The Namesake

The movie, The Namesake, did an excellent job of exploring relationships between first and second-generation immigrants. The story follows a new couple who moves from India to America after marrying. The husband, Ashoke, has already lived in America but his wife, Ashima, has never seen America before. She is used to being surrounded by family, friends, and the culture of her home in India. The movie shows her home in India as being rich with vibrant colors, fabrics, and music. It also shows how the social culture in India is different. Her marriage was arranged and the movie also hints at the differences between social interactions in India and America. There is much more respect and importance placed on interactions between younger and older generations in India. This becomes a problem later in the movie, as her children are raised in America, where there is a not a big emphasis on how to address elders. The movie shows the streets of India, which are much different than America. The streets are crowded with many people traveling by different forms, such as bikes. The streets also have vendors and people playing music. When Ashima comes to America, it is a complete culture shock. Not only is she apart from her family, she also has to integrate into a culture she has never experienced before. The movie shows how Ashima felt completely isolated, and her feelings are justified due to the differences in her two lives. Her American life is a white walled apartment in the middle of a city she does not know how to navigate. Even the smallest of nuisances, for example how to eat cereal, are different for Ashima yet so important to her daily life.

When the couple has children, the identities become even more blurred. Their son, Gogol, is born in America, and therefore has a much better understanding of the sociocultural details of American life. He, himself, struggles with continuing his Indian identity in the face of American standards. This creates a distance between him and his parents however, as they identify with their Indian lifestyle first and their American lifestyle second. Gogol, like other children, wants to be a “normal” American child but he feels his Indian identity prevents him from fitting in. this leads him to reject many of the principles his parents accept, which causes tension in the relationship with his parents. He also does not understand Indian culture, as he has never lived there. This prevents the family from relating in some circumstances.

Before this movie, I did not realize how hard it is to be an immigrant. The combination of leaving everything familiar for the complete unfamiliar leads to a feeling of isolation. The movie also made me question the definition of home. Ashima felt like her home was in India, however she made all of her memories with her husband in America and so it also was a form of home. No matter where Ashima and Ashoke were, there was always a longing for a different place. This put a great emotional burden on them. The Namesake shed light on how hard it can be to transition from one culture to a different one.