My Big Fat Greek Wedding Informal Support Network

Informal Support Network: Ian

In the film ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’, Ian is an informal support network for Toula. An informal support network refers to the social support that is provided by family, friends or any other non-paid individual you have a relationship with. Ian acts as an informal support network by improving her emotional, cultural and social wellbeing. For example, Toula often experienced a lack of self-esteem and suffered from identity issues from her youth continuing into her adult years. When she developed her relationship with Ian, he showed her a sense of acceptance, including her appearance and her Greek heritage/lifestyle. When Ian reassures Toula that she is beautiful, her emotional wellbeing is improved, minimising

A formal support network is one that is outside of your family group and may be provided by the government, community organizations or any other paid individuals/groups. College is an example of a formal support network, as it is a paid organisation that is able to enhance areas of Toulas wellbeing. One wellbeing area of Toula’s that was enhanced through college was her economic wellbeing. Toula initially wanted to join college in order to further develop skills that she may be able to apply in various job positions outside of her family's restaurant. This was able to be applied when she proposed the idea to her Aunt about working in her travel agency. College was able to provide her with skills (particularly the technology seminar mentioned in the film) that allow her to fulfill her employment requirements and therefore improve her economic wellbeing. College also acted as a formal support network in order to improve her social wellbeing. Prior to attending college, Toula's social life was highly limited to individuals inside of her family. However through college she was able to attend classes and develop relationships with others she hadn’t met before. We can see an improvement in her social wellbeing when she develops the courage to ask an unfamiliar group of girls “is this seat taken”. In conclusion, Toula accessed college as a formal support that allowed

Sense of identity is related to an individual's perception of who they are and can be influenced by individuals in their life as well as obligations and major life events. For Gus, sense of identity is highly related to his culture (being Greek) and there are various scenarios in this film that impact his sense of identity. Gus holds his daughter Toula to high Greek expectations such as being married to a Greek man, having children and continuing to work for their family business. When Toula begins to go against these expectations by dating Ian, a non-Greek individual, and asking to go to college, Gus’ sense of identity is negatively impacted as he sees his culture as being underappreciated or