Multiculturalism In The Film 'Spanglish'

1220 Words3 Pages

Spanglish_ an American comedy of manners movie directed by James L. Brooks in 2004. The film includes 2 cultures as North American (USA) and Mexican-American (USA) cultures. The film carries an issue of multiculturalism in the United States between the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) and the Hispanic. The main conflict is about the struggle of maintaining identity. The WASP is represented by the Clasky family. Flor, the representative of the Hispanic culture, tries to keep her only daughter, Christina to stay authentic in a multicultural society. The audience will be clearer about some distinctive features like culture identities, value, cultural integration and the way Flor maintain the identities during this film. With the great soundtrack, …show more content…

To make daughter lived as a Mexican, Flor decided to move in Los Angeles, where Mexican made up more than 45% in population. Living among the Mexican community, Flor kept her daughter in safe place with Mexican culture. However, Christina was still got bad effects from others because her mother spent all her time for working. Wanting to protect and share all best thing for the daughter, Flor had to find a new job in new place for earning more money. She worked as housekeeper in Clasky family without speaking English. There was some conflict between Deborah_ mistress of the house and Flor when she and Christina moved to live with the Clasky in Malibu in the summer. Deb tried to change Christina as an American but it made Flor feel unhappy about that. Besides, the connubial life of Deb and John was in disharmony, Deb had an adulterous relationship with another man; John and Flor also felt in love with each other. In the end of the film, Flor decided to quit the job and leave far from the Clasky to finish all the …show more content…

It is association of 2 cultures, according this film we can know more about the significant features. The first feature is culture identities. According to Oxford Reference, “Cultural identity refers to one’s sense of belonging to a particular culture or ethnic group. It is formed in a process that results from membership in a particular culture.” At the first scene, Flor decided to move to America with the hope of a better life. Although it shows that she was stepping into a new culture, she herself tries to maintain culture identity. The evidence is the language she used in communicating with the Clasky, she continued speaking Spanish in America and her clothes are still skirt and sweater. She tries to help her daughter absorb Hispanic culture by keeping her daughter in Mexico as long as possible to help her learn all Hispanic culture and choosing the place that has much Hispanic community. She never got out of their community in first 6 years in

More about Multiculturalism In The Film 'Spanglish'

Open Document