Every family has its own beliefs and traditions, no matter how quirky or strange. But according to Toula Portokalos, the main character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, her family goes above and beyond all expectations of a normal and functional family. She wants to marry the man of her dreams, but she also must try to maintain her family traditions as well as break away and form new ones. This film proficiently portrays the functionality and struggles of family communication by means of Systems Theory, as well as fly through the creation of Toula and Ian’s relationship with the first six stages of the 12 Stages of Relationship Development, and finally the male and females roles and communication rules that members of a Greek family should uphold
…show more content…
Stage 1, Receptive to Possibilities, began when Ian and Toula first make eye contact when he passes her working at the travel agency. They held each other’s gaze for at least three seconds, which is one of Moore’s Nonverbal Signals of Flirting Communication, Lock and Lead. The nonverbal cues are crucial in this phase of development. Stage 2, Invitation, occurs when Ian finally enters the travel agency and they introduce themselves, and he asks her to go out to dinner. Stage 3, Exploration, occurs on their many dinner dates, which Toula had told her family were “pottery classes.” They discuss things such as their families, which is difficult for Toula to talk about due to the fact that her family embarrasses her, evident by her hesitancy to even bring up the topic of family. Stage 4, Euphoria, occurs when their dates and make-out sessions become longer and longer, yet they try to forget that fact that Ian is not Greek and the family will not accept him. Stage 5, Revising and Reevaluating, occurs once the family realizes that Toula is dating a man who is not Greek. Because the family cannot persuade Toula to dump Ian and date a Greek man, they have no choice but to accept Ian, but only if he “becomes Greek.” Stage 6, Bonding, ends the 12 Stages due to the …show more content…
As stated in the film, Greek women are supposed to do three things in life, “Marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone.” Greek men on the other hand marry a Greek virgin, make Greek babies, provide for the family, and make all of the decisions. These are the traditional identities of Toula’s Greek family. Toula’s sister, Athena, is a prime example of the stereotypical Greek woman; she married young, has three boys, and even proceeds to go through an entire nine-month pregnancy throughout the course of the film. Toula, on the other hand, reaches 30 years old, still is not married, decides to attend college, and even marries a non-Greek man. While Toula struggles to maintain her identity as a traditional Greek woman, she also struggles to be her own person and develop her own identity by breaking her family’s stereotypes. According to “At times, different parts of your identity come into conflict with other parts of your identity, increasing the difficulty in communication.” (Ivy,
Stage 1, Receptive to Possibilities, began when Ian and Toula first make eye contact when he passes her working at the travel agency. They held each other’s gaze for at least three seconds, which is one of Moore’s Nonverbal Signals of Flirting Communication, Lock and Lead. The nonverbal cues are crucial in this phase of development. Stage 2, Invitation, occurs when Ian finally enters the travel agency and they introduce themselves, and he asks her to go out to dinner. Stage 3, Exploration, occurs on their many dinner dates, which Toula had told her family were “pottery classes.” They discuss things such as their families, which is difficult for Toula to talk about due to the fact that her family embarrasses her, evident by her hesitancy to even bring up the topic of family. Stage 4, Euphoria, occurs when their dates and make-out sessions become longer and longer, yet they try to forget that fact that Ian is not Greek and the family will not accept him. Stage 5, Revising and Reevaluating, occurs once the family realizes that Toula is dating a man who is not Greek. Because the family cannot persuade Toula to dump Ian and date a Greek man, they have no choice but to accept Ian, but only if he “becomes Greek.” Stage 6, Bonding, ends the 12 Stages due to the …show more content…
As stated in the film, Greek women are supposed to do three things in life, “Marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone.” Greek men on the other hand marry a Greek virgin, make Greek babies, provide for the family, and make all of the decisions. These are the traditional identities of Toula’s Greek family. Toula’s sister, Athena, is a prime example of the stereotypical Greek woman; she married young, has three boys, and even proceeds to go through an entire nine-month pregnancy throughout the course of the film. Toula, on the other hand, reaches 30 years old, still is not married, decides to attend college, and even marries a non-Greek man. While Toula struggles to maintain her identity as a traditional Greek woman, she also struggles to be her own person and develop her own identity by breaking her family’s stereotypes. According to “At times, different parts of your identity come into conflict with other parts of your identity, increasing the difficulty in communication.” (Ivy,