There were many obstacles that immigrants face throughout the forming of our country. In school, we are most often taught about these obstacles by using examples of slaves and slave labor. However, these obstacles were faced by more than just African Americans. Similar to African Americans, many other groups who immigrated were not shown kindness or respect in any way. In the movie Far and Away, audiences are shown obstacles that the Irish faced when immigrating to America.
When a person/group immigrates to another country, there is usually a reason as to why they did this. In Far and Away, Shannon and Joseph go to America in search for freedom. Shannon wants freedom from the boring life that she has in her parents' house. Her parents decide everything that she does - she cannot even unbutton the collar on her dress without her mother telling her to button it back up. She decides to run away to America in order to buy land (and freedom) to get away from her parents.
Joseph on the other hand, has led a very different life from Shannon. He came to the Christy house for justice. He wants to kill Daniel Christy (Shannon's father) because Daniel ordered Joseph's house burnt because Joseph's family (the Donnelly's) had not paid the taxes on their property. He is sentenced to a dual with Stephen Chase in order to save his freedom. Shannon rescues him and they leave for America. Joseph decides to go to America only after Shannon tells him about the land they are "giving away". Joseph has always had a dream to own and harvest his own land. When they arrive in America, they are met with new experiences and obstacles that they were not expecting.
When Shannon and Joseph arrive in America, they plan to split up - they had no plans of staying together. Only after Mr. McGuire, who was going to help Shannon, is shot do they stay together. When Mr. McGuire is shot, Shannon loses her silver spoons which were what she was going to get her money from. Their primary challenge after this was that they had no money to live off of. Working at the factory does not help them earn enough money because they are started at such a low wage. Joseph begins to fight in order to earn money. He is the undefeated champion for a long time until an Italian fighter defeats him. Soon Shannon and Joseph find themselves on the street. They have no money so they cannot buy food. This is another obstacle they face - hunger. At this time, Irish immigrants could get very few jobs because no one was interested in hiring an immigrant. They break into a house in order to find food but pay the consequence when Shannon is shot. Though they face consequences, they ultimatley end up with what they want. The have each other and they get their land.
The movie shows many obstacles to the immigration process. However, the movie's immigration form has a very big Hollywood influence to it. The movie shows many things about the immigration process that are true, such as lack of money, poor job wage for immigrants, and lack of food. However, the movie also shows elements of the immigration process that are hard to believe. The part that was hardest to believe for me was at the end when Joseph hesitates to claim his land. I do not think this would have happened had it not been a movie.
What do you think of the immigration process? Do you think this movie shows that process well?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think the immigration process is shown well in this movie. I believe that this was what it was like in the 1800's when people would come to America. They were treated badly and everyone had to make it on their own, no one would help out another, unless they got something out if it. I think it is a horrible process and people shouldn't have to be treated that way.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about this movie, but I feel like it is pretty accurate. I'm guessing that the immigration process really was a struggle back then and that people found it difficult to move to new countries. It upsets me that it was so hard for people because they really could have a better life in a different country and could have a lot more opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI think this movie touches on some issues that show how difficult it was for immigrants, but it is fiction, so not thoroughly accurate. It was a happy coincidence Shannon met the man who was going to help her sell those spoons, the odds of Joseph coming back to help her once their "deal" was up might have also been slim, and the whole ending with the rock and coming back to life was of course a stretch. But the little and big struggles they faced throughout the movie showed what the process included.
ReplyDelete