What Makes A Movie "American"

What comes to your mind when you think of America? Is it blue jeans and a movie about World War II? The beauty of America is that its definition is always changing as new cultures are introduced every day into the culture. America is unlike other countries in that it isn't homogenous, even though it may feel like it at times. Throughout the nation, you can experience so many different cultures and ways of life. It is this America that is never accurately shown on screen.

American media is very strange because it both embraces and pushes away International cultures. It uses it for the sake of tokenism but never fully incorporates it into its DNA. If you pay close attention to Late Night shows the hosts are masters at this by making us scared of other countries while also going to lengths to make fun of their entire culture. It is examples of this that hurts the American people's understanding of different cultures.

The internet broke out over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announcing that Minari will be competing in the foreign language film category because it is Korean. The director, Lee Issac Chung, is American as well as its cast. The film is also set in Arkansas which is in what people consider the heartland of America, the Midwest. The dialogue is mainly in Korean, but what makes something foreign? What are considered "American" languages? As of today, the United States does not have an official language and there has been a rise in bilingual. 

There is a weird stigma in the United States around speaking languages other than English or having an accent. If you speak another language or have an accent you are met with people telling you to learn English. But what if you speak another language, pay your taxes, and own property, are you considered American then? Why is it considered good to know a second language in the upper class but if you are in a lower class and speak more than one language people look down on you? Everyone around the world is expected to know English but Americans aren't held to the same standards to learn other languages. I think this ties back to how Americans view international films and their treatment of them.

The way international film is treated in what is considered the top film awards only proves Bong Joon Ho's statement that these are local awards at the end of the day. I can think of two other films that spoke other languages than English and were nominated in the main categories, The Artist and Inglorious Basterds. What makes Minari so different? In music, we see the language barrier breakdown with the rise of BTS and Latin music taking over the globe. Parasite's win in best picture and best international film seemed like an end to America's problematic behavior in the entertainment industry.

America prides itself on being a land of opportunity and hard work, so why is a film that embodies that not considered American? Minari is one of the most accurate portrayals of the American experience I have seen in years. Normally the traditional American movie shows a fictional, unattainable world that only a small portion of the population has actually experienced. The propaganda of our media is so far from the real thing. 

Let's use an example going back to Inglorious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino made a film where German is spoken that takes place in France. Somehow this is an American movie and can be placed in the main categories, but is this an American story because it is told by a white American or because of the United States' involvement in the war? The only difference between Tarantino and Chung is one is white and the other is Asian. Over the last few years we have seen films from the UK merge into the American media scene, so shouldn't these also classify in the international category? What makes them okay to be in mainstream categories?

It took until 2020 for an Asian actress to win best actress in a comedy at the globes. Asian Americans are historically seen as outsiders in America, even with roots tracing back to the 1800s. At what point are Asian Americans as well as other ethnic groups are seen as part of the American community? Korean has been spoken in America just as long as German, French, and other languages and there is a Korean-American community here. 

I come from an Armenian community and the US diaspora of Armenians is the second largest in the world with Russia having the largest. If we hear from many political leaders about how great we are for the economy and the American culture, wouldn't we be considered more in the conversation? America does this thing where they stress the importance of these groups but at the end of the day they are still seen as foreign and the issues within their community are minimized. 

In Minari, a Korean-American family moves to Arkansas where the father has dreams of starting his own farm. He spends all of his time on the farm resulting in fractures in his marriage and family life. In the end, he achieves his dream only for it to be taken away from him in a matter of seconds. The film sheds the idea of the American Dream while showing the hardships of assimilation. It is an American story told by an American. Steven Yeun who plays the lead has qualities typically associated with Americans such as being self-made. What more does it need to be American?

This is very reminiscent of last year's The Farewell. The entire story of that getting made is crazy because since it was filmed in China and Chinese was spoken it was considered a Chinese film but it starred an American family. There was a lot of debate on what the country should make the film because of this divide. The movie is made by Americans with a Chinese American as the lead who goes to China to visit her grandmother in China. The film depicts the effects of globalization and migration on an immigrant family. In this case, the Chinese are cross-national and not foreign. Compare this to Call Me By Your Name, which takes place in Italy and the cast speaks Italian. This film was nominated for best picture at the Golden Globes and Oscars. 

Even the use of foreign and international has two different meanings. International is more sophisticated while foreign is otherness. Foreign makes these stories seem strange and distant while international has a bit of clout and pretentiousness to it. International overshadows foreign in every aspect. The international film should be weighted the same as American films and cultures should be seen the same across. These separate categories feel demeaning almost saying you're good but not good enough to compete with films by white directors about whiteness. 

Minari is the story of immigrants with every element that would make it American, but at the same time, it is told it doesn't belong. The classification of the film by the Golden Globes only furthers the film's exploration of assimilation in American culture. At what point are you finally considered American?