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...
... middle of paper ...
...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.
...ieve that the word Negro, nigger, and nigga should have been banned from the vernacular of all humans when slavery ended. I also believe that because of ignorance, many African-Americans are imprisoned to a slavery mindset. The younger generations of African- Americans are behaving the way they have been projected. They don’t reach for anything more because all they see is the culture they created for themselves, which is far from who they are and what they can accomplish. Even though ignorance has played a part in the identity and the history of the African-American race, it can no longer be an excuse with the all the available resources we have in our reach today.
Two forms of Segmented Assimilation can be used to explain these instances. The second form follows a pattern that is a downward-mobility of acculturation and integration with the new or hybrid customs of the new country, yet is being trapped in the bottom rungs of society. Similar to the way Bryan had grown up in poverty and nearly lost touch with his mother tongue. The third form being socioeconomic integration into mainstream America, where selective acculturation and deliberate preservation of ethnic community’s values, norms, and social ties. This falls in line with Eric’s family who immigrated already being relatively successful economically and education wise retaining their culture and language within their family. Both families did adopt certain nuances and values that can be described as “American” while still retaining their own culture. Both of these subjects also maintained the concepts of family and education as being of great importance. Education is also stressed in order to find a job that offers stability and security as well as enough money to live comfortably. This stems from their parents wanting their children to be auspicious and so that their immigration to the United States served a purpose. What stood out though, was that these subjects did not face much pressure to achieve exceptionally well in their education. Instead their
For too long, I too thought like this. I had a hard time identifying with African-Americans and was too easy to judge them for their lack of effort or their lack of collective success. It was not until I started reading books like the Autobiography of Malcolm X and the Autobiography of Angela Davis that I finally began to see the bigger picture and started to get in tune with the very meaning of African-Americanism. It was then that I finally understood what a systematic effort to undermine the very identity of African-Americans could do to black folk in America.
Mexicans are not the first group of immigrants to encounter assimilation problems. A newspaper argues assimilation for Mexicans is more successful than many other immigrant groups in the past. Tyler Cowen, a professor at George Washington University, explains that following Mexican immigrant families for 3 to 4 decades gives a clear, concise model explaining how well they are assimilating. The first members of the family to arrive on United States soil assimilate slowly, but each generation after becomes more American through language, salary, and even divorce rates. His article details how Mexicans are on a faster track to assimilate than the Italians, Irish, Polish etc… were in the early 1900’s. He mentions a study that measures variables including salaries, property ownership, family size, crime rate, and languages spoken. When comparing Cowen’s research with Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House On Mango Street many similarities arise including the generation gap between older and younger Mexicans. The study supports this essay’s claim that Esperanza is able to assimilate into the culture without losing her own self-identity or falling into the typical gender roles defined by tradition. The ability to assimilate is more than just speaking the language; assimilation is living comfortably amongst natives and immigrants without feeling targeted or segregated.
Many people in America want to assimilate to the U.S. because they think that being American is a better option. People such as the Italians in the 1870s tried to assimilate in order to become an American to not become an enemy in the U.S. Also, the Mexicans today are constantly coming to the U.S. to have a better life because they know being American is the best solution for their problems at home. What assimilation mean is when a person leaves one’s own culture to join a different culture the person wants to be. For the purpose of this essay, an American is a person who has commitment to succeed in what one wants, able to speak english, to love the pop culture in the U.S. at the time one is living such as the hit songs, games, T.V. shows, etc. but not to other cultures, and be a citizen in America. People throughout history must assimilate to become a true American
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.
Because of the concept of the word race, wars have been started and millions of people have been discriminated against. To me, it appears to be simply another evil in the world that we, as humans, must deal with and potentially overcome. Since the beginning of time, race has done nothing but give people a reason to argue, fight, and discriminate. It gives people reason to not associate with their fellow man. It causes a fear of the out-of-the-ordinary. Without education, race can be a barrier separating us.
In the black community, African-Americans are discriminating against each other, putting those with lighter skin complexion against ones whose skin is darker. In the African American community it’s like a battle of the skin tones. This type of racism is also known as colorism, the belief that those with lighter, fairer skin are treated with a higher respect than those with darker skin, this issue has been happening for a long time within the African American community. This form of racism is more offensive, severe, and different than the common traditional racism. The African American community is supposed to be united under the race Black, but that is where the problems come in. Under the ethnicity of African American, and have pride in their skin color and supposed to be joined together, there is a system of separation within the different shades of “Black.” In the black community, there are all kinds of shades of black, yellows, light, brown, dark brown, and other shades. According to Dr. Ronald Hall, a social work professor at Michigan State University, "As a result of having been colonized particularly by Spaniards, the British, etcetera, a lot of people...
... over romanticized, as the U.S government is constantly making it more difficult for immigrants to become citizens, especially those from the global south. Furthermore, immigrants from the global south tend to be in the lowest income bracket, showing Marston’s interpretation in his film to be false.
The country that I now deeply love, and even get a little teary eyed when I sing the National Anthem, did not used to be so welcoming to me and people like me. Before my time there were laws against African-Americans living a normal life. A normal life many before me fought for. Life in the 1950’s was not the easiest for African-Americans. Many Whites still saw African-Americans as an inferior race. This meant many simple everyday task were that much harder for Africans-Americans. Housing Segregation, discrimination in courts, discrimination in public places prevented many African Americans from living the American Dream. All of these examples are only the tip of the ice berg. Going out to eat, shopping, even just going for a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park was nearly impossible. Living was hard for African-Americans as well as trying to work. Many men tried to get work but could not because even though slavery was gone segregation as well as discrimination was thriving. Many African-American men may have been well qualified for a job but would be over looked merely for the fact the color of their skin was two shades too dark. In spite of the double standard in society African-Americans were allowed to fight in American wars. While African-American men were struggling to get simple jobs even hard labor jobs nobody wanted Uncle Sam had no problem sending them to the front lines to fight for their country. African- Americans were allowed to fight in the Army and lay their lives on the line for a country that could not even stand to have little white children and little black children sit in the same class room. While African-Americans were allowed to fight in the Army they were not allowed to be in a same platoon as White men. T...
Racism against African American began in the American society during the seventeenth century, when the practice of slavery started to flourish in the South. Racism is “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.” (Dictionary.com) Over the centuries, efforts have been made to equalize the lives of African Americans to their White counterparts. Though acclaimed that the days of racism against African Americans are over, it is infused in all parts of American life and therefore still affecting the victimized. The stratification of racial classes of olden days has left a mark in today’s society. African American racism though said not to be present today has influenced discrepancies in economic classes, self-esteem, and perception of one another, and stereotypes that affected the victimized.
Gender and culture are two concepts that were principally shown throughout the film. The film revolved around Toula’s traditional Greek family and how they exemplified gender roles, gender stereotyping as well as gender stratification. The film also epitomized on subcultures, countercultures, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism as well as cultural diffusion. It is forthrightly for a sociologist to relate trends in the film to prevailing trends occurring all around the
Diversity, we define today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America. In fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race.
We often see within the U.S this at times spoken, but most of the time unspoken fear towards the black community. A fear of a black man or woman commuting robbery at a store. A fear of black man dealing drugs or terrorizing society with his “gangster” ways. These assumptions are exercised, even in light of the countless individuals who have rose above these predisposed and unfair accused racial characteristics. In an age of social media and television it’s been almost impossible to not be bombarded with race and the abundance of terms which many news stations are throwing at you, most of which many common Americans are not privy too. In the end we know someone must suffer from all the fear, and hate that is circulating. The blacks in the U.S
Throughout my life, I have seen how African American have been portrayed by popular culture as a race of people in which it is acceptable for one to be ignorant, loud, conceded, and flamboyant. As a matter of fact, if one does not act in this manner, that person would be considered to be acting white. To uphold a certain image and to not be categorized as a White person, I have seen people purposely behave in a manner to portray trends advertised by the commonly accepted culture in our society. I have also seen how...