Our Family Wedding: Interracial Marriages

This is a really funny movie with lots of cultural capsules to explore. I used this one to talk about interracial marriages.




I. Work with a partner. Take turns asking each other the following questions:

1. How common are interracial marriages where you live?

2. Do you have anyone in your own family who married someone from another race? Talk about it.

3. Is there prejudice against this kind of marriage where you live?

4. What are the most common kinds of interracial marriages in your country?

5. Why do you think there is so much prejudice in families when a couple from different origins decide to get married?

 6. What are some of the adversities couples may face when they choose to marry someone from a different race? Discuss how these issues may interfere in an interracial marriage. Think about concrete examples:

VALUES (good or bad, right or wrong, true or false, important or unimportant. )

EATING HABITS (Food and drink does not only consists of what is going to be consumed, it also takes into account how the meal is prepared, what time the meal is served, where the meal is eaten, and how it is eaten. )

SEX (contraception, menstruation, masturbation, number and importance of children, virginity and chastity, family honor, machismo and femininity, hygiene, premarital relations, marital fidelity, sexual practices, homosexuality, incest, dating, dancing, romance, holding hands, using cosmetics, and the way an individual dresses)

GENDER ROLES (each individual holds different beliefs about how the other person should behave)

FRIENDS (difficulties in finding friends can arise because our society is not completely tolerant of interracial marriages, our society would rather keep each race to them selves. Same race marriages may become uncomfortable having friends of multiracial marriages because they do not have the same type of background and they are not living through the same experiences, they have a difficult time understanding each other)

IN-LAWS (Disapproving in-laws are an issue in the majority of interracial marriages. The problem with in-laws is that depending on their race; they hold different views regarding what rights they have over their children, even after their children marry.)

RAISING CHILDREN (The models of upbringing children vary from race to race, and deciding which method to use will become a problem for many multiracial couples. )



II. Watch the movie segment from the movie Our Family Wedding and discuss the questions:




1. Describe the scene.

2. What are the couple's different races?

3. What were the couple's expectation for the relationship between each other's families?

4. How did the family react during the meeting?

5. Would this situation take place if the couple lived where you live? Explain it?

6. What's your opinion about their behavior?

MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - OUR FAMILY WEDDING