Immigrant Film Analysis

This assignment is created for any college-level composition course but could also be modified for literature courses.

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About the Film Genre
Feature films can provide a valuable window onto human experiences that parallel or differ from our own. Although popular films tend to be formulaic, with stereotyped stock characters, they can personalize experiences by using individual characters to illustrate common societal phenomena. It is important to keep in mind that a film is the filmmaker’s interpretation of facts. However, filmmakers also have the freedom to explore and reveal issues that others sometimes avoid.

In recent years, many films have examined the human impact of immigration, focusing on such themes as the plight of undocumented immigrants, culture shock, competition/conflict between ethnic groups, problems of cultural, educational, and linguistic adjustment, xenophobia, and the generation gap among immigrants and their children.

Developing “Visual Literacy”
Reading films can be a complex task. Don’t attempt to understand or explain the entire film at once. Keep your focus manageable – concentrate on one issue and focus on a small group of characters or even just one character.

Before Viewing the Film

Know Your Assignment
This assignment asks you to explore how immigrants are portrayed in contemporary films. You can focus on one character or a group of characters – whichever makes sense to you within the film’s context.

Learning Audit
For about 10 minutes, reflect informally in writing what you already know about immigration and immigrant experiences in the U.S. or elsewhere. Write down anything that comes to mind – observations, first-hand experiences, news headlines, or questions you have about the topic.

Key Word and Terms
With a partner or in a small group, discuss the definitions of the following words and term. Feel free to add additional key words to the list: immigration, migration, refugee, legal/illegal alien, culture shock, assimilation, acculturation, xenophobia, and ethnocentrism.

Recommended resources
· Hirsch, E.D., et al., eds. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Third Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
· Glossary of Immigration Terms (U.S. Immigration Support)
· Many universities and colleges have excellent overviews of intercultural communication terms and concepts for students studying abroad and for incoming exchange students. University of Wisconsin Madison Student Services website for incoming students is one good example.

During the Film

Note Taking
Take careful notes of details that capture your attention, and write down questions about anything that puzzles you. It is often a good idea to review the film, or parts of it, twice to get a better understanding of what you have seen and heard.

Guiding Questions
To help you stay focused on the topic of immigrant experiences, use the following questions as a guide (and feel free to add more questions to the list):

• How does the film dramatize the subject of immigration?
• How are the immigrants depicted?
• How do the immigrants and the original members of their new community interact with each other, and why?
• What kinds of cultural or ideological exchanges occur between the newcomers and the original members of the community? Are they positive or negative, or both?
• What kinds of internal conflicts, if any, exist within the immigrant community, and why?
• How do the immigrants acclimate to life their new life in _________?
• Is assimilation and acculturation depicted positively, negatively, or with mixed emotions?
• How do the immigrants contribute to their new community? For example, do they contribute to their new community’s artistic or social revitalization?
• Does the film's portrayal of immigration seem accurate and realistic?

After the Film

Prewriting Reflection
To clarify, further develop, and organize your thoughts, spend some time reflecting on your film notes and soliciting feedback on particular points or ideas. This can be done in various ways, for example by employing dialog journals (i.e. exchanging journal notes with classmates and writing follow-up observations each other’s entries), discussion in small or large groups, or “first impression” memos addressed to the instructor or a classmate.

Then formulate a clear, manageable thesis statement about some specific aspect of how immigrants are portrayed in the film. It might be helpful to formulate your thesis as an answer to a particular question (such as one of the guiding questions). You could also try to summarize your thoughts about the film with a one-word description and use that as a starting point. Remember to stay focused on the film’s portrayal of immigrants – do not discuss the topic in general terms only, removed from the film.

Writing
Follow the guidelines for your film analysis assignment. In a nutshell, avoid plot summary. Make your own specific observation or claim about how immigrants are portrayed in the film, and support your thesis with specific, vivid examples from the film. If the assignment asks you to use additional resources as support, select evidence that clearly and interestingly supports your point. Cite the primary source and, if applicable, the additional sources using the MLA style.

Choose one film from the following list:

Bend It Like Beckham. Dir. Gurinder Chadha. DVD. Searchlight, 2002.This is a story about a daughter of strict Indian Sikh immigrants living in Britain. Jess is a very gifted football, or soccer, player – much to her parents’ dismay!

A Day Without a Mexican. Dir. Sergio Arau. DVD. Altavista Films, 2004.
This is a “mockumentary” exploring how life would change if the Latino population of California would suddenly not be there.

La Tragedia de Macario. Dir. Pablo Veliz. DVD. 2005.
In this film, a couple is drawn to the U.S. to find a better life for his wife. Joined by his best friend, the two set out on the dangerous journey undertaken by so many each year. In Spanish, with subtitles.

Maria Full of Grace. Dir. Joshua Marston. DVD. Fineline, 2004.
This is a film about a young Columbian woman, who at the age of 17 is tempted by a stylish and charismatic man to travel to America as a mule for the dangerous drug underworld.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Dir. Joel Zwick. DVD. IFC Films, 2002.
This is a story about a dutiful 30-year-old daughter who works in the family-owned Greek diner. She meets and falls in love with Ian Miller - not the nice Greek boy her family had in mind for her.

The Namesake. Dir. Mira Nair. DVD. 2006.
Based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, this is a tale of a first generation son of traditional, Indian immigrant parents and his attempts to straddle two worlds gracefully.

Quinceanera. Dir. Richard Glazer and Wash Westmoreland. Sony, 2007.
This is a film about a pregnant teenager and her cousin and life in their Los Angeles neighborhood.

Romantico. Dir. Mark Becker. DVD. Meteor Films, 2005.
This is a tale of two Mariachi musicians who come to San Francisco, trying to make a better life for themselves and scrape out a living. Eventually, one of them has to return to Mexico to care for his ailing mother.

Saving Face. Dir. Alice Wu. DVD. Sony Classics, 2004.
This is the story of a lesbian, Chinese-American doctor in Manhattan and her pregnant, unmarried mother. The film faces taboos and the clash between first and second-generation immigrants.

Spanglish. Dir. James L. Brooks. DVD. Columbia Pictures, 2004.
This is a film about a Mexican mother who enters the U.S. with her young daughter seeking a better life. It is a story about assimilation, providing lessons on tolerance for the misguided but good intentions of immigrants as well as the Americans who employ and befriend them.

Sweet Land. Dir. Ali Selim. DVD. 2006.
Based on Will Weaver's short story, "A Grave Made of Wheat,” this film is a flashback to 1920s Minnesota, when Lars Torvik's grandparents met on their wedding day that wasn't. It is the story of how the American heartland was settled by immigrants.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Dir. Tommie Lee Jones. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2005.
This is a film about a friendship between a Texas cowboy and his best friend, Melquiades, who has illegally crossed the border for work.