immigrants who seek to utilize the prospects and enjoy freedoms that are bestowed to Americans from different parts of the world. Ideally, the American identity is not reserved for a particular racial, ethnic, or social group, but it encompasses everyone who embraces the nation’s values, spirit, and citizenship. However, most immigrants who embrace being American struggle identity issues as they try to reconnect with their traditions and culture. The play “Disgraced” and the film “Todays Special’ explore the dilemma American immigrants face at watershed periods of their lives. The protagonists, Samir from the film and Amir in the play, are immigrants from the Middle East who struggle to find a middle ground between their American and Middle Eastern identities and culture. Even though both protagonists were proud Americans and embraced this identity, they struggle to reconnect with their cultures resulting in an identity crisis.
Complexities faced by Americans with dual identities
In the movie “Today’s Special,” the protagonist Samir has wholly immersed himself in the American culture. Even though he was of Indian descent, he works as a sous chef in a white-owned restaurant. He lived in a sleek apartment, and he was on an upward trajectory in his career. Samir had dreams of developing his craft further by studying French cuisine in France and become a master chef. However, he does not get a chance to live his dream after his father gets a heart attack forcing him to go back to his estranged family. In this watershed moment, he is forced to confront his unresolved identity issues.
Similarly, in the play “Disgrace,” Amir, an American Muslim, faces the challenge of reconciling his Muslim and American identities. Even though he was an upstanding American, he still had a chip over his shoulder due to the prejudices facing western Muslims, radical politics, and other issues affecting identity politics in his community. Unlike his wife Emily, Amir has an extreme view of Islam. He believes that his conception of religion is the only valid way for adherents. Given that America is a cosmopolitan society, Amir inevitably interacts with people from different political and religious backgrounds, and their contrasting views make the characters provocateurs of the protagonist’s radical views. The climax of the play occurs when Amir and his wife host a dinner party and invite Isaac, a Jewish art dealer and Amir’s colleague Jory. The eclectic group gets into a heated argument on sensitive issues, particularly for Muslims such as 9-11, Israel, and Islam.
Both protagonists show the challenges faced by Americans of foreign descent as they try to hold on to their identities while still coming off as authentic and unapologetic Americans. In “Today’s Special,” Samir appears to have made all the efforts to a model and successful American citizen. However, he soon finds out that he cannot disconnect from his Indian roots when he is forced to move back home and help his family after his father experiences a heart attack. His parents were strict but loving like many other first-generation immigrants. To keep the family tradition, Samir is obligated to take over the family business, a tandoori restaurant. Since Samir had embraced his western identity more during his period in the US, he soon finds out that he has to reconnect with his Indian roots and identity to succeed both as a restaurateur and an American with a dual identity. Samir receives the help of a mystical chef who encourages him to embrace his ethnic instincts instead of being held captive by his mind and his rigid conception of Americanism and the American identity.
On the other hand, Amir depicts the dilemma faced by Muslim Americans as they try to integrate into American society. Hostility espoused towards Muslims by political leaders, and ordinary Americans has put some members of the community on the defensive. As a result, some adopt radical views or self-loathing, as is the case with Amir even though moderate Muslims such as Emily try to give the radical Muslims and the American society a middle ground. Voices against extremisms by typical Americans affect how American Muslims view themselves and their identity as Americans and moderate Muslims. The play juxtaposes how transnational religions affect national identities and the tension it causes. The remark on being: American made by Jory suggested that Americans have to ascribe to several socially constructed values and have an allegiance to the country that is similar to that shown by religious zealots.
In conclusion, “Disgraced” and “Today’s Special “explore the dilemma and complexities faced by Americans with dual identities. Through the protagonists Amir and Samir, both works show the conflict experienced by Americans who try to prove their American identity while trying to stay connected to their religious and cultural values. Even though America is a cosmopolitan society made up of an eclectic group of citizens, it is challenging for immigrants to hold on to their American identity while trying to reconnect with their roots.