2nd Period's Backchannel by Lucero Augustine

262petersonf2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:28:15 UTC

I really appreciate Harry's reference to the death of Gogol's father, I'd like to add the notion that it takes a tragedy to prompt change. Genuinely a very interesting and intentional plot point that was well written in the film.

Jill does a great job of adding on and talking about how their in charge of there traditions.

2023-10-31 14:29:29 UTC

262petersonf2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:31:55 UTC

Jake, I disagree. I think that the Namesake was more straightforward/objective and hence it seems to present more information. The surreality and subtleness in the panels of The Arrival are worth noting rather than disregarding. The protagonist was pressured to assimilate through the cruelties of human nature and the isolation he faced (first panel when he arrives)

Frankie talking about assimilation and culture represents how Halloween candy doesn't assimilate with salad. Its a great synonym and represents deep and strong lululemon pants

2023-10-31 14:38:03 UTC

262petersonf2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:41:25 UTC

Harry- I can't entirely agree. I believe Sonya's dedication to/obsession with French literature references part of the French colonization of India (later taken over by the English). Rituals such as afternoon tea or the over-romanticization of European literature are inherited from colonists. This illustrates how they were forced to assimilate into their own culture in addition to the U.S.

I agree with Libby, his name is a symbol of his father is a sense.

262sadeghianb2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:44:28 UTC

2023-10-31 14:44:50 UTC

Adding on to Sam, I think he was pressured to assimilate only because of teenage American standards, not from all of America, as later in life, he uses his full name and gets no judge in embracing it as he is older and professional.

2023-10-31 14:45:02 UTC

I agree with Libby because Gogol's change in name preference is a symbol for his affection for his home culture.

Gogol tried to assimilate, and was very distant from his original culture until his adulthood.

262sadeghianb2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:45:57 UTC

2023-10-31 14:46:30 UTC

I agree with Gwyneth, I think he mostly wanted to fit in during high school and then just had that trauma later on that he had to fit in.

I agree with Frankie, there is an unspoken societal system in lots of cultures.

262sadeghianb2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:47:10 UTC

2023-10-31 14:47:40 UTC

I mildly disagree with Frankie. I do think he was pressured to change his name, but I think that was not from the school system but the people and classmates at school who made fun of his culture.

People are just naturally pressured to pressure others.

262sadeghianb2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:48:37 UTC

2023-10-31 14:49:16 UTC

I agree that America is a very independent country, but I think due to opportunity of keeping culture one can find a community anywhere.

The Man in arrival needed to assimilate to get a job and make money for himself.

262sadeghianb2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:49:59 UTC

262shapiroh2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:50:15 UTC

I love Frankie's point. There isn't always a motive behind pressuring assimilation. It is human nature to feel most comfortable in a place/community most similar to that of yourself. People will always push for this sense of familiarity.

2023-10-31 14:50:50 UTC

Adding onto what Frankie said, we see that in The Arrival the man tries to fit in in many different ways. We see that he tries to get different jobs or find new people to have a connection with. We also see a page full of panels that show a zoom out from the mans photo of his family to the man's window and many more, showing how he is just one of many people trying to figure out who they are as a person.

Sincere

262shapiroh2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:51:20 UTC

Zoe - I think it becomes clear that he doesn't want assimilation at the end in EITHER story. Gogol chose to "convert" back to his home culture. The man in the arrival chose to recreate his home culture in a new place. I think this is an attempt preserving what they had at home.

The bright sky and light everywhere and things flying and clouds and wings are all heavenly symbols.

262sadeghianb2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:54:50 UTC

262shapiroh2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:55:19 UTC

I think that a cool thing that the Arrival does is highlight the foreign feeling of immigration by showing a version of a city that we know well but with slight differences. There are weird, unearthly animals seen around. The buildings don't look quite right. Interesting statues are seen at the entryway to the city. Everything is comparable to what we have here, yet slightly different. This is a minuscule scale version of what immigrants experience.

2023-10-31 14:56:50 UTC

I agree he most definitely overgeneralized the setting by calling it America. Big mistake luckily did not cost a goal because of the good defsnse

2023-10-31 14:56:59 UTC

I truly agree with Libby that the new land is like a new planet, alien-like, and unrecognisable. But this is an inevitable decision one knows before traveling to a new land.

262shapiroh2_1 — 2023-10-31 14:58:12 UTC

Kind of brought about by Frankie's point about whether or not we know this is America - I think it is ignorant AND arrogant to suspect that this is America. Immigration is all around the world. People struggle all around the world. This industrial world that Frankie says we see is present in all urban areas around the world. We have a very American centric worldly view and I think that that is a product of the very assimilation that we are all talking about right now. Nearly every person here is descended from immigrants and yet our views through the last generations have shifted so that we see the United States as the sole inheritor of immigrants and industrialization.