I thoroughly enjoyed "Up In The Air" and "Avatar," but perhaps my favorite recent movie is one that is highly unlikely to garner a golden statuette, much less a nomination nod: "Goodbye Solo." From North Carolinian Ramin Bahrani, "Goodbye Solo" is the story of a Senegalese cab-driver named Solo and the friendship he strikes up with an old man named William whom he picks up one night on the streets of Winston-Salem. The first time they meet, William tells Solo he will pay him $1000 to pick him up in one week's time and drive him to Blowing Rock, high in the Great Smokies, and leave him there.
The movie's portrayal of an immigrant's life in my home state got me thinking about all the immigrants I have seen in Europe. In Copenhagen, a lot of the non-native population is Middle Eastern. I get my hair cut by an Iraqi Kurd. My local fast food of choice is falafel with chili wrapped in pita bread from one of the zillions of corner shops named Pizza, Kebab or Burger Grille and run by Turks. It's impossible to go to the laundromat or grocery store without passing a woman in a headscarf.
As in many other Western European countries, the immigrant population creates a degree of discomfort among the locals when their deeply-avowed sense of tolerance rubs up against their deeply-ingrained sense of cultural unity. The ideological core of their welfare state is based on a "contract" whereby the people adhere to certain values (like civil liberties and democracy), perform certain tasks (work, pay taxes) and, though it's less commonly acknowledged, embrace Danish culture and national identity. In return, the government guarantees (and often pays for) things like health care, education, and retirement.
Whether or not that system is best is another debate, but as it pertains to immigrants the problem arises when "New Danes," as the preferred nomenclature calls them, get the governmental benefits without buying into the values, particularly the thorny one of Danish cultural identity. This leads to the political rise of ultra-nationalist parties like the Danish People's Party. An election poster a few blocks from my apartment featuring party leader Pia Kjærsgaard's face has been adorned with a Hitler mustache, showing how some feel about the group's policies. The fact that they have gained seats in parliament in every election for the past ten years shows their resonance.
In many ways, this situation makes me appreciate the American outlook. I know the general sentiment right now is that our country is in a funk. We're deep in debt, people can't find work and the political system is incapable of providing solutions. At a time when the future looks pretty bleak, one can take heart in the fact that as a nation of immigrants, I believe we do a very good (but certainly not perfect) job of adapting our culture to outside influences rather than forcing others to conform. In a world that is inevitably becoming more fluid, more transnational and more multicultural, I think this gives us a big advantage. If you're still feeling glum, I suggested watching "Goodbye Solo." It definitely put a smile on my face.
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