Assimilate, but at what Cost

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Each sociological term was depicted in both films from Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos’s father Gus Portokalus, an overly ethnocentric Greek man. Who thought everything in America had some form of a Greek origin to her miscegenational relationship with Ian Miller, a Caucasian male, or Fleur and her daughter Christina Moreno culturally shocking experiences with a Caucasian affluent family in America. But what really jumped out at me in both films, once I observed these films from a sociological point of view and something you failed to mention in your questionnaire, is assimilation, which was one of the main ideas displayed in both films.
Both second generation characters, somewhat lost themselves once a new culture, that was different from their own was introduced, which brings up an important sociological issue. Where does society draw the line between racial pride, ethnocentrism and assimilation? Is it wrong for one to be passionate about their culture, without being considered ethnocentric? Or does one have to completely shun their culture to be accepted in America? A question our forefathers shake their heads to, when it comes to the younger generation. Isn’t it true that one can have the best of both worlds, adopting some of what America has to offer, while remaining true to who they are whether a Greek, Mexican, Jew, Puerto Rican, Russian or Australian just to name a few. Why is America so full of herself that she feels that, immigrants need to drop their customs and fully pick up hers? Isn’t that a derivative of prejudice and/or racism? I think so, but let’s examine this million dollar question further.
What makes American culture so enticing, that a lot of cultures become captivated by it? Is it the glamour and glitz...

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...orporate America. The unnecessary harassment I get from the police just because I live in a certain neighborhood, drive a certain car or dress a certain way. Not to mention the ridicule I may get from my family, friends or fellow African Americans. Or just the fact that I don’t find any other race attractive except for a black woman. Yeah, I’ve dated Africans and Jamaicans, but there wasn’t much of a difference from a cultural standpoint. They understood everything I mentioned, to a deeper degree than I, because that weren’t just considered black, but they were considered immigrants and that brings up another whole set of sociological problems.
I close, by saying the age old adage, “be true to yourself”, because you and you alone have to live with yourself, so why not live with someone you love. Because life is too short to live with someone you hate.

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