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Social Penetration Theory In My Big Fat

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When trying to really get to know someone it usually requires a lot of time and effort as well as self-disclosing information about you as well. In the movie My Big Fat Greek wedding a young girl named Toula is told from very early on by her families strong culture that women must do three things in life “ marry Greek boy, make Greek babies and feed everyone.” However this becomes hard to uphold when she meets and eventually wants to marry a man that comes from a very conservative non-Greek family. Throughout the movie we see how not only does the social penetration theory relate to the relationship between Toula and the non Greek man she falls for but the relationship that has to build between the man, his family and patulas family as well in order for them to be able to get married and all get a long peacefully despite the different cultures both families come from. Right away in the beginning of the movie we see how large and crazy the family is and that everyone always seems to be in everyone’s else’s business having a lot of self disclosure amongst each other however it also means that there is little room for any sense of privacy and that information in the family travels fast. We first see the orientation stage of the Social Penetration Theory after Toula starts working in her aunt’s travel agency store. She notices a guy walking …show more content…

The orientation stage is shown when Ian and Toula both meet each other’s family and have to first make small talk in order to break the ice with one another. It also is demonstrated when Ian’s family comes over to meet the entire family of Toula and they have to all interact with each other and see what exactly they have in common to talk about. Ian seems to go through the stages of meeting and getting to know the family a lot quicker since he has a lot more people to get to

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