Amreeka Movie Essay

The film Amreeka defines itself as a symptomatic drama filled overview of the collapsing of cultural identity, race, and constant reminder of poverty. The humiliation and cultural stereotype are based off of the real life experience from Cherien Dabis, who directed and wrote the

There are many ways for people from other countries to adjust to living in the United States. There are also things that immigrants think they have to do to fit in. In this essay I will include the best ways for immigrants to adjust to American culture. I will also include challenges immigrants face to fit in in America. Finally, I will include what immigrants do to adapt to America.

Immigrants and local culture can live together in the society. The adaptation of the local culture for immigrants consists of the integration of events such as customs, religion, and tradition. Events that are transmitted from generation to generation. They work to preserve those traits and customs in order to claim uniqueness and to distinguish themselves from others. “Conversely, the values and behaviors adopted by descendants of immigrants can shift towards those of the majority population by means of school socialization, the media, and friends from the host culture” (Pailhé, 2015).

In this source, the authors inspect the immigration patterns affected the New York City region from 1970-1990. During this time period, this region received the nation’s greatest amount of immigration groups. Overall, there was a paradoxical trend of developments that resulted from the increase of immigrations settling in the area. Even though all-white neighborhoods were experiencing an influx of racial diversity, at the same time all-minority neighborhoods were growing at a rapid rate. By using these two patterns and other characteristics associated with classification of neighborhoods (such as median income and location), the authors investigate the patterns of segregation and integration in various neighborhoods in order to look at the

This shows the three aspects that form the type of assimilation process that immigrants and international students undergo. The society that they come from, in correlation with their reasons for migrating and the society that greets them all come together to determine the degree of ease of integration for individuals. While the factors differ for each individual, most legal immigrants and international students are able to take advantage of many different opportunities to help them integrate easier and begin a prosperous life in America.

In Bharati Mukherjee’s essay “Two Ways to Belong in America”, she details the contrast between her and her sister, Mira’s, immigrant experiences in North America. While Bharati seemingly let go of her Indian heritage in favor of embracing a Western one, Mira insisted on being an expatriate Indian, unwilling to legally become a citizen but lived comfortably in America. Even though their experiences differed greatly, both sisters grew frustrated by the exclusion they felt by the countries they grew to love. This essay brings up issues that come along with being an immigrant, such as being torn between two cultures, and shows two ways to deal with that. Though titled “Two Ways to Belong in America”, Mukherjee’s essay highlights that

Cultural assimilation is the process in which the immigrants adopt or integrate their values, beliefs, and attitudes to fit better into the host nation (Scott, 2014). It is can include acquiring a new language, a new understanding of cultural framework, and learning appropriate behaviour expectations. The process of assimilation does not have to mean a complete replacement of the older culture. Instead, the process can be used in varying success by the integration of various parts of the host culture that can facilitate adoption into the mainstream society (Mukherji, 2005).

In considering the challenges of immigration, as Gupta (2005: 5) suggests, it is important to note that the experience of immigration is a combination of two different sentiments. The first one relates to the life in one’s homeland and the other to the life in the new country. In other words, a new immigrant has to deal with his or her emotions in two different spheres at the same time – loss of home and adjusting to the new home. Whether the immigration is forced or chosen, almost all immigrants go through a feeling of loss of home. Furthermore, immigration is accompanied by the demands of adjusting to the new country. These sentiments are clearly portrayed in The Namesake which outlines the stark differences between Indians raised in the States trying to embrace parental Indian values while also seeking inclusion in the American way of living.

Overall I think the most important thing a community receives from immigrants entering is diversity. Just like natives, immigrants come

There is an argument that immigrants ought to conform to the locals’ social conventions when they have the intention of migrating to any exotic country at the present time. Although it appears reasonable, to the best of my knowledge, migrants should maintain their cultural identity in lieu of pursuing blindly the customs coming from foreign country.

“As we journey through life, identity and belonging must be consistently renegotiated.” Each person’s identity goes through a process of stages in order to be fully developed and be a whole identity. Some people needs more time than others to attain a full, whole identity. There are many factors which play a role in sharpens people’s identity such as the environment that the people love in and the experiences that they went through. Undoubtedly, immigrants, especially those form two different cultures, need more time to achieve a stable and whole identity as they become trapped between two cultures, unable to categorize themselves with a particular one. For instance, it is very hard for Asian Americans, especially the first and second

It is important to understand that immigration experiences are very personal and unique. There are many different factors that play a role when immigrating to the United States, such as educational challenges, family separations, and acculturation to say the least. Each individual has a different story. However, for the most part the process of adapting to a new culture means creating a new identity in order to feel welcomed into the new culture. There may be specific events that happen to different families or individuals that make the transition and new identity formation more difficult than others.

For successful integration of immigrants into the host society it is important to analyse how the natives perceive the foreigners. A sense of inclusion can be guaranteed by fair treatment of immigrants in different areas of integration like labour market, education. However, discrimination in these areas and stereotyping can lead to alienation and an averse attitude towards integration.

In the 1960s and 1970s America found itself in a tumultuous period as growing discontent with the Vietnam War, economic downturn, and Civil Rights occupied the foreground of the national dialogue. The combinations of social, racial, and economic upheaval the country experienced was no better demonstrated than in America’s grandest of cities, New York. Within this microcosm, the problems that many of the nation’s older urban centers experienced as socio-economic and racial lines were re-drawn, were most exacerbated in historically Black and Latino communities. In this case most notably in the South Bronx. Policies enacted within South Bronx community in the name of

A narrative reading of Amélie (2001) directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is a quirky portrayal of modern-day Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story of a shy waitress, played by Audrey Tautou, who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation. We see the progression of Amelie’s character from childhood to adulthood. The opening sequence of the film gives an insight of Amelie’s childhood and establishes the main characters and their traits.