My Big Fat Greek Wedding Essay

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Characterization: Gus Portokalos
In the movie, ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, Gus Portokalos is the father of the main character, Toula Portokalos, and is the patriarch of the Portokalos family. He is portrayed as a man who has a lot of pride for his country and can be ethnocentric if his ideas are different from others. He wants Toula to marry a Greek man and doesn’t want Toula to leave him. However, Toula falls in love with a non-greek man, Ian. This causes Gus to show ethnocentrism towards Ian because of their different cultures. Even so, Gus accepts Toula’s marriage to Ian and even buys them a house in the end.
Gus is characterized as an ethnocentric man who loves his country through his actions in the story. For example, when Toula starts dating Ian, a non-greek man, he disapproves of the couple and introduces Toula to many Greek men to try to entice her into marrying a Greek man. However, this plan fails and Toula ends up marrying Ian in the end. Another example is Gus’s house. His house is modeled after the Greek
Parthenon, with a big flag of Greece on his garage door. This shows that Gus is very proud of his country and his cultures. Gus’s actions characterize him as a man who is very proud of his country.
We can also see Gus’s ethnocentrism and his love for Greece through what he says in the movie. For example, the quote, “ There are two kinds of people - Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek.” shows his belief that Greeks and their culture are the best, and also shows his pride for his country. Another quote that characterizes Gus is the quote, “Now, gimme a word, any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word is Greek.”. This quote shows Gus’s pride for his Greece as well as his belief that Greek culture is the root of many things in other cultures. One quote that shows his belief that Greek culture created many things is, “Kimono, kimono, kimono. Ha! Of course! Kimono is come from the Greek word himona, is mean winter. So, what do you wear in the wintertime to stay warm? A robe. You see: robe, kimono. There you go!”. Gus is able to find a root word in Greek for a Japanese word, kimono. Gus’s personality is shown through his speech throughout the movie.
Gus’s effect on others characterizes him throughout the movie.
One person that Gus affects a lot is Toula’s partner, Ian Miller. Because Toula’s parents wanted Ian and Toula to marry at a Greek- Orthodox church, Ian converts to a Greek- Orthodox. Because Ian is getting married at a Greek- Orthodox church, Ian’s best friend Mike can not be his best man because he is not Greek Orthodox. Another person Gus effects is Toula. Toula feels pressured to marry a Greek man and give birth because of her father’s wishes for her to marry a Greek man. Gus’s character is described through his effect that he has on others.
In conclusion, Gus Portokalos’ actions, speech, and effect on others throughout the movie, ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ characterizes him as a man who has a lot of pride for his country, Greece, and believes that Greeks are the best. Although he can be ethnocentric at times, he still has a lot of love for his
family.