Americanized: Rebel without a Green Card

Sara argues that the film Not Without My Daughter is the reason many Iranians dislike Sally Field, who plays an American woman married to an abusive Iranian husband. Although “critically panned for its racist depictions and Islamophobic tendencies” (74), the film was a commercial success in the United States and shaped misperceptions about Iranian Muslim men—mainly that they were wife abusers. As a result, Iranian men found it difficult to date non-Iranian women in America. Iranians blamed Sally Field for these negative representations while forgiving Alfred Molina (who plays the abusive husband). Sara describes this double standard as an example of sexism. She also writes her parents now like Sally Field, as they enjoy her television role in Brothers & Sisters.

Chapter 5 focuses on Sara’s introduction to marijuana and her attraction to boys who smoke it. Sara’s father has a liberal perspective about experimenting with drugs. He encourages Sara to bring drugs home and use them with him so he can control the environment and ensure she is safe. Sara never accepts her father’s offer but appreciates his openness. During Sara’s first year of high school, she does not attend parties, social events at school, or use drugs.