Explain Diversity in Families Intercultural Communication with Exampl

Question: Describe the families' reactions to the couple to each other and EXPLAIN how that reaction influenced the couples relationship. Explain how the families interactions with each other and with the couple influence the development of the relationship. Be specific about how the couple was influenced. Answer: Introduction This assignment will focus on a famous movie My Fat Greek Wedding directed by Joel Zwick. The movie released on 22nd February 2002 in Santa Monica (Maxwell and Ian). The movie tells a story on Ian and Toula who in spite of belonging from different cultures and backgrounds fell in love with each other. However, they had to face several challenges that threaded their relationship and pushed them to the edge. In the end, they were able to overcome all the hurdles and they married each other with the permission of their respective families. This assignment will describe different conditions and challenges faced by Ian and Toula and their respective families. Micro factors Proximity According to the movie, Ian and Taula lived in the same state that is Chicago. They lived within a comfortable distance. Besides, Ians school was in the way of Toulas new office. Therefore, they could meet with each other frequently (Stabler). Immediate stimuli Toulas family belongs from a typical Greek culture. In spite of living in America, they never adopted the culture and living styles of the Americans. Their accent is also not like an American accent and it carries the Greek accent and pronunciation. The family of Toula used to live in a typical middle-class neighborhood. Their house was modeled after Parthenon which is the former temple on Athenian Acropolis (Egglezos). However, their appearances had no similarity with Greek culture. They used to wear normal American clothes. On the other hand, Ian belongs to a normal American family which is different from the Greek culture. The family of Toula strongly believed that womens best job is to get married and to raise kids. On the other hand, being from a normal American family, Ians thinking were much more advanced and realistic. Equity Ian and Toula did not have similar background. Ian was from a normal American family with different priorities. On the other hand, Toula belonged from a Greek family living in America but not ready to adopt American lifestyle. Toula's family was running a restaurant in Chicago and Ian was a teacher. Ian was dedicated to building his career with the support from his family. On the other hand, the family of Toula was not supportive at all. Her father believed that women are born to get married and to raise kids only. He did not allow Toula to join a normal school. Toula got admission in a Greek school where she was forced to learn Greek culture and history. Social support Ian, from the beginning had all the support he needed from his family. He got full support from his family when he took the decision of being baptized in a Greek church. Besides, his family also never declined Toula because of her Greek background. On the other hand, the family of Toula was a conservative family that believed that Greek culture is the most superior culture in the world. Therefore, they never allowed anyone who is not from a Greek background to come close to their family. That is why Ian had to receive baptism from a Greek church to marry Toula. Macro factors Group affiliation Toula belonged to a group which was her family. As her family was a very conservative family, she did not have any chance to develop a separate group of friends. On the hand, Ian also did not have many friends. He only had one friend who was his colleague at the school where he used to teach. Culture/Traditions Toula belonged from a typical Greek culture. On the other hand, Ian belonged from American culture. Greek society is a very religious society and 98% of their population belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church (Tziovas and Dmtrs). Most of their traditional celebrations are centered on sacramental services in the church. On the other hand, the United States being the third largest country in the world is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Nearly every religion of the world exists in American culture, as it is a country of immigrants. American culture is also influenced by Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans and Asians. Availability Toula had her mother as her potential mate who helped her to join a new computer course that later helped Toula to get a new job. Ians potential mates where his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Form of relationship There are two forms of relationship which are exogamy relationship and endogamy relationship. Exogamy relationship means marrying outside a specific cultural group. On the other hand, endogamy relationship means marrying within a cultural group (Jan et al.). In the movie My fat Greek wedding the relationship of Ian and Toula was a mixture of exogamy and endogamy relationship forms. In the beginning, Toula belonged from Greek culture and Ian belonged from American culture. Therefore, their relationship was endogamy relationship. Later, Ian accepted baptism from a Greek Orthodox church and included himself in the historical Greek culture. From that moment, their relationship was turned into exogamy relationship. Reaction of the families Families of Ian and Toula belonged from different cultures and different backgrounds. Toula's family came from a typical Greek background and they had their culture and thinking. On the other hand, Ians family belonged from a normal and general American family that used to follow regular American culture and lifestyle. Therefore, both the families did not want that their son or daughter will marry someone who has a very different cultural background. Toula's mother told her to stop loving Ian and Ian parents did not like the behavior of the Toula's family after a get together which was a massacre. Their behavior pushed their relation to become stronger. Their bond became so strong that Ian decided to receive baptism. Interaction of the families At the time of getting together, Ian's family did not like the mannerism, behavior and cultural presentation of Toulas family. Besides, Toulas father did not like the cool and calm attitude of Ians parent (Bjork). He also mentioned that Ian's parents are "dry like bread." These things disturbed the relationship of Toula and Ian. However, they managed to overcome these pushes from their families and could manage to accept each other's cultures in the end. Learning outcomes From the movie, I learned that following a cultural background is a good thing. However, a person must not fully depend on his cultural background as it might hamper the lives of family members. The movie also taught me that in any culture or religion it is not good for holding back the women. In the movie, Toula did not get any permission from his father to live her life with freedom. As a result, she became depresses and started to think that she is good for nothing. From the movie, I also learned that love has no bounding. In spite of belonging from entirely different cultures, Toula and Ian managed to save their relationship, as they wanted to marry each other. Conclusion In the end, it is clear that holding to a culture while living in an entirely different country is not a good idea to a person and his family. Toula's father was determined that holding to the Greek culture will bring happiness to his family. However, the result was opposite as Toula could not make friends and could not lead her life like the one she wanted because of this. However, her life changed after she met Ian. She fall in love with Ian and together they overcame all the obstacles to marry each other. From the movie, it can also be concluded that love is the only medicine that can change anything and can help to overcome any hurdles. References Bjork, Eva Lambertsson, and Jutta Eschenbach. "Reel Life."Journal of Intercultural Communication36 (2014). Egglezos, D., et al. "Geotechnical issues of the Athenian Acropolis."Geotechnics and Heritage: Case Histories(2013): 13. Jan, Jie-Sheng, Ping-Yin Kuan, and Arlett Lomeli. "Social context, parental exogamy and Hakka language retention in Taiwan."Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development(2016): 1-11. Maxwell, Ian. "My Big Fat Greek Baptism."Performance and Temporalisation. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015. 65-76. Stabler, Richard A., et al. "Macro and micro diversity of Clostridium difficile isolates from diverse sources and geographical locations."PLoS One7.3 (2012): e31559. Tziovas, Dmtrs.Re-imagining the Past: Antiquity and Modern Greek Culture. Oxford University Press, USA, 2014.