In 7th grade, I was obsessed with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I don’t know if it was because of the relatable main character, or because I felt like I was really a part of their family when I was watching it. After watching this movie, I realized that Greek families and Filipino families are a lot alike. For example, we spend almost all of our time with extended family, we’re constantly offering someone something to eat, and we’re always going to support one another matter what the circumstance. I think that when immigrants watch this movie, they’ll probably find it quite relatable to their culture. Especially considering the fact that it’s about a foreign family adapting to an American lifestyle. The plot goes a little something like this:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the story of Toula Portokalos, a Greek woman living in Chicago. She, unlike the rest of her perfectly Greek family, hasn’t fulfilled any of the expectations thrust upon her. As a Greek woman in her mid-thirties, Toula was supposed to be married to a nice Greek boy and making lots of Greek babies. She clearly didn’t fit the mold of her typical Greek family, so she felt as if she didn’t belong to them. Because she felt like she didn’t belong, Toula wanted to gain a sense of independence from her overbearing family. She started to take classes at the community college, and she goes through a whole makeover. Eventually, she meets Ian Miller, an American man with whom she fell in love instantly. Ultimately the two of them decide to get married. There’s only one problem: Ian is not Greek, nor is he accustomed to Greek culture. The rest of the movie is about how Toula’s family accepts Ian into the family, despite his cultural background. It all culminates in an amusing Greek wedding, where both Ian and Toula are welcomed into the family.
This movie shows how love and family are both huge American values. Though the Portokaloses resemble a different type of American family, they still show how at the end of the day, family is all you really have. No matter how out of place Toula felt, she still knew that her family loved her and only wanted the best for her. That’s why they had such high expectations for her. Not to mention, family is the reason why the Portokaloses pushed for Toula to fall in love and get married. They wanted her to start a family of her own, and to keep her family’s legacy going strong. Ultimately, this movie illustrates how love and family are important values in American culture.
In addition to that, this movie is about acknowledging the differences between cultures, and celebrating those differences. If you think about it, both Toula and Ian were raised as Americans, yet they couldn’t be more different. Despite their differences in upbringing, they were still able to fall in love and incorporate both of their cultures into their marriage. I think that this shows how Americans value inclusion and connectedness between cultures. I think this movie does a great job of showing how even though you live in America, it doesn’t mean that you have to completely immerse yourself in their culture. You can still represent your country, and you can still uphold your traditions, and be praised and respected for it.
This movie is such a classic, especially for immigrant-raised kids like me. It shows how even though you may think you’re completely transformed by American culture, you’re life will always be influenced by where you and your family came from.
Did you know that they’re making a sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding? The trailer just came out a few weeks ago!
Favorite Quote: “We all different, but in the end, we all fruit.”
Culture Shock Cinema 