As part of an immigrant family, I have experienced some difficulties with assimilating to my new environment, especially in language and culture. I think Brother from Brother from Another Planet shows these difficulties in an interesting way. First, he cannot communicate so he has the barrier of language between him and those around him. He often gets misunderstood and looked down upon because he cannot speak. In one of the beginning scenes, Brother unknowingly “steals” from and “robs” a grocery store. He didn’t even know that he had to use money to buy food, and although a bit extreme, this shows the misunderstanding and confusion that immigrants may face here. In later scenes, Brother tries to assimilate to his new American culture by trying drugs, sleeping with a woman, and frequently visiting the bar. But no matter how hard he tries to fit into his new surroundings, Brother remains a stranger and an “alien.” Furthermore, not only is Brother an immigrant, but also he is black. In our reading of Shadow of Slavery, the author emphasizes how most black men and women had to hold low-paying service jobs as domestic laborers, waiters, or barbers. I thought this related to Brother from Another Planet in that Brother had to take a job as a repairman for mere household products and videogames, when he had amazing telekinetic powers to not only fix objects, but also to heal people.
I thought West Side Story showed more clearly the struggles faced by non-white immigrants as “marginal citizens.” The Puerto Rican men in the film seem to be very bitter towards the Jets and white people in general. The most memorable scene for me was when the Puerto Rican men and women were arguing about the good and bad aspects of living in America. The women would gather together and stomp towards the men, spitting words like “Life is alright(?) in America” and the men would turn back and say “If you’re a white in America.” And the lines that stood out to me the most in the song were “Free to be anything you choose”/”Free to wait tables and shine shoes.” It reminded me of Shadow of Slavery, of how these immigrants, like the newly freed blacks in early 19th century, were limited to low-paying service jobs because of their skin color and language barrier. Also, in Citizens vs. Citizenry, Flores talks about how Latinos need their own physical and creative space, a place to “feel a sense of belonging, comfortable, and at home” (262) and for “expression of their culture, to be themselves and to develop their own identity as a group” (263). This reminded me of West Side Story, of how much the Sharks valued their own place and despised having white people in the dance floor. They felt very strongly about their own space and remaining faithful to their own culture and beliefs, especially Bernardo. As Flores says, they did not seek “assimilation into the host society” (277). They were Puerto Ricans living in America, not Latino-Americans. If anything, the Puerto Rican women were the ones who actually tried to assimilate to the American culture and believed themselves to be citizens of America.
