8/20/2019 Cross Cultural Understanding in English Vinglish Movie

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T. Muhammad Abrar

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Cross Cultural Understanding in English Vinglish Movie

English Vinglish movie is the story about Shashi, a woman who doesnt !now English

well. Shashi"s English s!ills are #oor, whi$h #rom#ted the relentless mo$!ing by her husband

%Sathish& and daughter %'a#tna&. The movie have two #lots, (irst #lot too! #la$e in india and

$entered on the lives o( Shashi and her (amily and the other #lot too! #la$e in Ameri$a when

shashi traveled by hersel( to )ew *or! +ity to hel# her sister #re#are wedding o( her daughter. n

this movie, language and $ulture are very #arti$ular shown by the main a$tor Shashi. The movie

re#resented $ulture o( india through (ood, dan$e, song, uni(orm, and language. Shashi as ndian

wi(e $an ma!e a deli$ious (ood $alled -ladoo an ndian dessert made (rom (lour and sugar. And

she also sells this (ood (or #eo#le around his house. n getting dress, Shashi always wears -sari

as her dress although she is in )ew *or!.

n the movie, Shashi (inds hersel( being an ob/e$t o( her husband%Sathish&, who has little

res#e$t (or her real talent and also her daughter %'a#tna& who (eels ashamed to her be$ause

$annot s#ea! English. 0ender atmos#here in this movie is intensely a##earing when Shashi said

in s$ene %17& -when a man $oo!s, it"s art, but when a woman $oo!s, it"s her duty. As

though, $oo!ing is an obligatory (or a woman not a man.

4urthermore, there are some im#ortant s$enes that #ortrayed in this movie. 4irst is when

Shashi s#o!e to 'a#tna"s English tea$her about hers daughter English #er(orman$e %153&. n

that time, Shashi so nervous be$ause she $annot s#ea! English, so she as!ed the tea$her to s#ea! 

hindi. 6hat ha##ened is so irony, the tea$her $an s#ea! English (luently but he $annot s#ea! 

hindi and he said sorry to Shashi. n this s$ene shows us that how $an a #erson who $ame (rom

ndia more understand a (oreign language than their own language. 'ightly, we must learn our 

mother language be(ore /um#ing to (oreign language. Se$ond is when Shashi went to get her 

 #ass#ort %25.2&, the Ameri$an man wor!ing at the des! as!ed her be$ause Shashi $annot

understand English well, -ow will you manage in our $ountry without !nowing English8

Then, another ndian wor!er res#onded by saying, -how do you manage in our $ountry without

!nowing indi8 +omments li!e this in the movie allowed the audien$e to !now that the #ower 

o( language is very im#ortant, it $an in(luen$e everything. Then, the last interesting s$ene is

when Shashi was unable to order his (ood in the line at a restaurant and the $a(9 wor!er had little

understanding o( what Shashi was going through. This s$ene tea$hes us how im#ortant to !now

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the ba$!ground or the $ulture o( the #la$e we stay. :y !nowing the $ulture o( di((eren$e #la$e we

$an easily ada#t with new $ir$umstan$es.

Then, in this movie also #ortrayed the theory o( salad bowl o( $ulture assimilation

 between Ameri$a and ndia than $an been seen in Shashi sister"s (amily last s$ene %1;5&

even though their (amily live in Ameri$a and they dressed li!e Ameri$ans, but they do not

$om#letely (ollow the Ameri$an style, they still maintain their own $ulture su$h as the use o( 

indigenous ndian on wedding #ro$ession.