My Family or Mi Familia is distinctively Hispanic but at the same is representative of the experience of many ethnic communities in the United States. In the review made by Ebert (1995) when the movie was released, he noted that one of the appeals of the movie is that the characters represent intimate portraits of people who are part of the viewer’s and experiences that are similar to one’s own family history. The underlying message focuses on cultural identity and amidst various social crises that challenge the preservation of culture and heritage. The struggle presented in the movie is not a new proposition.
According to Johnson (2006), the scenario of the movie is one of the most iconic when migration, intermarriage, class struggle, gender and family roles are also involved. Each of the three generations presented in the story had their own unique struggle which further highlights the significance of culture and family to social development. Regardless of the time period being portrayed, there are elements that remain constant: family, tradition and identity. What stops the film from being trite is the effective characterization of each generation that is evident in the language, scenarios and settings.In hindsight, the movie has no motivation to encourage audiences to create profound interpretation of the movie. The narrative style is straightforward and beyond the cultural references and characterized gestures can easily be reflected on the cultural experience of other ethnic and cultural groups.
Neuliep (2006) points out that these parallelisms are not a coincidence but can be considered expected by any culture or ethnicity that is challenged to assimilate new culture while at the same time relies on tradition and heritage as an identity anchor.Though the movie does not require a great deal of knowledge of Mexican lore to be appreciated, awareness of related issues are the elements that cement the movie’s essential value. Gregory Nava’s direction of the movie reflects his intent not to lecture or romanticize the characters’ experience but to appreciate it realistically and to develop insights to cultural factors that drive not just personal experience but also the collective social experience.When the film was first released, it was considered a landmark since there were no major productions tackling the issues in such a style before that was for general patronage. In contrast to similarly themed movies released most recently, some would consider it as bland: movie trends today favor darker representations of the situations presented by the movie.
However, there is an undeniable credibility to the movie because of its reliance on viewer’s personal reflection and inference of the experiences of the characters.More than putting viewers into the shoes of the characters, the movie challenges audience to realize the significance of the issues into their own context. The challenge is not just in being sympathetic to the characters or empathizing with them, one is asked how the experience is continuing to motivate not only Hispanics but the rest of society as well. Beyond the emotional content and the controversial social issues that My Family, audiences are challenged to reevaluate their role in the cultural and ethnic issues that exists in society: realizing that we are both product and cause of these conflicts.
Johnson (2006) provides a unique support to the significance of the film to Mexican community in saying that the construction of the Hispanic identity is both a product of traditions that trace to Spanish colonization but at the same time, there is also an active effort to go beyond the colonial identity that prevails. In conclusion, compared to more gritty movies dealing with culture and ethnic issues today, My Family can not be seen as cutting edge film but considering it in the context of its first release, there no doubt of the social and cultural value of the film.
