American Gypsy: A Stranger in Film Review

Total Length: 947 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

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When taking into account the fact that the gypsies in the film managed to maintain their traditions, it becomes obvious that they one of the most essential values in their lives is their culture. In spite of the fact that they manage to be assimilated through the fact that they employ a behavior similar to the people neighboring them, gypsies manage to keep their personal identity. Core anthropologic concepts such as culture and society can thus easily apply to gypsies in the state of Washington. While gypsies are generally hesitant about sharing their problems with the world (and thus making it difficult for the general public to understand them), Jimmy Marks demonstrates that they too can be an active part of society and that they are willing to ask for their rights if the situation arises.

3. People in the U.S. are generally accustomed to living in a multicultural environment, as numerous individuals in the country have immigrated here or are descendants of immigrants. Throughout American Gypsy: A Stranger in Everybody's Land, viewers are able to observe the fact that matters are different when considering gypsies.

Gypsies are appealing principally because of the way they regard life and because they are generally reluctant to abandon their traditional lifestyle. While it would be impossible for an individual to claim that he or she lives in accordance with their cultural values without being exposed to society's general values, gypsies are probably among some of the most independent ethnic groups in the world.


Gypsies are practically one of the main reasons for which I am certain that people will always be able to cling onto their cultural values. I considered that globalization makes it increasingly difficult and even impossible for individuals to preserve their cultural identity.

By learning more in regard to gypsies, I learnt that it is wrong to discriminate certain cultural groups on account of stereotypes that you hear and that preserving cultural values does not necessarily mean denying your own rights. Whereas most gypsies apparently consider that it is wrong for a member of their community to share their trouble with the rest of society, Marks demonstrated that he is determined to fight for his rights, even if this meant that he would have to turn his own people against him.

Gypsy communities are, to a certain degree, disorganized and shallow. In trying to maintain their cultural values they often hurt their members. Marks stands as an example for other gypsies as a result of the fact that he knows when to divulge his secrets and when to maintain secrecy. Even with that, he also fails to see the bigger picture as a result of being limited because of his blind determination to cling on to old gypsy customs......

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/american-gypsy-stranger-44590