Hooray for Hollywood

I love TV and movies and all they offer.  As a refugee child coming to the USA in 1960, I was forced to learn a new language.  I was just getting use to the one I was learning (Spanish) and now this.  While still in Cuba, I can remember sitting on a bed with my Abuelo Paco  calling out English words that I would need to learn.  Coming to America had many challenges, most especially for my parents and all the family left behind. For me those challenges were all rolled up into one big problem...the English language.  

We arrived in Miami, Florida on May 20,1960.  That August I was enrolled as a first grader at Comstock Elementary School.  I walked 13 blocks to and from school everyday with a large group of children. Very few spoke Spanish. As I looked back I recall that the last block was a very large intersection ( 8 lanes) that today would put a parent under CPS watch for negligence.  Before crossing that thoroughfare there was a convenience store at the corner and inside were candies of all types. It was heavenly to walk in and pray you had a few pennies to purchase a Mary Jane, Chick-o-stick, or caramel of some sort.  I learned to speak English very, very quickly because of school, need to communicate wants and needs, and Hollywood.  

I became my parents' interpreter even interpreting teacher conferences.  At one meeting I let the teacher know that I was not to be forced to drink milk and that if I had to drink it I must be allowed to add Nestle's Quik chocolate or strawberry.  I hated milk, still do, and those teachers would force me to drink that entire carton!  Thank goodness they believed me and my Mami just nodded as if that was exactly what she said.  At another parent meeting I told my Mami that the teacher wanted her to know that she thought I may be retarded and that I talked too much and distracted others with my jokes and chatter. The teacher just sat there with a s**t eating grin on face as I told my Mami what she said.  We both laughed!  I turned to the teacher and said, "My Mami says that I started reading when I was 3 years old. And that I can be very bossy.  I am not retarded but you (the teacher) may be."  I made a "U" in conduct that year and had to sit behind the piano on some occasions. I was 6 years old.  All tests and assessments were given to me in English a language I was mastering both orally and as a reader which was way harder.  Needless to say sensitivity to others was not paramount in 1961.

So, how does my love of TV and movies come into play with my musings for today. Hollywood, if you will, was my window into the English language and into American culture.  Sad thing is it was not until I was in my 20's that I came to realize that this was not so much American culture as it was Hollywood ideals.  Cary Grant, James Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, and Bette Davis were but a few who taught me English.  General Hospital was my after-school tutor.  And, MGM musicals allowed me to practice listening and comprehension skills by paying attention to dialog spoken and sang then repeated back as I learned every Cole Porter, Rogers and Hammerstein, and Lowe and Hart song written. 

I tended to get in trouble at school for stating my opinion because Katherine, Bette, Jean, Rita, and Ginger all taught me not to take any bunk.  America liked it's women feisty.  Right?  Watching "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington"  taught me about citizenship and government.  "The Philadelphia Story" depicted wealthy, urbane America.  "Red River" it's gritty independence.  "High Noon" its quiet and thoughtful strength, "Adam's Rib" how the judicial system worked, "Gilda" that sex and beauty is power, and in "Born Yesterday" that bawdy humor was all American.  There were so many other films that gave me glimpses into the country I now lived.  Eventually, I would discover that Hollywood always had at least three layers of rose colored film to cover the ugliness that those films also depicted. 

Television today, along with movies, continue to provide glimpses of an American mindset as well as vocabulary that enriches our lexicon.  The power of the media should not be taken lightly and it should be celebrated rather than looked at with disdain and haughtiness.  Thank you Hollywood for helping me to assimilate and want to find out more about my new country's history, culture, land, and people.  It continues to be an ever-changing and as Katherine would say, "Glorious" ride!