[reervieltnope]

Sorry...wasn't trying to be rude or patronizing with my post. I did hear an Opa...and Epharisto they said meant thank you...but I was just trying to be light-hearted and rework a Christmas carol, since it wasn't yet Christmas or Nativity fast. That's why I put it in the IDK where to put it folder.

All is forgiven Stuart, besides which you have made us think about all the wonderful things about Christmas, including food. Perhaps it's a little early but that just makes the anticipation even more lovely.

I used to trim my christmas tree a couple of days before Christmas. It was a while before I noticed that most people here trim theirs at the beginning of December, especially those with small children. I was always a little smug and used to say that "the right way" was the night before Christmas. The last couple of years I have adopted this "Greek way" of trimming christmas trees and I was surprised at how much joy and anticipation I experienced.
The shops are already full of christmas decorations, believe it or not, so your post fits right in with looking forward to Christmas.

Effie

[SnareeWer]

Of course most Greeks in Greece wouldn't find MBFGW funny. The answer is simple: the film is a very funny take on immigrant Greeks and their families. As for "exaggerations" in the film, c'mon, it's a comedy, after all! Though there was also much in the film that was straight out of the life of countless immigrants or their children, believe me.

[wbondarmunw]

Of course most Greeks in Greece wouldn't find MBFGW funny. The answer is simple: the film is a very funny take on immigrant Greeks and their families. As for "exaggerations" in the film, c'mon, it's a comedy, after all! Though there was also much in the film that was straight out of the life of countless immigrants or their children, believe me.

Olga, it's true it was a comedy and that there were a lot of exaggerations in the film. But it made me think that films I have seen about other groups of people, the Irish, the Mexicans, etc....... are probably just as exaggerated as this was. The thing is though that watching films like this, one gradually forms an opinion about various nationalities and we then have stereotypes. We had a discussion about stereotypes a little while back.

A lot of people no longer read books and their impressions of people from other countries are based on what they see in films. On the other hand, documentaries are wonderful because they truthfully (as much as the director allows) show us how people live in other countries. Films like MBFGW though are meant to make fun of various groups of people. I admit that there were some truths in this film, but I felt that a little more respect should have been shown. e.g. surely Greeks don't decorate the outside of their houses in the USA as these greeks did.

I acknowledge that all the above is unimportant if we are talking about just this one film, but the lack of knowledge of so many people today is really disturbing and since films reach 99% of the homes in the world, couldn't producers concentrate on positive and above all, truthful versions of what they want to say.

Sorry to get so serious, but I am seriously thinking of getting rid of my TV because 90% of the stuff on it is rubbish. I believe that we are now experiencing the results of the mind conditioning the last 2 generations have been exposed to.

Who are the role models for today's children? Singers, models, actors and athletes.
Some are very praiseworthy, but most of them shouldn't be let anywhere near our children.

Just read a book like Missionary Travels by Livingstone, read about his childhood and his education, how he thought, and then think of what he and countless others like him went on to accomplish. These people had people they admired, people they looked up to and people they wanted to emulate.

I think I need to stop here. Sorry..............

Effie

[Sipewrio]

Sorry, my mind was on the Gyros which I had today

+Angela

[soprofaxelbis]

Of course most Greeks in Greece wouldn't find MBFGW funny. The answer is simple: the film is a very funny take on immigrant Greeks and their families. As for "exaggerations" in the film, c'mon, it's a comedy, after all! Though there was also much in the film that was straight out of the life of countless immigrants or their children, believe me.

Yes there can be such families and no one said that that comedy is not a comedy. I even wrote that, exaggeration makes it a comedy. Although many immigrant families (Greek Americans) I know do not behave like that.

What is problematic are the stereotypes it perpetrates. Many people (non-Greek) have asked me since, if I say Opa all the time (!), if I love ouzo so much (!) etc. But even Greek Americans I have seen here, do not say Opa all the time and do not exhibit such behavior as depicted in the movie.

[Tuqofiw]

Olga, it's true it was a comedy and that there were a lot of exaggerations in the film. But it made me think that films I have seen about other groups of people, the Irish, the Mexicans, etc....... are probably just as exaggerated as this was. The thing is though that watching films like this, one gradually forms an opinion about various nationalities and we then have stereotypes. We had a discussion about stereotypes a little while back.

Yes. Effie, Mexicans (at least the ones I have met in Mexico) are some of the most sweet people I have run into. Whenever they heard that I am Greek they loved it and many played Greek music and also told me that their dream is to visit Greece.

The Irish I have met here, who have just moved from Ireland, are some of the most darling friends.

A lot of people no longer read books and their impressions of people from other countries are based on what they see in films. Yes, this is true. As I mentioned the story of Iliad is known to some people here like the latest movie "Troy" tells it. And many other moments in history are being retold with many inaccurate facts. Also look at the latest movies of Hollywood. Some of them insult human intelligence. They are designed for people with such a low IQ, that I do not even think that such people exist.

Sorry to get so serious, but I am seriously thinking of getting rid of my TV because 90% of the stuff on it is rubbish. I believe that we are now experiencing the results of the mind conditioning the last 2 generations have been exposed to. Was it Saint Kosmas Aitolos who said that the devil (through TV) will sit in homes and his horns (antenna) will be on the roof?

[iuopyra]

Of course most Greeks in Greece wouldn't find MBFGW funny. The answer is simple: the film is a very funny take on immigrant Greeks and their families. As for "exaggerations" in the film, c'mon, it's a comedy, after all! Though there was also much in the film that was straight out of the life of countless immigrants or their children, believe me.

You are quite right Olga when you say that the film is about immigrant Greeks - in fact it is more about immigrants than Greeks. And not only is it "real" for them, much of the film has nailed the "convert" experience right on. When I first went to see MBFGW in the theater, my wife and I went with another priest and his wife. We are American converts and my friend and his wife are Russian American (WWII immigration). We were almost rolling on the floor laughing so hard. Why? For me, the groom's experience with his finacee's family was so "in line" with my experience as a convert in the Russian Church lamong the Russian community - it was perfect! And Matushka M. (the other priest's wife) couldn't stop laughing because she said that if you substitute Russian for Greek, the bride's family was her family and she had lived that whole experience.

I am guessing that the new Russians or Russians in Russia, like the Greeks in Greece wouldn't really identify at all with the ethnic humor. And those American converts who are insulated from the ethnic Orthodox communities would have missed much of that humor as well. But for the older immigration Greeks and Russians who grew up in ethnic communities and for the Americans who converted in very "ethnic" parishes - this movie hit the mark.

Fr David Moser

[downtowndude]

Dear Father David,
You are right that the movie depicts some of the converts' experiences accurately. Also you are right that the movie can be about some immigrants. Like it can be about some blue collar people here.

But what started the discussion was that everyone yells Opa:

and everyone yelling Opa and Efharisto..

[chuecaloversvv]

But it made me think that films I have seen about other groups of people, the Irish, the Mexicans, etc....... are probably just as exaggerated as this was. The thing is though that watching films like this, one gradually forms an opinion about various nationalities and we then have stereotypes. We had a discussion about stereotypes a little while back.


Sorry to get so serious, but I am seriously thinking of getting rid of my TV because 90% of the stuff on it is rubbish. I believe that we are now experiencing the results of the mind conditioning the last 2 generations have been exposed to.

I agree. I don't think Cheech and Chong are typical of the hispanic culture. As a matter of fact I have never seen hispanics behave this way.

YES!! Get rid of the tube. We tossed ours 3 1/2 years ago and have not missed one single day! What ever happened to the tv censors any way?

[shashaffff]

I agree. I don't think Cheech and Chong are typical of the hispanic culture.

Cheech and Chong were never meant to be "hispanic" Cheech Marin is of hispanic origin, however David Chong is Chinese/American. The two of them together are a comedy team that built their whole routine on being stoners (and they do that pretty accurately, don't you think)

Fr David (Dave's not here) Moser

[TeksPaisimi]

It's strange but thinking about it, I have to say that I have only occasionally heard someone shout Opa when dancing. I had the impression that they did but thinking about it I only recall Γεια σου, ρε Αντονη, or Bravo, Antoni, or Demetrius or whoever manages to perform a particularly difficult dance step when dancing tsamiko or other dances that require men to jump into the air, turn, and slap their ankles a couple of times in mid flight. The first expression is the one you hear most. Geia sou, meaning hello, your health(literally), cheers, also an expression of wonder when a person does something you admire. I like Opa though, it's short, and can be shouted.............................. perhaps its a southern greek thing - either way it's not something that is often heard up here.

The immigrant experience is, in some ways, similar for all nationalities. The northern Europeans in Australia were not perhaps as insular as the Greeks and Italians, but our very close family ties forced our parents to hold on tightly to their customs and they tried to make their children into replicas of themselves. I was brought up very strictly, being the first child, and we lived in an area where there were very few Greeks. Everytime I wanted to do something or go somewhere I was not allowed to. When I complained that all my friends would be there etc. I was always told : "Yes, but they are Australian, and you are Greek." Being Greek was special and God forbid that I ever forgot that.

I believe that all 2nd generation Greek Australians of my age experienced this refusal to let go of Europe and its lifestyle. The dream of these first immigrants was to someday return to their own country.

My parents were deeply disappointed with the life style of their new homeland and wanted desperately to return to their own country. They liked the Australians themselves and never experienced any kind of racism - perhaps because we are all fair haired - my mother is a blue eyed blonde as are most of the families here - but they disliked the way people lived. My mother loves telling the story of how she tried to find a little olive oil for her cooking. She was sent to the chemist and given a bottle of baby oil! Australians used lard in their food at that time. My mother has now lived there over 60 years and she still pines for Greece. The trouble is that the Greece she knew and loved no longer exists.

Effie

[Storwaytozy]

Sorry, my mind was on the Gyros which I had today

+Angela

I do tend to go on and on, don't I Angela? I don't like Gyros, probably because I can't eat pork, but today I am cooking keftedes me krymmidia sto fourno. Meat patties with onions in the oven. Bay leaf, cloves, my own tomato sauce, all cooked to a delicious "melt in your mouth" consistency.
One of my favourite dishes!

You are cordially invited to dinner............it's not far.

Speaking of which, my son gave me a copy of my flight next week. Hours and hours....I'm leaving from Thessaloniki so : 2 hr stopover in Athens change planes, 3 hr stopover in Bangkok. I'm apparently going to spend more time on the ground than on the planes themselves. Why in the world doesn't Qantas fly to Greece anymore?


Effie

[DiatryDal]

perhaps its a southern greek thing - either way it's not something that is often heard up here.
Effie

True. I've generally found Epirots and Macedonians to be much more circumspect than Greeks from more southerly areas (with Spartans an exception - tough and hardy sorts that they are )

My mother loves telling the story of how she tried to find a little olive oil for her cooking. She was sent to the chemist and given a bottle of baby oil! Australians used lard in their food at that time. Yes, 40 years ago, olive oil came in little bottles from the pharmacy, squid was either bait for fishing or "that rubbery stuff", garlic stank to high heaven, and spaghetti came in a can. Vegetables (usually unseasoned, or perhaps a little salt and pepper was used) were boiled or stewed into oblivion. Yet, give the Aussies credit where it's due - they've come a VERY long way since! They can't get enough of European, Latin American, North African or Asian food. I have many friends of Anglo-Celtic ancestry who can never go back to the bland food of their childhoods.

[Xibizopt]

Dear Effie,


Keep a seat for me and my husband. We love keftethes!Australia to Greece is not far at all!

[PilotJargon]

It's strange but thinking about it, I have to say that I have only occasionally heard someone shout Opa when dancing.

Again, it may well be a Greek/American immigrant thing. The shout "Opa" is commonly heard in Greek restaurants in Chicago (maybe other places as well, but I am speaking only of my experience) when they bring out the flaming cheese (Saganki?) appetizer. I imagine it's and expression that has been "retasked" to a number of different uses here in the US.

Fr David Moser

[barsikjal]

The trouble is that the Greece she knew and loved no longer exists.

Effie The trouble, not just for immigrants, but for all of us, especially if of a certain age, as I am. No place exists as it used to. The England of my childhood - you can get a flavour of it in Miss Marple films - ceased to exist years ago.

[chadnezzrr]

The trouble, not just for immigrants, but for all of us, especially if of a certain age, as I am. No place exists as it used to. The England of my childhood - you can get a flavour of it in Miss Marple films - ceased to exist years ago.

I agree. If you talk to your grandparents they talk of "the good 'ol days." When actually if you do historical research, "the good 'ol days" were not really so good. My grandparents grew up in the Great Depression. My parents during WWII. So what was it that was so good? Perhaps family ties were stronger. But economically speaking the rest was in the toilet.

Paul

[XGoFivk7]

Recent research shows that happiness isn't the fruit of prosperity, and though we (in England) are better off than when I was a child, and loads better off than when my father was young, we get less and less happy. My father and mother both came from working-class backgrounds. My father grew up during the 1920's and some kids in his class at primary school didn't have shoes. Dad started work as a railway worker at 14. Life wasn't easy but it was simple. We make demands on life that earlier generations just couldn't, and life gets harder, more complicated and less happy the more you demand of it - or are forced, pretty well - to demand of it.

[dfuzioniag]

True. I've generally found Epirots and Macedonians to be much more circumspect than Greeks from more southerly areas (with Spartans an exception - tough and hardy sorts that they are )



Yes, 40 years ago, olive oil came in little bottles from the pharmacy, squid was either bait for fishing or "that rubbery stuff", garlic stank to high heaven, and spaghetti came in a can. Vegetables (usually unseasoned, or perhaps a little salt and pepper was used) were boiled or stewed into oblivion. Yet, give the Aussies credit where it's due - they've come a VERY long way since! They can't get enough of European, Latin American, North African or Asian food. I have many friends of Anglo-Celtic ancestry who can never go back to the bland food of their childhoods.

But Olga, the sweeeeets!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lemon meringue pie - my favourite.
No one can deny that Australian sweets are better than Greek ones - except for baklava, and melahrini, and saliaria .......

The very first thing I am going to do when I get to Australia next week - after kissing everyone of course, is ask for a passion fruit...............

I planted a vine last spring. It grew wonderfully, and then in late autumn it flowered!!!! Beautiful and strange flowers of course, but we had to store it away for winter before it could even think of bearing fruit. If it survives this winter I am going to put it on my front verandah and hopefully it will flower a little earlier next year.

Effie

[geasurpacerma]

I agree. If you talk to your grandparents they talk of "the good 'ol days." When actually if you do historical research, "the good 'ol days" were not really so good. My grandparents grew up in the Great Depression. My parents during WWII. So what was it that was so good? Perhaps family ties were stronger. But economically speaking the rest was in the toilet.

Paul

Paul, I have to agree with Andreas here. People might not have had as much money as they do today - which might not be true at all because people are so much in debt with all these consumer loans that they are losing their houses and land to the banks - but what they had they cherished. I remember my mother's clothes from Greece - beautiful English cashmere wool suits with white lace blouses. People back then kept their good clothes for Sunday and they bought or had new clothessewn once a year, just before Easter. I have photos of my parents and my grandparents and they look so elegant and grand. The difference is that we waste our money on a thousand things, whereas they saved for just one good thing.

The most important difference though is that they had simpler lives and they had fun. Our new god is stress. And according to an English university report we have all become hypochondriacs, forever going to doctors and having tests. My grandparents all lived to over 90 years of age, except for my father's mother who died after giving birth to twins and not being taken care of properly afterwards. My father's father had never gone to a doctor in his life and when he broke his leg at 92 he refused to have a doctor come and attend to him. It will mend, he said. And it did. Need I say he also had a jug of his own wine under his bed while he was waiting for his leg to mend!!!!!!! He recovered, walked perfectly and died 4 years later. He died of old age - arteriosclerosis - hardening of the arteries.