THE IMMIGRANT TOUCH IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE.........
History of immigrants is as old as the history of America.........the 'statue of liberty' has always been a symbol of freedom and opportunity for everyone.
Millions immigrants have achieved their American Dreams and have left their imprints on the American soil.
As people from all backgrounds arrived at Ellis Island or other places in USA they started creating their own identity in America.As time passed their cuisine,their fashion and their culture became popular.It started with the portrayal of Italian Americans in movies like 'God Father', to speak an accent was regarded as 'cool'.Neil Diamond's song 'America' melted everyone's heart which tells the story of immigrants.........story of triumph.'Spanglish' was a tale of cross-cultural romance."Gangs of NewYork" was about the Irish American immigrants in New York."My Big Fat Greek Wedding" mentioned American Greeks and their family traditions.'Mississippi Masala' was about an Indian American motel owner and his family.'House of Sand and Fog' portrays problems faced by an Iranian American Couple.Who can forget "Coming to America" a modern day Cinderella story involving a prince and a commoner.
TV shows have always created special immigrant characters who have been a symbol of success and also a source of laughter like Sienfeld's Soup Nazi and Tom in Parks and Recreations and also Kalinda in the Good Wife.Kelly Kapoor in the office and Nila Rasgotra in ER are two other powerful characters.Who could forget Karl Penn in "House".
People enjoy the latin beats of Shakira and Gloria Estephan and La vida Loca of Ricki Martin.Lupe Fiasco is a mix of classical qawalis and African rap.Americans did enjoyed Simon Cowell's harsh critisism in American Idol and his fine British accent.
The immigrant factor in American Popular culture is getting more and more visible as more people are entering this land of opportunity every day.
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