Film Paper My Big Fat Greek Wedding Essay

For my paper, i have decided to write about My big fat greek Wedding and Philadelphia. I will say that I really enjoyed watching both films and there are a lot of interesting things to dicsuss about them. Both films varied in the amount of societal implications and interpersonal concepts but there were was plenty of it. Initially, i had trouble finding a good connection between the two films but i will be talking about something that i think both of these films do a good job of portraying. Both of these films are very interesting and i can honestly say i learned from them. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was absolutely hilarious in my opinion. In a sense the entire movie was about this relatively old below average looking greek girl who lived in a culturally bias greek family that wanted her to get married to a greek man. Her name is Tula and she is a smart girl working for the familys greek restaruant almost religiously day after day without a â€Å"life† as her father implies, which basically means she hasnt found a greek man yet. She eventually meets a non-greek man who she falls in love with and wants to marry but she is stressed out because she is afraid of her family reacting in a horrible way. Eventually, things somewhatwork out between both sides of the family and tula gets married. Love is a funny thing, what almost breaks the family apart brings them together in the end. There are a lot of interpersonal concepts in this movie but i think the biggest ones would be emotions, issues of self, and culture. From the beginning of her life, Tula was always looking down on herself and comparing herself to the other non-greek kids. She wanted to fit in with the cool culture and not with her greek family. She wasnt a good looking girl and her life never looked like it was going to get better. This obviously bothered her but she had no passion or drive to get her going. she gave up on trying because she created a distorted image of reality and opportunity. Well, until she met the love of her life, Ian Miller. This is where emotions played an even bigger role in the movie. Before Tula met Ian she was emotionally dead but when they fell in love Tula literally came to life. Change started with small emotions but eventually it led to her physical appearance, happiness, and view of life. Its amazing what love can do to a person. The concept of culture in this movie really is a funny topic. The entire family is so far greek that anyone else is not just considered inferior, but bad. Tulas father is the best example of bias because he relates everything back to the greeks and he always has a story to tell about his culture. His pride blinds him and the rest of the family from seeing people as they really are. Despite these issues, the family surprisingly accepts Ian into the family with a few exceptions ofcourse. At the end of the movie, Tulas father gives a humorous story basically stating that no matter what our differences are we are all just people. I think this film was trying to teach people alot about family and love. You can get rid of your friends or boyfriend/girlfirend but its much more difficult to get rid of your family because they are always going to be there. I learned to be a lot more grateful for my family after watching this because i could see the beauty in imperfection. We dont need to have the picture perfect family that we often try to portray. Honestly, That concept can go for all aspects of life. We are so hard on ourselves that we often try to be someone we are not just to gain approval from someone we dont even know. How sad is that? This movie showed that true love covers a multitude of things and people are willing to work through the storm to find a place of happiness and peace. In the end, love is what everyone really wants. Many things fade in life but people are loving until the day they die. Philadelphia is a movie that i had never heard of before this class. So i was very excited to watch it, especially because it starred Tom Hanks and Denzel washington was in it. The movie was Primarily focused on Andrew Beckett, a relatively young and bright lawyer who had a very promising future working at the largest corporate law firm in Philadelphia. Although he lives with his partner Beckett is not open about his homosexuality at the law firm, nor the fact that he has AIDS. He is eventually promoted to an important assighnment but his boss gains suspicion which ends up escalating to becket getting fired over a silly computer drive problem. Beckett beleives that someone set him up because he has AIDS and he goes to great lengths to get justice. He finally meets a lawayer named Wheeler who is willing to take a stand with him in court and bring justice to the situation. In the end, becket and wheeler win the case but beckett is rushed to the hospital after a nasty day at court. Beckett was finally ready for death because he got what he wanted, justice. This movie displayed a lot of interpersonal concepts but i will be talking mostly about perception and issues of self. You can only imagine how Beckett must have felt as a gay man with AIDS in the early 1990s. So much hatred and discrimination that people didnt even want to sit next to him. It really must be an awful feeling and the movie shows that the one thing worse then physical death is to be socially dead but still physically alive. what is the reason to keep on living in a situation like that? Beckett wasnt completely ashamed of his homosexualtiy but he kept it a secret after hearing his boss make horrible jokes about gays in the locker room. Its understandable to conceal that information in Becketts situation but it made things a lot more difficult for him in the long run. I think the movie showed the audience a different perspective on homosexualtiy. I had feelings of sympathy and empathy throughout the movie as i did feel bad for beckett but i honestly could not put myself in his shoes. I could imagine but i have never been in a situation remotely close to his so it was hard for me. The movie showed that Homosexuals arent these evil creatures or contagious diseases that need to be eradicated immediately or avoided. They are people with emotions, dreams, and thoughts just like everyone else. These two films do not seem connected in many ways at first glance but there is more to it then meets the eye. In both movies you have these main characters who are facing issues of self, emotion, and culture. It is hard to go against what society and culture say is the â€Å"right† thing to do. It takes a lot of courage to do that and that is exactly what Tula and beckett had. Both acts of courage also sparked life and innovation to the people around them, particularly the family members. I think both of these films displayed family in a big way. You got to see family intertwined with the main character in both films throughout the good times and the bad. You also got to see the love of family through hardships which always sparks my interest because it often goes beyond reason. Even when there are differences love often overcomes and it was cool to see the acceptance of family in both films. I really enjoyed watching both films. My Big Fat Greek Wedding really had me laughing while Philadelphia made me put my thinking cap on. I personally value a lot of the family union and tradition you see in My Big Fat Greek Wedding because my family is very similair. I could relate to the movie in a lot of ways while i couldnt relate to Philadephia as much. Philadelphia had more of an emotional impact on me as it had a bitter sweet ending. It just got me thinking a lot about other peoples feelings and beleif systems. You never really know what is going on inside a persons life. Everyone Face has a story behind it and its not right to judge anyone. I could say i gained more appreciation, patience, and love for family and i got to see a different perspective on people as individuals. In this example, its the life of a homosexual man but i can apply the knowledge i gained to varios situations and people.