In America
[Rating: 7.5/10] I saw "In America" [IMDB] last week - a movie about an Irish immigrant family eking out a living in New York. It was a simple story line, polished to Hollywood perfection. The hardship of a talented, out-of-work actor working odd jobs. A loving and adjusting wife pregnant with hope and desire. And two adorable young daughters - one young and wise, the other younger and naïve - surviving in heat and Halloween.
Dirty Pretty Things with Audrey Tautou (of Amelie fame), another tale of illegals - this time in the seedy underbelly of London - was too fantastic to believe. The harshness of multiple jobs, sleep deprivation, organ selling, forced sex - all seemed too alien (pun intended) and pitiful. One felt sorry for these folks like one feels sorry for starving Africans - on a humanitarian, yet detached level. In America had characters and situations that were more approachable, more identifiable. In a country peopled mostly by immigrants, this would strike a strong chord.
As a potential immigrant, I realize how easy the current immigration generation has had it compared to previous generations. Coming here on student or work visas, we land cushy jobs (even a ‘low paying’ job is about twice the average US household income), and work our way through Green Cards and Mortgages. None of the segregationist, cultural, and economic issues early Indians had to face. But then, life has improved in all spheres in the past generation - why should this be any different?
Dirty Pretty Things with Audrey Tautou (of Amelie fame), another tale of illegals - this time in the seedy underbelly of London - was too fantastic to believe. The harshness of multiple jobs, sleep deprivation, organ selling, forced sex - all seemed too alien (pun intended) and pitiful. One felt sorry for these folks like one feels sorry for starving Africans - on a humanitarian, yet detached level. In America had characters and situations that were more approachable, more identifiable. In a country peopled mostly by immigrants, this would strike a strong chord.
As a potential immigrant, I realize how easy the current immigration generation has had it compared to previous generations. Coming here on student or work visas, we land cushy jobs (even a ‘low paying’ job is about twice the average US household income), and work our way through Green Cards and Mortgages. None of the segregationist, cultural, and economic issues early Indians had to face. But then, life has improved in all spheres in the past generation - why should this be any different?
