Spanish Conflict free essay sample

The movie Spanglish shows many examples of conflicts. The movie displayed conflict in romantic relationships, in parenting decisions, healthy lifestyle, and the one I elected to focus on, cultural conflict. Deborah Clasky, a wife and mother of two children, hires a poor Mexican housekeeper, Flor Moreno. When the two families move in together for the summer into a Malibu beach house the conflict of colliding cultures and values begin. Flor, who was abandoned by her husband, needed one last opportunity for change in order to give her daughter a better life and future. Flor, who does not speak any English, decides to emigrate from Mexico to the United States. In order to raise Cristina properly she needed as much of a security of her own culture as possible so she rolled through Texas, just 34% Hispanic, to Los Angeles, 48% Hispanic. Flor felt she was right back at home in Los Angeles. For six years Flor and Cristina did not Venture outside their new community. We will write a custom essay sample on Spanish Conflict or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That was until she was hired as a housekeeper by Deborah Clasky. Deborah Clasky a former business woman, and now a stay at home mother often displayed negative behavior that was unsettling to both families. Deborah was obsessed with beauty and physical fitness. Deborah was constantly pushing for her overweight daughter, Bernice, to lose weight. She would tell Bernice she really could do without the sandwich she was eating. She went as far as purchasing a new wardrobe for Bernice that was a size too small. Telling Bernice that she knows she can lose the weight and she would fit into the clothes in no time. After the two families move in together in the Malibu beach house, Cristina becomes exposed to the American way of life. Deborah decides to take her on a day outing without asking Flor for permission. She left a note, written in English for Flor. The note stated that she was stealing her daughter for the day. Cristina returned with pink and blue hair streaks leaving Flor furious. Deborah did not think it was a big deal to spend time with Cristina without asking for permission. Flor thought otherwise. Flor had Cristina translate a note to give to Deborah explaining to her that it was not ok to take her daughter without her permission. In another incident, John, Deborah’s husband offers to pay the kids for sea glass found on the beach. Cristina finds an abundant amount of sea glass and John has to pay her more than six hundred dollars. Again, Flor is furious that John agreed to pay that amount of money without consulting her first. The final incident that infuriated Flor was when Deborah helped Cristina obtain a scholarship to a private school. Deborah communicated the news to Cristina prior to informing Flor. This left Flor in a position where it was difficult to say no. Deborah gave Cristina a necklace on her first day of school and stated it was from her, Bernice, and Flor. Flor refused to associate herself with the gift and clearly told her daughter the gift was not from her. Flor was feeling her heritage and culture slip away as her daughter was living the American way of life. Flor told her cousin that she was not sure if she was worried that her daughter would feel odd in the new school or more worried that she would feel the same as them. When Flor does not show up to her Grandmothers party, Flor realizes it is time to make a change. The only thing Flor could offer her daughter was her character and heritage. With her daughters new American life style she had nothing left to offer her. She quit her job and removed Cristina from the private school. She asked Christina a difficult question. She asked her, if what she wants for herself was to become someone different than her? I believe the conflict could have been handled more effectively. Deborah should have consulted with Flor prior to communicating her ideas to Cristina. For example, Deborah should have asked Flor if she would consider sending Cristina to a private school before presenting the offer to Cristina. Deborah communicating the idea to Cristina first put Flor in a difficult position to say no. Communicating with Flor first would have also been a solution for both the outing and sea glass incident. It would have showed that Deborah respected Flor and her decisions when it came to raising Cristina. Deborah and Flor possessed the four factors that are considered a conflict. Two people are interdependent; they each need something form the other. Both parties blame the other or find fault with them for causing the problem. One or more of the parties is angry or emotionally upset. The parties’ behaviors are affecting their relationship with each other and their relationships with others (Dana, 2000). The relationship between the two families dwindled to nothing following the conflict of colliding cultures and values.