In the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" there is a lot of different types of communication. The one that stands out the most, I believe is Culture. Through out the movie, you are reminded of the Greek ways, verbally and nonverbally.
The main characters in the movie are Toula, her parents Gus and Maria, and her new love interest Ian. Toula is the youngest daughter in a large Greek family; this story follows her upbringing in the Greek culture.
Gus and Maria believe strongly in the Greek Culture and raise their children and grandchildren on those beliefs. The Greek culture is a masculine culture, where men are viewed as assertive, strong, and orientated to material success, while woman are viewed as modest, and tender. Ian is a teacher at a local high school, his ethnic background is not clear.
Throughout the movie Gus is always reminding us that all words originate from the Greek language. He uses this form of communication, as a way of demonstrating to others that the Greek culture should be respected for its contributions to all languages. .
Toula was not well accepted by other students in her school, because of her ethnic background. It wasn't until about the age of thirty that Toula began to assert her independence from her strong willed father. She began taking courses at a local college, to better educate herself. This was not the norm for a woman in a masculine culture. During this time she became more confident and outgoing. She became more aware of her self-image, and strived to improve it. The improvement in her self-image was so drastic, that she was no longer shunned by her peers. She takes a job at her aunt's travel agency, here she is able to continue to build her self confidence through interpersonal communication with customers online and on the phone. It is while she is working at the travel agency that she meets Ian. Ian uses nonverbal communication to get her attention. Toula smiles in response which is a form of Kinesics (affect display) showing Ian that she likes what he is doing.
