Forging A New Vision Of America 's Melting Pot

America’s social climate is described as “the melting pot” while the underlying conditions in our current society has, and may always remain one of class, gender, sexual orientation and race discrimination. The origination of our nation began with immigrants seeking freedom from oppressive governments however the method of eradication or control of indigenous peoples and dominating over them became the norm. In today’s climate we have come a long way from dominant oppression and classes based on race and evolved into a subversive form of oppression. The Ethnic Studies course has enlightened my view of conditions and how films discreetly reinforce the stereotypes and class structures to maintain a particular ideology. For this reason, I chose to view the movie The Help because it is considered to promote the ideology of empowering black women during the tumultuous and dangerous 1960s civil rights movement in a volatile Jackson, Mississippi. While the movie delivers a powerful and intriguing theme, the reality is that Hollywood has yet again provided the Eurocentric view and classical style or naturalized ideology through stereotypical roles and dominant power needed to deliver the lower class (black women) to feeling empowered to fight the system.

The United States of America used to be known as the world’s largest melting pot. Meaning many different ethnicities and backgrounds coming and living with one another, and sharing each other’s culture. This can also be defined as assimilation. The United States of America has slowly drifted away from assimilation to isolating those who are different and diverse.

Known to many as the ‘melting pot,’ the United States consists of a variety of cultures and peoples. Immigrants from near and far traveled and continue to do so for economic opportunities or to escape persecution. One particular group of people who immigrated to the United States were the Filipinos or Pinoys, as some like to call themselves. Due to its 400-year colonization by Spain and the United States, the Filipino American populace increased after the Philippines became a territory under U.S. control. The last Asiatic group to migrate to the United States, the Filipinos have contributed to the American society through a variety of occupations, such as sailors or nannies. Moreover, the U.S. colonization of the Philippines from

So many times the phrase "melting pot" is used to describe the United States of America. It is a country built on ideals such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other basic human rights. These  ideals, though they may have originated from European men labeled as liberals, eventually captured followers from all over the world. Soon, America was a mixture of peoples with different ethnic backgrounds, religions, and cultures all working together for the "American Dream."

Throughout much of its history, the United States has often presented to the world an ideal of assimilation or, colloquially known as, the melting pot. Within the melting pot, it would not matter if one was from Pakistan or the Dominican Republic. If an immigrant worked hard and obey the law of the land, he/she and all his/her descendants will be considered as American as those that have lived here for generations. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. The problem with the supposed ideal of the melting pot is its own definition, it’s an ideal. Ideals are in essence a perfect version of a current system of values, not a reflection of reality. In reality the idea of the melting pot has been one exclusion, suppression, and forcible assimilation of entire groups of people. Native Americans were driven from their land and confined to reservations. African Americans were held under slavery and later Jim Crow. For Mexicans and Latinos, the situation was quite different. With the primary exception of immigration, there have been very few overt policies that have specifically targeted Latinos. These attacks have instead been more on the sublet, localized variety. To be more precise, it has not been by the basis of any racial identity but attacks of culture. These methods could be categorized into four specific groups.

The information that I have learned about diversity in the United States of America has helped me better understand and relate to others in many ways. The world is full of different people and ethnicity, race, creative individuals. Each race has issues to deal with rather it be prejudice and racism. Also during my time in this course I have learned a great deal about myself and I learned how to show more respect to other cultures, I already understood some of the cultures and races we studied this course but to get a better understanding and having to additional research really gave me an open mind and point of view what everyone deals with.

The United States of America is considered a melting pot of heritages and nationalities from all around the world. There is no official language, and no one culture all citizens abide by. Despite the fact that everyone in this country is different from one another, there is still a constant uniform citizen that has a more favorable position. This citizen is white, English-speaking, and somehow always in the front of the public sphere. In the recent years, there has been an increasingly dominant Latino presence in America. Their strength in numbers challenges there being a poster American citizen, and that that citizen will remain white. When working to assimilate to America’s “culture,” Lations seem to believe that there is one America, within which people speak a singular language and experience one culture. The pressure to assimilate stems from the white citizens of the country feeling threatened when there is a new culture and language, which they do not understand. As a result they feel personally threatened by the people who can speak both Spanish and English, and their response response involves marginalization and the obvious exclusion of Latino groups in the United States. There is a phenomenon, cultural citizenship, where Latinos perform their cultural practices to stretch their identity into the states, and practice their right to be authentic members of their community.

According to The Bureau of International Information Programs of the US Department of State, "Becoming American: Beyond the Melting Pot" they stated that, "The United States has been ‘a permanently unfinished country' because it has been continuously built and rebuilt by immigration" (5). So what does it mean to be "American" in a country as diverse as the United States? In Immigration Issues: Major Issues in American history, Henry Bischoff stated, "The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else" (201). This acknowledges the fact that in order for immigrants to be given the favorable circumstances of being accepted into the American mainstream, it is required for them to lose their identity and adapt into

Q2: What is the significance of the “Melting Pot” metaphor in terms of Americans attitudes towards race and ethnic assimilation? Why was the idea of assimilation or Americanization so important to many people during the early 20th century? Why was the Melting Pot idea altered to a “Salad Bowl” metaphor in recent years? Which idea (melting pot/salad bowl) do you see as more appropriate in terms of teaching kids today?

It's important to understand our diverse country as a result of the various different people here in the US. The reason for all the diversity is that this country is a free country, not like where most of the immigrants come from. This country is also rich in resources and jobs that any could be hired. The country has one flaw, which is that many people consider they are superior than you so they will treat you like complete dirt. They judge you because of your skin color, race, gender, culture, background, etc.. they find ways to make you feel worthless, which isn't right.

For years minorities were not allowed to be on television, movies, or any other kind of media. During the Jim Crow era, every area of life was met with inequality. In recent years, after a long struggle by each of the minorities for their civil rights, they have equal opportunities. This made entertainment even more diverse, even though it seems like everything is equal. There is still some progress that need to be made to truly show how diverse America has become.

The United States has a motto, e pluribus unum, that suggests that in America, embracing diversity creates unity. Long ago, during the 1900s, assimilation was considered to be crucial in order for a naturalization process to occur. Immigrants were forced to assimilate and adopt to the American culture, in which they had never been introduced to before. Over time, things evolved and changed to the point where people began to assimilate to a certain point, but still have their cultural traditions, giving America a nickname known as the Melting Pot. America being known as “The Melting Pot,” defends the claim that in today’s society, The United States of America is moving toward a new standard in which diversity and individuality are encouraged more than uniformity and conformity.

The United States has Changed from a Melting Pot to a Vast Culture with Varying Racial Backgrounds

The United States is commonly know as a melting pot of nations, in which people from around the world have emigrated to form a homogeneous yet varied culture. Although we come from different ethnic groups, we are usually bound together through our common English language. This becomes an issue, however, when immigrants are not familiar with English and American culture, and instead attempt to keep their own heritage alive. They are often torn between identities through language, the one they speak at home which they are familiar with, and the one they must adhere to in public. This often leads to struggle and conflict on both sides, dealing with different cultures and how people react when assimilation occurs. Because of this, living in the United States often requires us to completely accept only one identity, even though hints of the other may spill over at times.

Multiculturalism is also known as ethnic diversity relating to communities containing multiple cultures. The term is used in two different broad ways, descriptively and normatively. By using the descriptive term, we usually refer to the simple fact of cultural diversity. This can be applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place and sometimes at the organizational level such as schools, neighborhoods or nations. The normative term is often referred to ideologies or politics that promote this diversity or its institutionalization. The United States have been a magnet for people all over the globe, searching for a better life and bringing their own culture and traditions to a new vast country. No