Merging two very different families in marriage can create a lot of turmoil throughout the life of a marriage, however, merging to very different families can be a blessing for future generations. This paper analyzes the family portrayed in My Big Fat Greek Wedding from a multi-generational family therapy perspective as well as outlines interventions, Ian Miller and Tula Portokalis can benefit from within their marital relationship.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about a first generation American, Tula’s, difficulty with being a healthy person who is able to embrace a sense of belonging to her family while establishing a sense of separateness and individuality (Bitter, 2014). Although Tula’s family immigrated to America in order to provide a better …show more content…
When Tula or her younger brother, Nikki, attempted to suggest a positive change in the business, Gus quickly disregarded the idea. This is an example of a multigenerational transmission in process where the poor differentiation of the father is passed along from generation to generation (Bitter, 2014). However, Tula’s mother, Maria, exhibited a little bit of an understanding and desire for her children to have healthy differentiation. She recognized Tula’s desire to gain a greater education and intervened on Tula’s behalf. The relationship between Tula, Gus and Maria is reflective of triangulation although not necessarily a negative triangulation. Tula and Gus’s relationship is dominated by Gus’s goals and desires for the family. The triangulation occurs several times during the movie when Maria is brought in as a third party to diffuse the situation as well as encourage understanding between to the parties (Bitter, 2014). Fortunately, Maria’s positive intentions and wisdom prevent the triangulation from becoming a negative relationship between the three …show more content…
Gus settled into a depression. He felt he was disrespected and punished because his daughter was not marrying a Greek man. Tula’s actions threatened a change in the family’s pattern that he worked very hard to maintain. He did not want his children to be different from him. The extended family’s emotional fusion was evident and amplified by how they took over Tula and Ian’s wedding planning. The extended family planned the ceremony, reception, ordered the invitations, bridesmaid dresses and jewelry without Tula’s or Ian’s
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about a first generation American, Tula’s, difficulty with being a healthy person who is able to embrace a sense of belonging to her family while establishing a sense of separateness and individuality (Bitter, 2014). Although Tula’s family immigrated to America in order to provide a better …show more content…
When Tula or her younger brother, Nikki, attempted to suggest a positive change in the business, Gus quickly disregarded the idea. This is an example of a multigenerational transmission in process where the poor differentiation of the father is passed along from generation to generation (Bitter, 2014). However, Tula’s mother, Maria, exhibited a little bit of an understanding and desire for her children to have healthy differentiation. She recognized Tula’s desire to gain a greater education and intervened on Tula’s behalf. The relationship between Tula, Gus and Maria is reflective of triangulation although not necessarily a negative triangulation. Tula and Gus’s relationship is dominated by Gus’s goals and desires for the family. The triangulation occurs several times during the movie when Maria is brought in as a third party to diffuse the situation as well as encourage understanding between to the parties (Bitter, 2014). Fortunately, Maria’s positive intentions and wisdom prevent the triangulation from becoming a negative relationship between the three …show more content…
Gus settled into a depression. He felt he was disrespected and punished because his daughter was not marrying a Greek man. Tula’s actions threatened a change in the family’s pattern that he worked very hard to maintain. He did not want his children to be different from him. The extended family’s emotional fusion was evident and amplified by how they took over Tula and Ian’s wedding planning. The extended family planned the ceremony, reception, ordered the invitations, bridesmaid dresses and jewelry without Tula’s or Ian’s