Erikson: CAPS Blog 2

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            When I read the prompt for this blog I was excited for two reasons.  First of all, I love comparing different cultures and their differences.  Second of all, I was so excited to watch “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” again!  When I watched this film for the 100^th time today I saw it in a completely different light.  This time I was able to sit back and really dissect and realize the cultural differences that fill this movie.   When looking at the interpretive approach it is easy to see a myriad of different examples throughout “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”  According to Martin and Nakayama, 2012, the main goal of the interpretive approach uses qualitative data through field studies, observations, and interviews to understand human behavior. 

            This comedic film is about Ian (John Corbett) and Toula (Nia Vardalos) who fall in love, but they have completely opposite cultural backgrounds.  Toula’s family is extremely large, Greek, and family oriented where Ian comes from a family on a much smaller scale.  Ian proposes to Toula, which is where he begins the battle to gain acceptance from Toula’s family.   He breaks through multiple cultural patterns by trying to prove and adapt to religion, family, and language with the movie concluding in a happily ever after story where both families respect, understand, and appreciate one another’s cultural differences.

            Before Ian proposes to Toula he is faced with is a cultural pattern that is very different from his, which are Toula’s family and their cultural background and traditions.  On one of their first dates Toula compares the two families by saying that he is a vegetarian, only child with two cousins, where she has twenty-seven first cousins alone.  She emphasizes the fact that no one in her family has ever dated or married a non-Greek and tells of their loud, lamb eating, Greek breeding family.  She expressed in great detail that she doesn’t think it will work out between them because of these differences, but Ian had no intention of stopping anything because of his love for Toula. 

            After meeting Toula’s family Ian was faced with the cultural pattern of religion.  Toula came from an extremely Greek background; therefore, when she told her father, Gus, about her plans to marry Ian he was extremely hurt, upset, and angry that Toula would do that to her family.  To better this situation and an attempt to fit in with her family, Ian agreed to be baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church.  Gus also told him that he needed to speak fluent Greek to become apart of the family.  This cultural pattern was one Gus tried his hardest to learn, but was constantly being fooled by Toula’s brother and cousins as they told him crude and incorrect Greek words and phrases for him to repeat, which in turn made him look foolish. 

            I talked about the cultural pattern of family and backgrounds and I want to bring it up again and incorporate it with the scene where Toula and Ian’s families met for the first time.  What Toula hoped to be a small gathering of just parents turned into all of her cousins and extended family in attendance.  This scene depicted their family differences perfectly.  Ian’s parents pull up to Toula’s home only to see them all dancing in the front yard while roasting animals.  They are then introduced to every family member imaginable. 

            This film ends with the big fat Greek wedding! At this wedding Toula’s mother and father give a speech where Gus describes Toula as an orange and Ian as an apple.  He says, “Here tonight was have an apple and an orange, we are all different, but in the end we are all fruit!” He then gives the newly wedded couple a wedding gift, which was a new home.  This gift represented his happiness for the two and that he respected Ian and his cultural differences.  He realized Ian was an honorable, loyal, and loving man who was perfect for his daughter. 

Here is a great picture of the wedding. Notice the difference in family size - ha!  

Here is a picture that shows the judgmental things Toula's family members were saying to Ian before they knew him.

            Overall, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is an excellent movie that emphasized the importance of the interpretive approach by showing two different cultures that took the time to get to know one other and their cultural differences.  I think this movie proves that intercultural communication is key.   

Here is the trailer is you are interested! 

 References:

Goetzman, Tom. Hanks, Tom. Wilson, Rita. (Producers), & Zwick, Joel (Director). (19 Aug 2002). My Big Fat Greek Wedding [Motion Picture]. United States: IFC Films.

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th edition). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.