Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: she don’t wanna get married!

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnm9KYyc0B8&NR=1&feature=endscreen

This clip is from the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'.  In it, the Greek extended family is discussing the future of the unmarried daughter of one of the main characters.  Although the young woman is a Greek American, the family suggests sending her to Greece, their homeland, to find a husband.  They are concerned about her increasing age and lack of eligibility for marriage.  The daughter has shown no interest in going to Greece or even looking for a husband.  The family is so shocked by the realization that she might not want to get married that they cross themselves, as if hoping the religious gesture will protect them from such a perverse idea.   

The student language levels required for this clip are not as demanding as the concepts behind the humour and the cultural values.  The scaffolding required to understand these concepts through the medium of English and the ability to later discuss the clip does demand that learners have at least intermediate levels of English.
A lead-in activity could be a discussion about attitudes to marriage, or perhaps more relevant to the clip a comparison in attitude between first generation immigrants and their children who are born into a different culture, as is the case for the daughter in this movie.

Click here to buy the DVD My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 

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