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  • Essay / Joel Zwick's The Great Greek Wedding: A Look at Obedience and Disobedience to Principles

    Table of ContentsExamplesFindingsChangesThe Family: A Proclamation to the World describes the divinely upheld principles that parents should implement in their family. These principles are not always reflected in the media today. In the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), they obey some principles and disobey others. These things ultimately have good results for the main character, but not very good results for his relationship with his parents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayThe basic plot of the film is that the main character, Toula Portokalos, comes from a high-spirited and deeply-loving Greek family. rooted in the Greek language. tradition and culture. When Toula wants to get an education instead of running the family restaurant and marry a non-Greek (Ian Miller), her father (Gus) and mother (Maria) fight hard at first, but eventually accept the educational directions of Tula. and romantic desires. ExamplesThe Proclamation states that parents have the responsibility to “teach their children to observe the commandments of God” (¶6, The Family Proclamation). In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the Portokalos family obeys this principle. An example of this in the film is that they attend church regularly. They also observe the commandment of baptism. Gus insists that Ian be baptized so that he and Toula can get married in their Greek Orthodox church. Regular church attendance and baptism are commandments of God, and many denominations follow these commandments. Another principle of the Family Proclamation is to “teach [children] to love and serve one another” (¶6, The Family Proclamation). Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “love is truly written time, time” (Uchtdorf, 2010). In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the Portokalos family follows this principle with a strong emphasis on time spent together as a family. Two examples in the film are that they frequently have family reunions and always invite their extended family to their events, such as when Ian's parents come to their house for dinner. Another example is that they have family dinner together every night. And when Toula and Ian finally get married, the whole family is there to support them. Loving and serving siblings and family members spend time with each other and build friendships. The Proclamation also states that “parents have the sacred duty to raise their children in love and righteousness” (¶6, The Family Proclamation). In the film, Gus and Maria Portokaulous obey this principle in some ways. At the end of the film, they ultimately support Toula in her efforts and aspirations in education and love life. One of the best ways for parents to show their children love is to support them in their choices. They also exhibit this principle when Maria defends Toula by working with Gus to overcome her apprehensions and get her an education. Maria shows her love for Toula by being her advocate and fighting for her goals and dreams as fiercely as if they were her own. These are some characteristics of authoritarian parenting. Authoritative parenting includes “expression of warmth, affection, and responsiveness” and “involvement in the child’s life” (Nelson, 2016). However, the Portokaulos also disobeyed the principle of "raising children in love and righteousness" in other ways. , particularly in their parental habits. They showed somecharacteristics of authoritarian parenting, but most of the time they used an overly considerate parenting style. Overly concerned parenting involves “not allowing children to make decisions for themselves; not allowing children to try new things; and encourage dependence on parents” (Nelson, 2016). Gus was extremely reluctant to accept Toula's decisions regarding his education and loving life. He didn't want her to try new things by not letting her go to college, because he wanted her to continue to depend on him to run her restaurant. He wanted Toula “never to leave him” (Zwick, 2002). The Portokalos family also disobeys the principle of the Proclamation which states that "fathers and mothers are obligated to assist each other as equal partners" (¶7, The Family Proclamation). Gus and Maria aren't doing a very good job. Gus repeatedly states that he is the "head of the house", that he makes all the decisions no matter what he says, and that the man is the smarter and more competent one in a traditional relationship. He obviously does not consider Maria as his equal, but as his subordinate. Maria doesn't see them as equals either. In one scene, she tells Maria that "the man has the head, but the woman is the neck." And she can turn her head however she wants” (Zwick, 2002). Even though she stands up for herself and tries to make up for Gus' difference in dominance, she still doesn't show that she wants to help him as an equal partner. Rather, she sees herself as a subordinate with the power to manipulate her husband to get what she wants. Results For the principle of “teaching children to obey God's commandments,” research shows that “adolescents who join a religious community are more likely to exhibit behavior consistent with positive moral values” (Hawkins, Dollhite & Draper, 2012 ). Religious involvement promotes “better academic performance, prosocial behavior and less delinquent behavior, lower levels of sexual activity and drug and alcohol use” (Hawkins et al, 2012). For the most part, the children of Portokalos fit this description. They all grew up to be honest, hardworking adults who didn't cause many problems. This probably came from their deep-rooted religious roots that their parents instilled in them. If people learned from this movie that religiosity is good, then more people would reap the benefits of religious practices and internalize the principles of good morality. Research shows that the results of frequent family meals are “decreased substance use, smoking, sexual promiscuity, alcohol consumption.” , and delinquency such as theft, vandalism, shoplifting, and violence” (L. Nelson, lecture course, SFL 100, winter 2016). In the movie, again, none of their children smoked, drank, did drugs, or were delinquent. This was probably due to their emphasis on family cohesion. If people learned from this movie that they should have family meals more often, there would be fewer of these delinquent acts and addictions in the world. The results of “raising children in love and righteousness” are many. This principle of proclamation can also be described as authoritative parenting. Authoritative parenting has many positive outcomes for children, including: social and moral maturity, academic achievement and educational attainment, and less traditional gender behavior. Toula showed these results in her love life; she was very.