In The Film “Mi Familia,” We Follow The Story Of The...

In the film â€Å"Mi Familia,† we follow the story of the Mexican-American Sà ¡nchez family who settled in East Los Angeles, California after immigrating to the United States. Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas introduce the story of this family in several contexts that are developed along generations. These generations hold significant historical periods that form the identity of each individual member of the family. We start off by exploring the immigrant experience as the family patriarch heads north to Los Angeles, later we see how national events like the great depression directly impact Maria as she gets deported, although she was a US citizen. The events that follow further oppress this family and begins separate identity formations. These†¦show more content†¦These two characters showed significant psychological work in hopes of changing their â€Å"problematic† social identity. Both of these characters were conscious of the stigmas that surrounded their ide ntities, each, however, had distinct ways in which they dealt with those stigmas and changing their meanings as they grew older. Many would say that the way in which they were able to transform their identities meant either embracing it or denying one’s own identity fully as the film progressed and new societal pressures arose. Toni was one of two daughters of Maria and Jose; she was the youngest daughter. Growing up Toni was constantly praised for her beauty and throughout the film, she was hypersexualized by the people in her community. Being a beautiful Latina woman put her into categories and set expectations for her. Her sister was already married and being the only other daughter she was expected to be next anytime soon. In hopes of gaining respect and relieving the pressures of being a woman in her community, Toni decided she would become a nun. During her time abroad as a nun, she found a passion for activism and met someone she had fallen in love with. Although she w as committed to the church, she was not able to freely love and continue her mission to do justice, therefore she left the church. Toni was brave, strong, and smart. At the time, however, many did not see her and her actions in that way. People dismissed the good that she was doing