I thoroughly enjoyed the film we watched today, as I believe most of the class did. I really liked how we got to see the experiences of the first generation (the parents) and the second generation (the kids) individually as well as interacting with each other. It was interesting to see how generally constant the parents were in keeping to the traditions of their homeland, while the kids, especially Gogol, struggled back and forth with assimilating and holding onto traditions and culture. One example of this is the contrasts between the scene when Gogol is rocking out in his room to American music, and the scene at his father's family, when he tells his girlfriend that the scattering of the ashes is "family business". Another thing I found fascinating was the difference between the generations in how they showed affection. While the parents almost never touched and the wife laughed at "saying I love you, like the Americans", one did not doubt how much they loved each other. I thought this cultural trait was really cool and very touching.
I also thought that the illustration of 2nd generation cultural ignorance and assimilation was well portrayed. Gogol obviously does not understand what his parents gave up and went through to give him the life he is living. When he is younger he is constantly irritated about his name and at the customs of his parents. As he grows older he realizes that he can assimilate and still respect and keep a part of his heritage.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie and it really helped me understand more about the difficulties of assimilation and the hardships both first generation and second generation immigrants went through.
No comments:
Post a Comment