...“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is a charming romantic comedy that explores cultural differences in a combination of adorable romance and cute humor. The story revolves around Toula, a thirty-year-old Greek American single woman, who lives with her family in the suburb of Chicago. Like many obedient Greek daughters, she works in her family’s business, a restaurant called “Dancing Zorba’s.” Toula belongs to a traditional collective upbringing where all good daughters are expected to marry from their ethnic background. However, she struggles with her father’s limited ambitions for her and she longs for something else in life. She enrolls in college and takes computer classes. With the computer diploma under her belt, a rebellious Toula emerges. She manages her aunt’s travel agency and starts dating Ian Miller, a white high school English teacher. They date secretly for a while, before she has the courage to introduce him to her family. Her father is livid over her dating a non-Greek. The climax of the story occurs when both sides try to adjust to each other. While Ian has to let go of his rigid white individualistic upbringing and learn to accept her collective big family and Greek traditions, Toula has to come to terms with her own identity. My Big Fat Greek Wedding not only exposes the cultural difference between the individualism of Ian and his family and the collectivism of Toula and her family, it also offers a wide array of misconceptions in interpersonal communication. Collectivism...
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...Ethnocentrism is a major reason for divisions amongst members of different ethnicities, races, and religious groups in society. Ethnocentrism is the belief of superiority is one's personal ethnic group, but it can also develop from racial or religious differences. Ethnocentric individuals believe that they are better than other individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage. Clearly, this practice is related to problems of both racism and prejudice. While many people may recognize the problems, they may not realize that ethnocentrism occurs everywhere and everyday at both the local and political levels. Ethnocentrism in History Present Day Politics To solidify the definition of ethnocentrism, looking at the present day politics of the United States is helpful. With instances occuring since its conception, the United States has often thought of itself as more powerful, more economically sound, and just generally "better" than other nations. This has been shown by the country's tendency to dabble in situations occuring in other nations, such as the country's current involvement with affairs in the Middle East. Although the idea of every citizen in the United States belonging to one ethnicity is certainly debatable, since the country has citizens who originally came from all over the world, the feeling of national pride can stand in for a pure ethnicity in this case. European Imperialism Imperialism, the practice of taking over other lands, was heavily...
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...analyze is “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and other bigger than life stars. This movie is about a young Greek woman, Toula Portokalos, who struggles with her identity and does not feel like she fits in. She desires more in life and is confused as to how she will fill the role her parents require of her. Toula’s family migrated from Greece to give her and her siblings, Athena and Nick a better life. Their father, Gus, is sure to remind them of this every chance he gets. He believes the Greek way is the only way and is very intolerant of pushback from his children. Toula’s mother, Maria, is a strong woman who believes in working hard, loving hard, and cooking huge meals at any given moment. Toula fights the fact that she is nothing like her family. She is quirky and finds that she is a square peg in a round hole. The Portokalos family is very big and exceptionally close. Every occasion calls for a party and every party calls for the most food any person could ever imagine. This rambunctious lifestyle has always been a thorn in Toula’s side and no matter how hard she tries, she is unable to find her niche in life. As a Greek woman, she is expected to marry young, have many children and work in the family business, a diner called the Dancing Zorbas. Not only is she to marry a nice man, he is to be a nice, GREEK man. While trying to come to terms with her cultural distinctiveness, Toula meets and falls in love with a non-Greek. When Toula...
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...Film Techniques of ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ * At the beginning of the film, she is very upset because she was different and of different culture to the kids in her school, but then the movie gradually shows that it is actually a positive because that is what Ian liked about her. * In the opening segment, there is the use of voiceover, which is a reflective technique. * What she said when in the first scene, she said she wanted to be blond girls, that later Ian likes her because she is different and not blond. She didn’t want to go to Greek school but that was what Ian liked. During the scene with her in Greek school, there was Greek music playing in the background which emphasises how distinctly Greek she is. * When it shows their house, it pans across the street and there is a medium shot of the house. Their family is mono-culture. Gus has very set beliefs and he is so convinced that all of the human accomplishments have been because of the Greeks, that’s why he wants her to marry a Greek. * The main thing is humour. It conveys the message of this film in an interesting way. * The film introduces the usage of repeated motifs with the Greek language, Windex and the idea that you have to get married, have babies and feed everyone. * We are showed that when she was young, she was embarrassed by her parents. The irony that when she was young, she didn’t want to be Greek but in the later years, this is what was made her special. They brought her...
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...Kim May 18, 2016 After Watching “My Big Greek Wedding” The movie “My Big Greek Wedding” is about the wedding between Tula, who is a Greek-American and was wearing out of fashion style and Ian who is local American white man. Even if now she is in her early thirties, her mother and father want to find a husband in hoping of sending her to Greece. At this time, she meets a perfect guy who is American. The major conflict in this movie came out after she met him. In this movie, there are a lot of cultural things that have learned in this class. For example, dominant culture, a minority group, oppression, culture difference, and collectivism. Here are the reasons why I thought of many those concepts. First of all, this movie showed the family living in America with Greek culture, showing dominant culture and a minority group. At the start of this movie, it illustrated how this girl had grown up in America. Since this Greek family immigrated to America, the dominant culture is American culture. So, Tula was illustrated adjusting in American culture was hard, avoiding other American girls. However, her family was different. Even if they are in American, they didn’t remove their own culture, especially their house. In the movie, they lived in normal Chicago town. Whereas other houses are similar with American traditional style house, her family houses are similar with the temple of the Parthenon. Indeed, they always have their meal with Greek food. In this point, even if they...
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...thought and the most important things that define me are my adoption, heritage, and passion for the game of softball. It is not just one aspect that defines me. It is through my past experiences, and future ones that shape who I am as an individual person. My adoption would have to be what defines me the most because being adopted shows a person that they can’t take their family for granted. Building and keeping the strong relationship with my family is very important to me. These relationships continue to grow every day. Without my family I don’t know where I would be right now. The basically saved my life and that’s what family is for. Another thing that adoption has taught me about is inclusion. My family took me in when I needed it the most and they didn’t treat me like I was an outsider even though they didn’t know anything about me or where I came from. Including someone is something me and my friends are doing could change someone’s life for the better. I was taught that I shouldn’t exclude anyone and if they are shy go over to them and ask if they want to join. Continuing with the family idea and the adoption, my heritage is also another thing that defines me. With being adopted I was only introduced to my adopted family’s heritage which is Irish, German, and Scottish. However, this summer I decided to ask my mom what my true heritage was and she told me that I was Greek. By me being Greek it explains a lot about my...
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...A nice romantic-comedy about a Greek-American girl which has to fight against her family's strict traditions in order to marry a non-Greek boy. I think that, for the Greek people, this movie must be full of strange topics and stereotypes, but for the ones who don't know about the Greek way of life it is pretty amusing. There are all kind of weird characters, like the grandma and the starring actress, Nia Vardalos makes an outstanding job showing us the metamorphosis of a timid girl to a liberated woman. `My Big Fat Greek Wedding,' directed by Joel Zwick, will make you laugh and make you cry, but most importantly, it will make you `feel.' It is one of those rare cinematic experiences that after watching it seems to make the sky seem bluer, a single step lighter and a smile easier to come by. It is clearly evident that the film follows the story of Toula and Ian’s love life, through all the bumps and hurdles they face....
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...explore the layers of structure of power, I find the history of wedding tradition to be fascinating. “He uses history to dispel the sort of routine, instituted self-assurance people have about reality of such entities as the mental disorders they fear they may be suffering from, or the inner sexual needs they believe they have to release. Foucault has examined various kinds of systems of thought through which people have come to identify themselves as subjects.”(Rajchman) And then another good quote about Michel Foucault is “For more than a decade, his elegant shaved skull had been an emblem of political courage-a cynosure of resistance to institutions that would smother the free spirit and stifle the right to be different.” (Miller 13) I will be exploring how the present days views are reinforced; the dominant message of how a wedding should be and then how in some movies, the post-feminism is displayed which slightly alters this dominant image. I will be also exploring the mix of cultural traditions within the wedding to see how the structure is similar or drastically different. I will discuss Marx’s Materialism ideology aspect of the domination of the ruling class and explore the aspect of the base and superstructure with the mode of production/the system of economic relations within the institutions surrounding wedding ideology. Through close textual analysis, I will show the dominant ideology of the wedding industry as illustrated through media and the attitudes of various...
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...Ch r i s t i n e Ro e ll Intercultural Training with Films ilms are a great medium to use not only to practice English, but also to facilitate intercultural learning. Today English is a global language spoken by people from many countries and cultural backgrounds. Since culture greatly impacts communication, it is helpful for teachers to introduce lessons and activities that reveal how different dialects, forms of address, customs, taboos, and other cultural elements influence interaction among different groups. Numerous films contain excellent examples of intercultural communication and are highly useful resources for teachers. Additional reasons for teachers to incorporate films in class and encourage their students to watch movies in English include: • Films combine pleasure and learning by telling a story in a way that captures and holds the viewer’s interest. • Films simultaneously address different senses and cognitive channels. For example, spoken language is supported by visual elements that make it easier for students to understand the dialogues and the plot. • Students are exposed to the way people actually speak. 2 2010 N u m b e r F • Films involve the viewers, appeal to their feelings, and help them empathize with the protagonists. • DVDs usually come with subtitles in English, which facilitates understanding and improves reading skills. After discussing the importance of teaching intercultural communication and suggesting films that match specific cultural...
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...Undecided Title Jessica Cottrill COM/156 Gerald Chouinard There are two gods in Greek mythology that stand out from a medical standpoint, in particular. Those being Hippocrates and Asclepius. Hippocrates has become known to many historians and physicians as the founding father of medicine due to his taking it and making it a rational practice, free from magic and superstition. (Osborn, 2010.) The influences of Hippocrates are vast and still provide a basis for physicians today. He was the first to document medical histories and use patient histories to study their illnesses. He factored in all aspects of their lives including past medical problems, the climate in which they live, diet and their line of work. The Hippocratic collection is composed of Hippocrates writings from his research and practice of medicine. It is composed of sixty books documenting information on every part of the human body including the brain, skin and eyes. It is unclear as to whether Hippocrates wrote all of the collection, but it is thought to have been written by himself and his students. (Truman, 2013.) The myth of Asclepius and his contributions to modern medicine are surrounded by more fantastical stories of healing than, Hippocrates. According to ancient Greek history, Asclepius was so skilled in his surgical and healing capabilities, it appeared as though he could rise the dead to living again. According to myth, Asclepius was struck down by the gods who were...
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...Literary Criticism The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy about the adventures of two bosom buddies, Valentine and Proteus. When Proteus falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend, the guys find themselves torn between the bonds of male friendship and romance. (If you're thinking all this sounds like a modern day "bromantic comedy," you're right. Two Gentlemen of Verona is the great, great grandfather of buddy flicks like the 2009 comedy I Love You Man.) Written as early as 1590-91, Two Gentlemen appears to be William Shakespeare's first play. (As usual, some literary critics are divided over this issue, but we're going with the editors of The Norton Shakespeare and the editors of The Oxford Shakespeare on this one.) As Shakespeare's first theatrical effort, Two Gentlemenhas been referred to as a "limping forerunner" of Shakespeare's later works. Even famous literary scholar Harold Bloom says it's "the weakest of all Shakespeare's comedies." We, on the other hand, prefer to think of Two Gentlemen as Shakespeare's test kitchen, where a budding young playwright begins to work out the recipe for his "comedies" and begins to explore themes and conventions that he'll develop more fully in later works – particularly the themes of male friendship and heterosexual love, which come into conflict in plays like The Merchant of Veniceand also in Shakespeare's collection of Sonnets. Like all test kitchen creations, Two Gentlemen is far from perfect...
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...written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. www.stmartins.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Indante, Dan. The complete a**hole's guide to handling chicks / Dan Indante and Karl Marks. p . cm. ISBN 0-312-31084-6 1. Man-woman relationships. 2. Interpersonal relations. I. Tide: Complete a**hole's guide to handling chicks. II. Marks, Karl. III. Title. HQ801.M37135 307-dc21 2003 2002045213 10 9 8 CONTENTS Introduction: Chicks, What the Fuck? Fifty Tips on Being a Better Asshole ix xiii 1. From Birth to Beating Off The Birth of an Asshole The Purest Form of Asshole Gimme My Toy, You Bitch! Crossing the Dance Floor How Do I Get Her? The Beginning of the End Roughing Up the Suspect 1 1 1 2 3 4 6 2. High School Welcome Mat Firsts The Back-Seat Boogie Chicks Are the Enemy Watch Your Back—Your Friends Won't 8 8 9 15 16 20 vi C O N T E N T S Pecking Order Your First Pincushion So You're Looking to Get Laid High School Final Examination 22 29 31 32 3. College Welcome Mat Your High School Girlfriend You're Not in Kansas Anymore The Chick Roster—Understanding the Enemy The Male Pecking Order Whither the Chicks? Building Your Rep Dating (i.e., Getting Blackout-Drunk and Having Sex) Buttering Her Biscuit College Final Examination 34 34 35 38 42 51 52 56 63 69 70 4. Ages 21-27 Welcome Mat You're...
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...Add In and Appreciate Chapter Six - N is for Navigate and Notice Nature Chapter Seven - C is for Confront and Connect Chapter Eight - E is for Engage and Experience Acknowledgments About the Author Back Ad Credits Copyright About the Publisher Introduction Welcome to the most unconventional weight loss book you’ll ever read! Wait—let’s stop there. To be honest, I kind of cringe at the thought of this being a weight loss book, because I firmly believe that we are so much more than numbers and that what really matters in life is who we are, not what we weigh. But I understand that you probably picked this book up because you’d like to be healthier and weigh less. I get it! I am very grateful that you are here, and I am excited to share my story and what I’ve learned from working with thousands of women just like you. So even though we’re not calling this a weight loss book, it definitely is a book that will help you release weight. What’s so unconventional about it is that it will tell you to stop dieting, to eat what you love, to ignore the numbers on the bathroom scale, and to change the way you think about controlling your weight. And, unlike most books about weight, we won’t be spending tons of time talking about what to eat. Instead, you’ll learn about balance, which will help you kick dieting and self-loathing to the curb. Listen, I know what you’re thinking: Balance, schmalance. You don’t care about balance. You just want to get rid...
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...Grammar Series) I. Title II. Ryley, Chris III. Series 428.24 ISBN 0-582-21860-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alexander, L.G. Right word wrong word: words and structures confused and misused by learners of English/L.G. Alexander. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-58221860-8 1. English language-Usage. 2. English language-Errors of usage. I. Title. PE1460.A48 1993 428.2'4-dc20 93-11963 CIP We have been unable to trace the copyright holder of the text for Exercise 52 Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody and would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so. Set in Times New Roman, TrueType Produced through Longman Malaysia, ETS ISBN 0 582 21860 8 Acknowledgements I would express my sincere thanks to the following people who supplied extremely useful data while this work was being developed: Julia Alexander Mohamed Eid, Cairo, Egypt Professor Jacek Fisiak, O.B.E., Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland Cristina Germanis, Verona, Italy Jurgen Kienzler, Ludwigsburg, Germany Roy Kingsbury Professor Hanna Komorowska, University of...
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...been popular since motion pictures first entered the media world. Scholars have speculated why these movies remain appealing to viewers and have argued for several reasons. These movies might foster hope about real-life romance (Galician, 2004), or demonstrate that that there are no limits to how love may manifest itself (Harvey, 1998). Despite this speculation, few studies have systematically investigated the content of these movies or the effects they may have on viewers. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate that potential. In particular, I conducted two studies that explored the nature of romantic ideals in romantic comedy films and their influence on viewer endorsement of romantic beliefs. The first study was a content analysis of the themes or romantic ideals embedded in romantic comedies. The second study was a survey designed to explore whether exposure to such films encourages the learning of romantic ideals among young people. The theories of uses and gratifications, social cognitive, and cultivation served to inform this project. I first analyzed the content of over 50 top-grossing films from the romantic comedy genre. This process involved identifying the type, nature, and context of romantic ideal expressions that characters in these films make...
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