Analysis Of English Vinglish

English Vinglish is an Indian movie directed by Gauri Shinde which received several nominations and awards after its release in 2012. This movie is about the life of an ordinary Indian woman named Shashi before and after her special journey in New York. Since the movie is put in the context of modern society in both India and America it reflects a number of cultural aspects; and this essay will focus on ones including uncertainty avoidance, collectivism and power distance.

The main character- Shashi is the image of a typical conservative Indian housewife who stays at home and takes care of her family to support her husband- a successful businessman. Due to her lack of proper education and career, her husband and daughter always take her for

Though the level of uncertainty avoidance varies among cultures they can be identified as whether high or low in uncertainty avoidance. Members of a culture high in uncertainty avoidance prefer things that are predictable rather than something unforeseeable so they oppose changes. On the other hand, people born into a culture having high tolerance for uncertainty avoidance consider changes acceptable so they are more comfortable with unfamiliar situations and willing to challenge. India, according to Hofstede’s research, is low in uncertainty avoidance. This cultural aspect of India can be observed in the movie English Vinglish through customs, language and attitude of characters. Firstly, although members in Shashi’s family are native Indian, some customs in their daily life are rather Western. They prefer coffee, milk, toasted bread and omelet for breakfast, and they greet friends by hugging or kissing on the cheeks. Secondly, the use of English also illustrates the low in uncertainty avoidance of this culture. In the movie, English is preferred in almost any place and situation, people try to replace Hindi- their mother language with English in daily communication; and even newspapers are written in both languages. Finally, the positive attitude of Shashi’s family towards Meera’s wedding with and American man points out the fact that proposing a marriage with a foreign person is well approved in their culture. Their perspective on multicultural marriage also illustrates their high ability in adaptation to a new