Spanglish - Living in America

From Class on May 14, 09

Okay, so I have to admit that our discussion after watching the clip from Spanglish left me with many 'knee-jerk' reactions as I listened to the input from other students. A couple of things stood out for me:

• in general, I found most comments rather textbook...basically tell the prof. what they want to hear; other comments I found a little bit aggressive. I can't say I was in agreement or even shared any of the points that were proffered.
• i don't wish to minimize the contributions of anyone, however after spending 4 years in a largely theory based university environment with little or limited life experience, i found it tough to buy into some of the opinions...they sounded rehersed/canned etc...
  

For me watching Spanglish for the first time was like a walk down memory lane....I felt I was watching my mother and I as we struggled to adjust and assimilate to a new home and culture. I think it is vitally important and respectful to the country you immigrate to to at least try and understand and appreciate their culture, at least when in public places. What goes on in your home or place or worship can be left alone as private.

When Flora meets Deb, I find that although there is a inequality of power; I think Deb is struggling to establish her own power and position when she just talks and talks. To me, I think Flora may actually be more 'powerful' though she may not see it as such.

A point which a fellow student offered is that the kiss at the end is really 'violent'. Frankly, I really don't see that at all...I think it's a cultural thing. Really, would you say that First Lady Michelle Obama was being violent when she embraced the Queen? A faux pas on her part, but violence, I think not. We live in an almost xenophobic world as it is....I think an embrace/kiss in that context is perhaps breaking the 'personal space' boundary, but not violent. In addition, I think it's a cultural expression of acceptance.