If
I had to pick the one movie that has impacted my life the most, it would
definitely be My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It has played a significantly
large role in my coming of age story. I grew up much like Tula, the movie’s
main character. Her family was fresh off the boat from Greece, mine was fresh
off the boat from Lebanon. While all the other kids went to girl scouts, she
went to Greek school and I went to Arabic school. We both were made fun of for
bringing ethnic food as our packed lunch for school, rather than a classic
PB&J. Both of our parents are as strict as can be, and our families are
just not normal, and, to top it off, we are both Orthodox Christians. In the
movie, Tula begins as an embarrassed young girl, just as I was when the movie
came out. But as it progressed, Tula really grew into herself. She started to
embrace her differences and people liked them too.
When
this movie came out, I made all of my friends watch it and it gave them such a
clearer understanding of my family, my faith, and of me as a person. It, for
some reason, made me feel more comfortable being myself knowing that everyone
in the world was going to watch this movie. I would never be the first weirdo
with a crazy family and different faith that people saw- they would already
have been introduced by My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
This
movie also made me embrace my differences. Once I saw people’s reactions to
Tula’s family and life I was more comfortable sharing stories about my family
and my church. When I realized that people found that stuff funny and
interesting, rather than weird, I became a lot more open and people started
getting to understand me a lot better. I was no longer too shy to bring people
to church with me or to invite people over for dinner with my family because,
let’s face it, nothing could be as embarrassing as Tula’s family.
The
last way My Big Fat Greek Wedding helped me in my “coming of age” is how
well it prepared me for what was to come in my life. Unlike Tula’s parents,
mine encouraged me to go off to college and grow up on my own, but other than
that, the movie has been pretty spot on. Like Greeks, older Arab people are
dead set on finding the newest generation husbands right off the bat.
Thankfully, my parents are completely opposite of that and encourage me to get
an education, career, and waste as much time as I can before I have to settle
down, but the people in my church and extended family remind me a lot of Tula’s
family. Every time they see me they ask about any new boyfriends (yeah right) and
tell me that I need to dress up more and be more focused on making myself
presentable. Just like Tula, I have learned to take it all with a grain of
salt, smile, and PEACE OUT.
It’s
crazy how such a silly movie can make such a huge impact on my life, but it
sure did. Every time I meet someone new and we start becoming friends, I always
make sure they have seen that movie before they come over and “meet the family”
(all 2093840923 of them). I think realizing that I am not the only person out
there with these kinds of cultural differences is really what made me confident
in myself and helped me be more open and come out of my shell.
Hey Natalie, nice blog! It’s really cool that you were able to find so many parallels between My Big Fat Greek Wedding and your life. One of my best friends back home is also Lebanese. I don’t think he had to go to Arabic school, but he certainly packed some interesting foods for lunch. He’d always have these spinach pouch things that looked a little a questionable, still, he swore they were delicious. Anyway, great post.
ReplyDeleteNatalie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your comparison of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and your own life! I love that movie! I admire your ability to find exactly who you want to be through the lens of your culture and generation. I have a friend back home who is Lebanese. Ya'll make the best food! I am glad My Big Fat Greek wedding helped you see your culture as a blessing. Great coming of age story!
Natalie: I really enjoyed reading you post about My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I remember sitting down with my Irish-Scottish extended family to watch this film. My dad grew up in a family of 7 children, who are all married with children and grandchildren now; as a result, our family gatherings tend to be a bit hectic and chaotic (the Irish tend to be heavy drinkers). Although my ethnic background and culture are pretty commonplace in America, I still get the butterflies whenever I am introducing friends to my wild extended family who tend to have no conversational filters. I love that this movie helped you to embrace your unique culture. I had to laugh when you described the persistence of your extended family that you find a husband as soon as possible; my grandparents are the same way, stubborn in believing that at college husband hunting comes first and education comes second. Thanks for sharing this great story!
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