As a starter, I don’t believe that anyone is fully assimilated in New York, and the scene I chose reflects a subject that I’m very passionate about. I chose the scene where Anita sings about coming to America. There is a clear point that I think proves why no one is ever quite assimilated. The reason is that no one is ever pleased with his/her circumstances, and in the midst of this scene, I couldn’t believe how ridiculous the things they were saying sounded. My passion was set aflame.
“Once an immigrant, always an immigrant.” –Anita
There is a classic struggle between the girls living out a dream in their heads and the guys bashing it down. However, it’s what they were daydreaming about that made me sad to be a human. Humans are constantly looking for something newer and shinier, and in this case, America is what’s newer and shinier than Puerto Rico. And I want to point out another line that seems to contradict her point here. All the girls are talking about how great it will be, and then, she points out a vital part of New York City: “Life can be bright in America.” The important word here is “can.” They point out that there’s only a chance that it will be the dream life with big houses and washers and dryers, but at the same time, they make it sound like it’s guaranteed.
I think an important aspect to keep in mind about a place like New York is that everyone is fine with not being assimilated. That is, when people walk the streets, there’s an acceptance of everyone’s differences.
In A Brother from Another Planet, the main character is thrown into this life just like an immigrant is. The scene that comes to mind is the one where he is not familiar with how to purchase the fruit. The truth is that when different cultures come together, there can be a lot of confusion, of course, but this idea adds to my point about the acceptance of the lack of assimilation. No body cares or knows who this guy is, so when they encounter him, they treat him like everybody else. When the owner of the store sees him, he is clearly stealing a piece of fruit. She doesn’t even consider the idea of him coming from somewhere foreign to this behavior.
I believe the phrase, “Once and immigrant, always an immigrant” fits perfectly in this idea, because everybody is foreign to all land in reality, so to be “assimilated” can actually mean that someone has just become comfortable in an area. And in my opinion, New Yorkers eventually become comfortable with this new definition of assimilation.
