My American Girls: A Dominican Story tells the story of a family of Dominicans living in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz work blue collared jobs as cleaners. In order to support the family, they must take up more than one job. Because of their busy schedules due to multiple jobs, they hardly get to spend time with their three daughters. In the beginning of the movie, the eldest daughter Monica expresses how instead of getting the extra $100 per week, her parents should invest more time with their children. This movie gives a raw look at the struggles immigrants must face in order to achieve the “American Dream.”
Although the three daughters were raised in the same household, it is clear that each have their own distinct personalties. As the oldest daughter, Monica is the most studious of the three. She majored in neuroscience and graduated from Colombia University. She was the first college graduate in her family and her parents were so proud even saying that they’re “glad they finally did something right.” Although Monica was on the path towards medical school, she decided she wanted to pursue her passion for acting. While she felt she was letting her parents down for not continuing on to becoming a doctor, she decided acting was what made her happy. It is clear that Monica has put distance between her and her family. Although she would like to help her mom raise her other two sisters, she does not want her family to hold her down from creating a future for herself.
While Monica is extremely studious her sisters Aida and Myra, are quite the opposite. Aida is mostly concerned with making money to buy the clothes she wants. She begins to work at McDonalds but is fired shortly after due to tardiness. Myra is doing so poorly in school that she needs to go to summer school. One of the scenes that most affected me was watching Mrs. Ortiz in the parent teacher conference meetings. All of Myra’s teachers tell Mrs. Ortiz that Myra is not doing well in school which is not what any mother wants to hear. Due to Mrs. Ortiz lack of knowledge for the English language, she can never even help Myra in her homework so there is not much that Mrs. Ortiz can do for Myra besides yell at her to do well in school.
The most striking part of the film for me was when the family went back to the Dominican Republic. Going back was an escape from bad grades and multiple jobs. You can see how the family is happy in their home country. In the Dominican Republic, they are considered well off compared to their relatives and it is clear that they do not want to return to the U.S. where they have to continue struggling in order to make ends meet.
