In the film American Girls, the neighborhood the girls lived in played an important part in the way they grew up. Being surrounded by other Dominicans kept the girls closer to their culture. They were all exposed to the customs and activities that native Dominicans are accustomed to. They were constantly around their extended family, since they all lived in one five-story house and spent a lot of time together. This is also why the girls were fluent in both English and Spanish. At home, they would either switch between both languages speaking to their mother or other relatives and at school they would speak mostly English. The downside to having Dominican born parents and relatives all around them was that the girls would need more help concentrating and doing well in school. While the oldest, Monica, had no problem keeping her head in the books, the youngest, Mayra, cannot keep her focus on her schoolwork. This makes it harder for Sandra to discipline her because while she can keep telling her to do her schoolwork, she can’t exactly check it to make sure it is good. What she does do though, is work hard to make sure her daughters can be the best they can and she can be able to go back to the Dominican Republic.
The scenes that resonated the most with me the most during this film were the ones where the girls got to spend time with their families. They would walk through the streets together and in one scene, they made time to have fun play in the spray of a fire hydrant. You could see that they were not one of the wealthiest families from the surroundings that they hangout in. They have a limited amount of options as to what they can do in their free time, but the children still find ways to have fun and play around. The Ortiz family did not choose to live in the neighborhood that they do, as you can see from Sandra’s intentions of working so hard. That is what she could afford with the limited education she got in the Dominican Republic and being an immigrant. She wants so much to be able to go back home and be comfortable there, but she must first get through where she is in the U.S.
The youngest daughter, Mayra, is the closest to their culture. She likes to hang out outside with her friends and spend time with her family at the parties they throw on the weekends. She even goes as far as saying that once they get to the Dominican Republic, she does not want to come back to the U.S. She has been able to see what both American and Dominican society has to offer and is able to choose which one she would rather identify with. On the other hand, her oldest sister, Melissa, has decided to fully immerse herself into American culture. She decided to stay away from her Dominican culture from the time she was in high school. She kept her head in the books and made it to Columbia. Her friends and boyfriend are all American and she serves as the cultural liaison. She loves the opportunities she gets from being an American and all of the options she has to choose from. Aida, the middle child, is a mix between the two. She knows she has to do well in school to be able to benefit from the advantages of America, but also loves her Dominican background. Like Mayra, she loves to be around her family and hangout in the backyard on weekends. She tries her hardest in school, although life and the struggles she faces with her family distract her.
