In America

In the film, “In America” it is about an Irish family that moves to America and all the obstacles they experience. In this film there are two young girls who are getting to know the ways of America along with their family. In their past they have had to deal with death and being poor, which is universal. The movie also had things that related to the Irish culture and how they didn’t know what trick-o-treating was. It showed that there are things that are universal, which would be death and not having enough money. It also showed things such as not understanding the seasons and how much it was going to affect them. This also showed their belief in spirits and how a certain spirit gave one of the girl’s three wishes.

When watching this movie I realized I enjoyed watching this as a foreign film. It made me understand how much a family can struggle while moving into America. I liked the aspect of showing a different culture and the ways they handled spiritual things. There were parts when the younger girl could wish for something, but she had to be careful with her wishes and make sure they wouldn’t affect her family. Along with this they met a man named Mateo, who was very spiritual and connected with the family. I found it interesting to learn about each different person and how they were affected.

The things I found confusing about this film was their accents, sometimes it was hard for me to follow what they were talking about. I would get confused by listening to the film rather than focusing on what was happening. They would also do things different things such as make their own clothing or act differently in public. There was a part where they made their own costumes and everyone in the school made fun of them. This made the two girls feel unaccepted, which was something that they only showed once in the film. This confused me because I felt like it should have showed how they girls would learn to adapt to America. I enjoyed this as a foreign film and found it enjoyable. I think that it really shows how different cultures can be, but how many emotions are universal .

Earthquake and Emotions

                When looking up world news in Japan, I came across an article about an earthquake. It showed that in Japan there was a large earthquake that hit and injured twenty two people. The article talks about how it was a 6.3 quake. When reading this article I thought about the book we are reading in world literature. It is called, “The Waiting Years” written by Fumiko Enchi. In this book it discusses emotions and how in Japan people have different emotions, however emotions are universal. In the book the characters express their emotions differently. The wife is going out to look for a “maid” for her husband, someone who he would enjoy to look at and be with. This shows that the wife has to be strong willed. Along with this the there are concubines in this book. It shows an emotion for us while reading it and learning about new culture. This effects different cultures when reading the book, some will have a stronger emotional connection, while others might feel sad for these wives.  

                The main thing I picked out while reading this book was emotion and how emotion is universal, yet each culture has its own type. When the main character talks about concubines and looking for maids for her husband she keeps her emotion inside. In different countries threw out the world it would be bad to show that type of emotion. I think that Fumiko Enchi wants people to understand the culture difference along with the emotional difference. When I found the article about the earthquake in Japan I thought about how Japan is affected by it, but so are the other countries. When a disaster hits some where everyone is willing to help out. This shows that the emotion of a disaster will be universal allowing everyone to help out. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/japan-earthquake-2013-several-injured_n_3074014.html