“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”: a Cultural Clash Analysis
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” zooms in on the life of a Greek single woman named Toula Portokalos. She lives in Chicago with her family. The family is proud to be Greek and they are not afraid to show it. Hence a strong connection to their cultural roots is evident throughout the movie. Toula’s family consistently reminds her that she should find a man soon, a Greek man of course, which she can have a Greek baby with.
Husband, Job, Education
If a Greek woman does not marry a man, have children and feed her family, Greek people will perceive her as a failure. To avoid this, the father in the family plans several aspects of the daughter’s (Toula’s) life, for example, her husband, job, education etc. By doing so, he is trying to avoid uncertainty and make sure she will succeed in his perspective.
This also illustrates a high power distance within Greek culture. The father has to be shown respect and has control of the family´s future. In the movie, it clearly shows that the women respect the father’s authority and even had to fake scenarios to make the father happy and in control. Nevertheless, Toula finally meets a man but has to sneak behind her father’s back because he is not Greek. This further showed that she feared that her actions would clash with her father’s plans and oppose his authority.
Family vs I
The first meeting, before the fantastic “Greek wedding”, of both families is, especially for the “American parents”, Ian’s parents, a real clash. They arrive at the house of Toula’s family and are overrun by all family members, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. That’s the clash between the collectivistic culture of the Greek family and the individualistic culture of the Americans. For Toula and her family, it is important to follow social norms. The ties in the group are strong, they are connected in every part of their lives.
The whole family works together in the family businesses. And as long as you don’t find an husband or a wife it is normal to live at home with your family. The Greek family highly encourages group decision-making, Toula’s wedding dress is a decision of all the female family members. In contrast, the American culture of Ian is more individualistic where they appreciate personal freedom. He already moved out of his parents’ house and lives independently from them.
Communication differences in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Toula and her family appreciate harmony and they are part of a high context culture, where the communication is indirect. In this culture, things are often unsaid but those familiar with the culture and norms understand them. For example that the future husband has to ask for the woman’s hand from the father. Ian mixed up with this cultural trait as he starts dating and eventually proposes directly to Toula. He does not understand the unsaid norms and therefore that he “violated” them. The clash is illustrated further as the father has to step out of his culture and comfort zone to use direct communication to make it very clear that Ian made a mistake not asking permission for the marriage to him.
To conclude, intercultural management and communication can help us when trying to understand how we communicate across cultures. It shows us that we all have the same emotions, but our culture shapes the way be act, behave and feel, and therefore we show our emotions differently across cultures.
