? Oh, thats okay. I make lamb” (My Big Fat Greek Wedding—Memorable Quotes, 2011, pgh. 4). This is an interesting use of proxemics, as noted by Floyd (2008, pp. 230). Greek culture is what one would say has a very strong community element. Greek culture definitely shines through in the vibrant personalities of Toula’s famiy. Hers is what Floyd (2008) would call a ‘high-contact culture,’ in which there is much less personal distance between people (pp. 238). Also, Greek culture is laced with innuendo and other, more subtle forms of joking. This is a type of what we would call “reading between the lines.” It is also known as communication having connotative meaning, says Floyd (2008), which has double entendres, and even multiple meanings in addition to their literal meanings (pp. 168). Toula Meets Ian’s Parents When Toula meets Ian’s parents—they are the complete opposite of Toula’s parents. While Toula’s parents are loving, loud, and socially engaging—Ian’s parents are rather emotionally vapid and cold, quiet people, and not very sociable. In this respect, they are complete opposites. Toula tries her best to listen to Ian’s parents’ discussion with all of her energy to try to be an accommodating hostess. This is called empathic listening, Floyd mentions (2008)—and there were definitely many examples of this type of listening going on while controversial issues were discussed (pp. 268). Toula was trying to genuinely understand them. This is demonstrated in her listening, Floyd tells us (2008), in which Toula was putting forth great effort to get an idea what her in-laws’ personalities were like so she would know how to broach any subject without receiving disdain from them (pp. 259). One could tell that by Ian’s parents’ actions that they were not comfortable. This was conveyed through nonverbal communication, relates Floyd (2008), which definitely conveyed meaning on behalf of his parents without them having to necessarily say anything (pp. 209). Nonverbal communication means a lot in some cultures. Sometimes that is what constitutes communication for a large percentage of the world’s population. Toula tries to hide her emotions, as she’s usually such a gregarious person. But around Ian’s parents, she becomes more subdued, which is actually a typical action for a woman to do in public situations (especially in mixed company) where the woman is accompanied by her husband. Toula’s facial display, in Floyds mind (2008), would probably be considered very communicative of her fear of Ian’s parents as future in-laws, tip-toeing on eggshells, as it were, to please them (pp. 218). Ian’s parents really didn’t show much interest in her family’s culture or traditions, and they were especially hostile towards her regarding the fact that Ian had decided to get baptized in the Greek Orthodox church in order to marry Toula. But, Ian loves Toula so much he is willing to go through with it. Ian’s parents self-identify as white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants, and they don’t agree with Ian converting to Orthodoxy so he can marry Toula in an Orthodox manner. Ian’s parents are obviously from more ‘low-contact cultures,’ in Floyd’s view (2008, pp. 231). Toula’s future in-laws only want to hear what they want to hear. This is, as Floyd would identify (2008), called selective attention. All in all, the evening does not go well, and Toula is worried about the fact that her in-laws have not warmed up to her outgoing and vivacious personality—nor do they appreciate the fact that her father, at the wedding, mentions the cultural note that her surname, Portokalos, actually is derived from the word for ‘orange’ (the fruit). But, her father states, this marriage is like comparing apples and oranges, and that we are all essentially the same inside. His exact quote was: “You know, the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller come from the Greek word milo, which is mean ‘apple,’ so there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, is come from the Greek word portokali, which mean orange. So, okay? Here tonight, we have, ah, apple and orange. We all different, but in the end, we all fruit” (My Big Fat Greek Wedding—Memorable Quotes, 2011, pgh. 6). This softens Toula’s in-laws somewhat, and they then realize that maybe they had Toula pegged all wrong—and they are able to finally look past the differences of the bride and groom, and look at the common ground they have instead. This is the climax and the most beautiful point the movie makes—that two people who are truly in love can overcome any odds, even if they come from two different faith traditions and/or cultural backgrounds. Toula’s parents buy Ian and Toula a house at the end of the movie, which also helps ‘seal the deal,’ so to speak. Toula’s Wedding Day Toula’s wedding day is filled with surprises. The biggest surprise, is the large blemish right on the tip of her nose. Her nose fits her face, and Floyd (2008) notes that she has something called lovely proportionality of her facial features, but her facial display is absolutely madcap funny because she is freaking out over the blemish (pp. 218). All of her bridesmaids are fawning all over her, and Toula is almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information coming at her from all different sides. This, in Floyd’s viewpoint (2008), is called information overload (pp. 272). Everyone is gesticulating everywhere and pointing (a signal of emblems). Certainly, Toula’s high-contact family culture definitely comes into play in this scene. Everyone is frantic and pacing about, taking care of last-minute details and so forth. After all, timing is everything in a wedding! In the conclusion of my analysis, I will explain how these events happened. The great part about the movie was that Toula and Ian were able to overcome uncomfortable social situations by avoiding humor that violated any social expectations (Ch. 5 notes, 2011, pgh. 1). What didn’t necessarily work in this movie included facial expressions—and because they were dead giveaways as to the person’s true feelings. Facial expressions are telling. It communicates more information than any other channel when one looks at facial and bodily expressions, since most of our communication as humans is actually nonverbal (Ch. 6 notes). If I were Ian’s character, I would not have converted to a different religion just for the sake of marriage. It would be interesting to see if the two lovers could have managed without one having to adopt the other’s religion. The humor and the tone of the entire movie, I would basically leave the same. Conclusion Revisiting our main points, we have here analyzed the effective communication strategies from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, including a description, and an analysis of the following scenes: the Greek engagement party, Toula meeting Ian’s parents, and Toula’s wedding day. The most important lesson which I learned from this film was that major differences can be overcome if one tries hard enough to succeed in relationships. REFERENCES Class notes (chapters 5-7). (2011). Retrieved Fall Semester 2011. US: In-Class. Floyd, Kory. (2008). Interpersonal communication: the whole story. US: McGraw-Hill. My big fat Greek wedding—memorable quotes. (2011). Available: . Read More