My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Individualistic vs Collectivistic Culture

As the family became immersed with the traditions of contemporary American culture, they began to forge conflicting identities and values,

Hello, reading over your discussion about growing up in Inglewood California brings to mind my African American co-worker who talks about living in Compton. She tells us often how growing up in that area you had to carry either a gun or a knife and be on guard whenever you go anywhere. She is a very dear friend of mine and she reminds me she is a changed person from the way she used to be. Her mother still lives in California but in a better neighborhood now but she is planning a trip to see her mother. My friend often tells me years ago she and I would have never gotten along because she had so much anger inside her. I am glad my friend did get out of that neighborhood alive and somehow found in her heart to not keep anger inside.

During the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, there was a lot of positive and negative communication that influenced the main character’s life decisions. The story is about a young woman, named Toula, that is of Greek decent who is fearful of being stuck in the life she is now living. She is a frumpy girl that works in her family’s restaurant because she has not been able to find a Greek man to marry, and because of this, her family claims that she is old and has failed in life. She is allowed to attend college, which in turn, gives her new confidence and she is able to fall in love with a non-Greek man that is named, Ian. During the movie she struggles to get her family to accept him as the man she loves, and she also finally comes to

Imagine being born in a place where people don't mix with one another and keep to their own kind. Imagine not being able to walk into a store because it is white owned. How would it feel if you were black, lived in a city that was run by a white government, where poverty, unemployment and lack of education were all problems of everyday life? If everyone were treated equally, then it would not be a problem. But for inner city African Americans that isn't the case. As humans, there is only so much we can take when it comes to segregation before we act out. There is only so much hate a person can take before letting it be known, once a person is pushed over that threshold there is no holding back. Overwhelming hate and anger with

There’s a thing that most people don’t understand about people who deal with two different cultures. People with a split culture have to make their own mold, so to say; they have to learn from their own and others experiences to conform to a certain norm. Since different cultures have different social norms, you can’t behave unacceptably without being judged. People, who have never dealt with diverse communities, especially don’t understand why people act differently when they’re around unalike people. For example, my friends never understood why my parent didn’t allow me to go to places in high school such as football games, dances or even to my friends’ houses. They didn’t understand that my family was very conservative; however I don’t blame them for not knowing, since they haven’t experienced any diversity by living in a predominantly white area.

Italian American and Greek American parents are devoted to raising their children, and caring to them well into their adult years. While the Irish American culture allows their children to move out, prepared or not, the Italian American and Greek American cultures would not do this willingly. The Italian American and Greek American cultures believe that they will not have as much an impact or closeness, and their children could venture into trouble if not advised everyday of their lives. With that being said, Italian American and Greek American children often live in their parent’s homes well into their adult years. What might be surprising to other cultures, especially the Irish American culture, is that even newly married couples are welcomed to live in their in-laws home until they find, or until they can afford, their own home. The Italian American and Greek American cultures are even big on assisting their relatives in finding employment, and this ties into the importance of family businesses, where they will hire and keep their success

Many theorists believe that this is the reason Blacks seem to be confined to the ghetto and Mexicans to the "barrio." Many of those who have been unable to escape their surroundings have chosen to separated rather than assimilate. To assimilate into one’s culture one must adhere to the customs and lifestyle of the host culture and take it on as their own. Some minorities choose to do this, those who do not separate, often totally from the eyes of the majority race. Both Blacks and Mexican Americans can be categorized as having members who have assimilated and separated.

As a typical intercultural movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about Toula, a lower middle class Greek American woman who fell in love with a non-Greek upper middle class “white Anglo-Saxon Protestant” Ian Miller. They overcame a series of difficulties and eventually held a big fat Greek wedding. This movie shows us how Greek Americans live, reflecting the conflicts between Greek culture and American culture in a humorous way. Guided by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, this paper mainly explores how Greeks and American handle the cultural conflicts, and how they integrate into each other’s culture. Therefore, we will arrange the paper in three

The person I interviewed moved around often, but was born in Montclair, CA. She stated that it was fairly peaceful growing up in the area that she lived in. Having the opportunity to go outside and play with children from different backgrounds was a great experience, but it was mostly kids of Latin decent. The interviewee then moved from Montclair , CA to Ontario , CA when she was 5 years old. The move was not a problem for her because she moved to another area that was predominately kids of Latin decent , whom she got along with very well. Moving to Glendora, CA for elementary school was where she had the opportunity to interact with a more diverse group of peers. She was a mixed child and so often received questions about what she was, referring to her ethnic background. The interviewee visibly looks like she is of European decent but associated with students who were Latino,

Growing up in New York City is a very unique experience. You grow up surrounded by a diverse population of people packed tightly into one city. But with this kind of diversity come the questions of self-identification and how others view you. I was born and raised in the upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights which is known for its mostly Dominican population. Moreover, growing up in the public school system and everyday New York living has exposed me to many different Latino and Black communities and culture. I have experienced racism; I have experienced the implementation of hegemonic ideals and I have been exposed to poverty. Even after all the civil rights movements and activism that have

I thought New York City was bad when it came to racism until I moved to Cleveland Ohio. One day I was walking to my job in down town Cleveland when 5 hill billies across the street were kicking garbage cans and when they saw me they were like hey look at that spic and I just stare right at them waiting because I thought they were going to head my way but I thank god that they kept going another way. Another time I was walking on the Eastside of Cleveland and two kids saw me and they were pointing at me saying hey look that’s a spic. I looked at them and I was shocked how can 2 little kids the ages of about 11 and 12 talk with such racist

1. The Greeks had similarities and differences compared to traditional American’s and our culture. Similar to Americans, Greeks were a very entertainment based culture. They had plays, music, and texts to pass their free time, all of which most Americans typically experience in a day. Cities and towns existed, with city-states serving almost like today’s capitals of each state. Farming played a big part in their culture, which is shared with America, as farming continues to be a trade that is necessary, no matter what age. A military existed to protect their society, like America has. Religion was relatively relaxed as a subject in Greece, where they didn’t really think care too much about which gods or goddesses you worshiped - a trait somewhat

When I think of problems that different ethnicities have to face, there are a few sayings that pops in my head like,  “black lives matter”, “muslims are terrorist” and “mexicans getting sent back to mexico”.. These topics have been brought to my attention after reading the story “room for rent”, by Richie Narvaez. His story basically elaborates on different ethnicities and on things they have to face. In the reading he focuses on a family being treated really badly. In the article he is referring to “aliens”  as blacks in the real world.In the story he's talking about aliens/blacks being kicked out of their house because they are weird and don't belong on this planet because they aren't like humans. His story is a reflection on what is happening in the real world with all the racism movements.

Similarities in culture is more so the same then not. Even though our early childhood was around drugs and alcohol our parents made sure we were at church with either grandparent learning the Word of God. When we moved to the south side, I met several friends who went to church and church camps as well. That brought me closer to some families of Caucasian decent. My parents were very athletic in school and that allowed them to teach us sports and sportsmanship. That allowed me to blend in with some of the girls in the neighborhood because they were also athletic. My father took me to a field were girls (Caucasian) were playing softball after talking with the coach my father left me there to practice with the team. I guess being in the neighborhood for a while now I was comfortable with him leaving.

In just about every small town and most medium to large cities, there is a “black” part or section of town. I grew up in a very small town but the part of town I lived in was very big to me. Everyone had the same ideals, beliefs, and expectations. We all knew each other very well. We went to the same church, played in the same park, ate the same type of food, and we listened to the same music. There were no unique individuals, no one really stood out. My town had harmony; a feeling of well being - for lack of a better word. I did not realize that I lived in a culture that had very little diversity. I knew that there were people out side my little world who spoke a different language, dressed different, and ate strange food. But it never occurred to me that I would ever meet anyone very different from me in every way.