"Amreeka" – An American’s Film Club Experience in Goa

June 15th, 2011

Last night I attended my first film screening for a local and seemingly thriving film club in Goa. The film of the night was “Amreeka;” the story of the personal struggles faced by a Palestinian woman and her son who immigrate to the United States. It is important to note that this is not a story about refugees, despite the abhorrent truth that Palestinians are virtually refugees in their own homes. In “Amreeka,” the characters are most certainly agents in their circumstances.

The film has an extremely narrow geographical focus in a distant and rather undefined suburb of Chicago. More narrow however, is the film’s spotlight on Arab-American relations. It is the stereotypical type caste of racist Muslim hating U.S. citizens and the plight of an Arab family who clings to their customs and traditions. But of course the film does not miss the opportunity to grant small parts to characters who dispel the stereotypes – as if the plotline required the token gesture. Don’t get me wrong, the story is compelling; anyone who has displaced him or herself can identify. Homesickness. Self-doubt. Culture shock. Confusion.

Humorous mishaps in adaptation.

The film is filled with fairly subtle and generally funny US cultural references. For instance, that there is an unspoken hierarchy in fast food restaurants; Wendy’s is more acceptable than White Castle. Or the hilarious herbal weight loss craze that feeds infomercials and pyramid schemes and inevitably “fat” people. Or the quintessential line of the high school dropout about getting a GED. And for the most part, I was one of few in the room to giggle at those references. But when the film was done and the discussion began, there was no lack of conviction about who an “American” is or what “America” is like.

The room was tight, with more than 20 people sitting on chairs and couches and cushions on the floor. I was the only American. And I do not make the mistake of overlooking America as inclusive of Central and South America as many of my peers did this evening. In fact, in my observation of the heated post-film conversation, “America” and “American” are casually perceived as monolithic entities to describe the United States and those – presumably white – people who hold the USA as their nationality. I regret that Latin Americans were simply not represented, mentioned nor considered, even in the context of a an argument about immigration.

I am the first to criticize US politics and hegemony. I am not shy to speak up about racism, discrimination, sexism and consumer culture. But, the United States is a vastly diverse country. A benign suburb of Chicago says nothing about Southern California beach life, New Orleans Cajun history, Rocky Mountain ski towns, vast Montana ranch land, Seattle sub-cultures, idiosyncratic New Jersey, the native South West, Mid-Western farm country or the colonial North East. And the people are as varied as the landscape.

As it seems, it is not – or perhaps no longer – only a western neo-colonial trait to categorize people in a flailing attempt to define them. And it wasn’t only Americans that were pigeonholed. One of my co-workers was branded as something quite precise because he is from Bangalore– although I have no idea what that means.

My point is this: If all Americans are like the assholes depicted in the film and the States are simply a scene of strip malls and chain restaurants, then all Muslims are terrorists and the Middle East is barren desert. Such limited thinking is a ridiculous waste of time.

What will it take to shift the paradigm away from us vs. them ideology? Is it possible to understand the self without pejoratively defining the other? Why do we insist on limiting our perceptions? Are we that lazy? Is global citizenship as a unifying worldview simply unattainable because nationalism is unabatedly tied to international systems of identity?

Failed. State. System.

I didn’t pose any of these questions last night; I simply felt humbly outnumbered and timid about a potential debate. So unlike me. Perhaps it’s best, I would hate to re-enforce the “pushy American” type caste. Yet, much to my chagrin, I may have promoted the “stupid American” one. I suppose we will see what the film is next week.

Peace and Love. For Everyone.