Movies
There are quite a few movies about
mixed relationships. Many are romantic comedies, often
ending with a wedding. They always depict the problems
caused by different backgrounds and different cultures,
usually involving a clash between parents, who are still
firmly rooted in their "old" traditions, and
their offspring.
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My
Big Fat Greek Wedding
This often hilarious American movie
is about a girl from a Greek family living in
the US, who falls in love with an all-American
boy. When the heroine's father hears that she
is dating an American chap, he is - at first -
very much against: "Is he a nice Greek boy?
No, no Greek. No Greek! A xeno!"
Her father disapproves; he sees a different future
for his daughter, telling her: "Marry a Greek
boy, have Greek babies, and feed everyone."
But her mother Maria gradually brings daddie around
to grudging acceptance.
The main interest of the movie is
in the different cultural heritage and value systems.
The family-minded, "meddlesome"
Greeks and the "distant" and "unemotional"
American WASPs.
For a trailer of the movie, click
here.
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Bend it like
Beckham
... is a charming movie (2002) with a
curious title, obviously referring to football. David
Beckham himself makes a short appearance in it.
As Wikipedia
says:
Since its release,
the film has achieved a mild cult-like status. It
tells the tale of a young British Sikh girl who struggles
against her family's orthodox mindset to fulfil her
dream of playing professional football. The film's
title is a reference to the English footballer David
Beckham and his skill at scoring from free-kicks,
by bending the ball — making it swerve as it
flies through the air.
The girl's mother and father object to
the idea of their daughter running around bare-legged.
Fair enough: it can be cold in England. An extra problem
is that there is a budding romance between her and her
coach, a British chap.
A trailer of the movie can be found here.

Now do Exercise 3 and 4 in your workbook.

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