Intercultural Communication - Gavilan College



Intercultural Communication

Instructor: Ellen Waddell

Response Sheet #3

The Joy Luck Club

Film Reaction Paper

25 Points

The Joy Luck Club is a film about four women, who became friends over playing Mah-Jongg on a weekly basis in San Francisco, and their daughters. Through a series of flashbacks, these four young Chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past. This search will help them understand their difficult mother/daughter relationship. It takes the viewer back in time to show the lives the four women left in China, and the difficulties they experienced in the new land. The movie portrays the intergenerational and/or intercultural conflict between people who are caught between two cultures, trying to reconcile cultural roots, with wanting to fit into the American Dream. The women and their daughters experience problems as first-generation Americans with forebears from a very different culture.

The Joy Luck Club characters:

|The Mothers |The Daughters |

|Suyuan Woo |Jing-mei “June” Woo |

|An-mei Hsu |Rose Hsu Jordan |

|Lindo Jong |Waverly Jong |

|Ying-Ying St. Claire |Lena St. Claire |

Address the following in your response:

• What were the difficulties growing up as a Chinese-American and the problem of assimilation into the American culture/society?

• What are the cultural differences between how women are treated in America and China?

• What stereotypes were addressed in both the Chinese and American cultures? Give specific examples in the film.

• What did you learn about the Chinese culture after watching this film that you did not know prior to watching this film?

• How does the film reflect/fail to reflect your own identification with cultural issues?

• Can immigrants truly assimilate into the American culture? Is there a better way to integrate the diverse cultures that are present in our country today?

• What, if anything, will you change about your own behavior, attitude, thoughts about immigrants and their fusion into the American Culture?

Terms and concepts: Appropriate use of terms and concepts from text and lecture. Use of outside sources encouraged. You must use a minimum of three quotes from the class text for this paper.

Examples: Pertinent examples that illustrate your reactions (personal experiences, interviews, quotes, descriptions).

Organization: The response sheet must be in paper format (no emailed versions). It should be 2-3 pages in length, use a font no larger than 12 pt, and margins set at 1”. The default setting is usually fine. Use double spaced paragraphs. Your response should have a title, and introduction, thesis statement, body, and conclusion.

Spelling and Grammar: As this is a college course, correct spelling and grammar are essential to the end result. Provide enough time to write and reflect on your work, and use a final proofread for a polished college level written paper.

**no emailed copies, please. Good Luck!

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