Multiculturalism In The Film Spanglish

“Spanglish” is a movie that carries a cross-cultural issue in the United States between the upper-class Caucasian and the Hispanic. The white upper-class is represented by the Clasky family, and the Hispanic side is represented by Flor Moreno and her daughter, Cristina. The film does a good job in carrying the issue of multiculturalism in the United States, and the main conflict is the struggle of maintaining identity in a multicultural society. The struggle of maintaining an authentic Hispanic culture is seen through the character, Flor. Also embedded in this film are obvious Latin-American stereotypes that are being exploited. I will elaborate the portrayal of Flor’s effort in keeping her only daughter, Christina, to stay authentic as well …show more content…
While the Clasky family lives in a big, beautiful Los Angeles house, Flor and her daughter, who illegally immigrated to the United States, share a small flat. Their flat is located in a Hispanic community and they also live with their family. The importance of being authentic is seen by what Flor does for a living in the United States. She never leaves the Hispanic environment and works at a laundry mat in the neighborhood. There are so many Hispanic props and writings in Spanish that can be seen. Flor feels very much at home and happily interacts with the people, speaking Spanish. She works two jobs, and although she keeps her spirits high, they take a toll on her. She cannot help but worry about Cristina. The worry of supporting her daughter finally prompted her to leave the community and she accepted the house keeping job with the Clasky’s. This shows that she is dedicated to her community and wants to stay as close to it as …show more content…
She did not have to understand the words to know what was going on. If she had to call 911, all she needed to do was press two for Spanish. The fact that there was a huge language barrier shows how much body language and tone contribute to successful communication. For example, Deborah’s daughter is stereotypically overweight. When she makes her daughter feel bad because of her size, Flor immediately grasps what is happening. She did not understand the words but she understood the tone and behavior. She may have picked up on the situation, but she was only able to help and give comfort when Christina taught her a few English phrases. From this day on, Flor continued to feel as though she had to interfere with the family affairs. However, to do so, she would have to learn English. The feeling that she needs to learn English in order to connect further increases her struggle to stay