A Reflexive Critique of a Film: Bride and Prejudice, 2004

A Reflexive Critique of a Film: Bride and Prejudice, 2004

Introduction

In this essay report I aim to provide my reflexive critique of the film Bride and Prejudice (2004) in relation to a cultural heritage theme. Reflexivity entails the critic’s inherent views and commentary about a theme captured in a literary podium (Lucy 2004: 13) such as a visual item be it DVD, film, or theatre performance. In this critique, I peruse through the theme of cultural heritage of Indian people in the South East Asia region as it flowed in my mind as I watched the film Bride and Prejudice. The film not only provides information about India’s rich cultural heritage but also the socio-political and cultural trends that have affected the cultural heritage and its transitioning. I feel that the tourism corporate sector should use more resources to promote this film, especially because of its ability to explore, and expose the Indian heritage and factors influencing the cultural authenticity of the Indian people. The tourism industry in the South East Asia region too should spend more money on the film and utilize it as a means of advertising the region to the tourist market. Through historical and literature readings, as well related films I have previously interacted with, I have come to learn that the South East Asia region is a good spot for tourist attraction because of its marvelously rich cultural diversity. The region shows a lot of differences when compared to dominant cultures of the West.  By promoting films such as Bride and Prejudice, the national government can help create more awareness of a distinct culture that exists in the world. The film widened my knowledge and understanding of a culture and hence will enable people to understand the behaviors of others, as influenced by the cultural environment. I believe that Bride and Prejudice film may not be known so much to a large number of people perhaps because of limited ways in which it has been promoted. Most of the promotion has centered on commodification in making the film sell out only to those interested in the entertainment aspect. However, a lot can be done to promote the film as an educational resource for tourism sites and cultural awareness in the region.

The cultures of the East have always interested me and various items captured in Bride and Prejudice brought me to the realization that I have immersed with a culture of the Indian people. However, I felt that there was commodification of this film as not all items depicted had the authenticity that can only be identified from an Indian culture. I believe that commodification was done to ensure that the film is attractive to people of different cultures, as there were a lot of elements that showed salient influence of the western culture. Nevertheless, I kept imagining how it would be for me if I took a tourist destination to India just to immerse with the colorful scenes and to join in the Indian dance as portrayed in the film.  Learning about the cultural heritage of a people, a place, or even historical events that shaped cultures in the past and present has always been an exciting adventure, especially for tourists who love discovering places and people of various cultures. I could see every essence of Indian cultural heritage presentation in the film beginning by mixing English language with ethnic languages such as Punjabi and Hindi, depictions of patriarchy, gender roles distinction, communal marriage ceremonies, unique dressing style, body decorations, folk dance and songs, and unique geographic location defined by monuments of deities and nature, among others. I also noticed that the film suggests the aspect of culture transition as some of the Indian cast had adopted lifestyles of the Western people as a result of interaction from western geographical locations. More so, the ability to discover this rich cultural heritage that excites our world has been enabled by the film Bride and Prejudice, hence the need to spend more resources in bringing about this awareness.  In this regard, I collated five materials from the film with the aim of giving my personal analysis of how the items bring out the aspect of the Indian culture. The items are first, a cultural heritage of the Indian people; second, the topic of traditional gender/family roles in the Indian society; third, cultural attitudes towards, romance, courtship, and marriage; fourth, the influences of re-orientalism and modernity on traditional roles, courtship and marriage among Indian people; fifth; the consequences of adhering/not adhering to cultural expectations as it relates to multiculturalism and alienation from traditional culture.

Item 1: Cultural heritage of the Indian people

“…sense of color is depicted through the clothing that the characters wear; which is         usually traditional Indian clothing especially in wedding scenes…” (Mathur 2007:       Para. 4).

When I saw the cast dressed in colorful saris for women and panches for men, I immediately knew that I was watching a film with a concept related to an Indian people. The quote reflects the aspect of authenticity of the Indian culture in relation to the mode of dressing. I also the felt that the film achieved the portray of the Indian heritage through dressing, body decorations for women, and rhythm, for example, where narratives breaks into Indian songs and dance, with both singers and dancers adorning costumes of South East Asian origin.

According to Acharya (2007: 14) and Lau (2009: 571) cultural heritage of a people is often identified with the tangible aspects such as historic places, buildings, monuments, clothing, and artifacts and. intangible attributes such as folklore, language, and traditions. In Bride and Prejudice (2004) these aspects have been portrayed as explained above and I feel that the heritage gives a good platform for one to learn about the Indian’s sense of lifestyle. The item collated from the movie succeeds in portraying the authenticity of the Indian cultural heritage through dressing, and rhythm.

Item 2: Traditional gender/family roles in the Indian/South Asian society

-“You should be stirring your husband’s dinner not trouble” (Lalita Bakshi, in Bride          and Prejudice, 2004).

The moment I heard these words in the film, I came to the realization that in the Indian culture, it is customary for either gender to have distinct roles, an aspect original to the Eastern cultures. The item shows that in some cultures, like that of Indians, some roles, like preparing the family meal are expected of females while, others are expected of males. Females are not expected to be domineering hence not loud or noisemakers.

Uberoi (2006: 34) also describes the traditional Indian society which is patriarchal as males have dominant roles over the females. Just as I knew, the Eastern woman is normally expected to be submissive and participate in gender-specific roles such as being a home-maker, cooking meals for their families, and also being pleasant to look at, and avoid behaviors that cause trouble. This is an interesting aspect to study about a culture because it is different from other cultures, for example, in the West where in some societies; women are allowed to undertake dominant or equal gender positions (Gangoli 2005: 160).

Item 3: Cultural attitudes towards, romance, courtship, and marriage

-“I will end up living in that rotten house, full of spinsters with no grandchildren”-            Mrs. Bakshi (Bride and Prejudice, 2004).

The expression of these words caught me thinking that the Indian culture holds the attitude that children’s marriage fate is determined by the parents. This proved true to what I already knew about the Indian culture where marriages are communal affair and one’s mate is chosen for him or her by the parents. The item shows authenticity where matrimonial ceremonies are a business of the family or community. I also felt that the item brings out the aspect of culture transitioning as in this case we have daughters who are still spinsters and causing their mother a great worry.

The item shows that marriage is highly valued in the traditional Indian culture and family life would be considered incomplete if eligible spinsters and bachelors remained unmarried (Gangoli 2005: 144). Being an affluent family, it is the duty of parents to seek equally affluent and rich, or people of similar social status as marriage partners for their children. The children, especially females had to play submissive roles of abiding by their parents wish and marry the grooms chosen for them. This contrast to modern society ideologies where the grown child is left to individual choices especially concerning matters that directly influences a person such as marriage (Gangoli 2005: 144).

Item 4: Influences of re-orientalism and modernity on traditional roles, courtship, and marriage

“You know what? I suggest you find yourself a simple, traditional girl to teach you to       dance like the natives…”(Lalita to Darcy-Bride and Prejudice, 2004).

I felt that the scene from which I heard the quote exposes the aspect of transitioning from culture and also commodification. The commodification aspect is brought out in the sense that an Indian woman, is depicted to be tough, and able to speak her mind against a male counterpart, just to make the film receptive to other cultures that do not tolerate female submission. It has therefore spoilt the aspect of authenticity in bringing out the real character or personality of the ideal Indian woman. Nevertheless, I feel that it points out to culture transitioning, where Indian females are being influenced by the modern environment to become more dominant.

The movie is shot in three setting comprising of India, Britain, and Los Angeles. Although the focus is on Indian culture, it is easy is to see that Indians with overseas orientation portray an alienated culture from the traditional one as they interact with the modern world in the orient (Lau 2009: 573). The alienation from the traditional cultural set up is also evident in the film production in that there is hybridization of the cast, scenes, plot, cinematography in a way that film can be appreciated by both Indian and Western audience (Gurinder & Berges 2005).

Item 5: Consequences of adhering/not adhering to cultural expectations as it relates to multiculturalism and alienation from traditional culture.

“Watch yourself, Darcy; he’s about to transform to the Indian MC Hammer…!”(Kirian, Bride and Prejudice, 2004).

The item reveals culture transitioning from what I believed to be authentic of the Indian culture. Two worlds have come together and parts of their cultures have been diluted or appropriated merge with the other. I watched that westerners like Darcy in the cast, at first have contempt for the Indian culture, but later find that there is everything worth appreciating in the same culture. On the other hand, Easterners like Lalita, who have adopted the Western style of being an independent, strong, and individualized woman opposed to the submissive nature of women in her culture. I feel that these scenes transcend from what I would expect of Indian norms and values

The film production is confined in the category of South Asian diasporic cultural formations (Wilson 2006: 323). Other than English, dialogue takes place in Hindi and Punjabi, which shows a merge of the orient, more like an East meets the West. The film reflects how the Asians in the society have more power and influence as a social group today than in the past years. The film is adapted from the book Pride and Prejudice by a British author, and directed as Bride and Prejudice by an Indian director (Geraghty 2006: 164). I believe that this is an ability of share the knowledge of a culture of a people and the social changes that it has gone through as a result of merging or interacting with other cultures.

Summary

In the essay, I have collated five items of interest from the film Bride and Prejudice (2004) that have helped me understand and build to the knowledge in the cultural heritage of the South Asian people particularly the Indians. I have noted that the aspects of authenticity, commodification, and appropriation have been featured from the items I collated.  I feel that the film succeeds in bringing out authentic elements of the Indian heritage for example, dressing in saris and panches, arranged marriages within families, distinct gender roles, and females being perceived as fragile, beautiful and delicate. I spotted approporiation from the aspect where some elements of the Eastern and Western worlds have been merged, and this has succeeded in making the audience understand of the cultural transitions taking place in South East Asia. The film also has the aspect of commodification which I believe has diluted the solidity of the authentic Indian cultural elements to make it likeable to audiences that may not be familiar with the eastern culture. I feel that this is not a right thing to do in promoting the Indian heritage because the more authentic the film depicts its theme, the higher the chance to attract tourists interested in discovering and exploring diverse cultures. In this case, it is like the film has tried to incorporate elements of various cultures and has limited our accurate understanding of the Indian culture. Nevertheless, I feel that the film succeeded in appealing to a wider audience through appropriation of original Indian depictions to include modern aspects.  The Indians are guarded by a rich cultural heritage that has been portrayed in the film. It is also a society defined by its own culture and traditions. There is also a traditional unique to this people as contrasted to the western people in various ways. Learning about the cultural heritage of different societies around the world is an exciting aspect of tourism, at global level. The film has been very successful in highlighting how societies are perceived, and how they are in the reality dimension. Most important is the understanding about how the transcendence across the cultural boundaries can be influenced by the existence of two or more totally different cultural groups in one location. Some people do not fit in the stereotypical expectation of their cultures while others shift from a cultural ethnocentric view to a cultural tolerant view of other cultures. Tourism, either through physical or virtual visitation of a place is therefore an important process of enabling people to understand the authenticity that defines specific cultural groups, as well as factors that bring out derivatives or alienation.

List of References:

Acharya, R. (2007). Tourism and cultural heritage of India. New Delhi: RBSA Publishers

Bride and Prejudice. (2004). Gurinder Chadha [Dir.] Perf. Aishwarya Ray and Martin Henderson, Alliance Films.

Gangoli, G.  (2005). “Sexuality, sensuality and belonging: Representations of the ‘Anglo-Indian’ and the ‘Western’ Woman in Hindi Cinema.” Bollyworld: Popular Indian Cinema through a Transnational Lens. Eds. Raminder Kaur and Ajay J. Sinha. New Delhi: Sage, 143-162.

Geraghty, C.  2006. ‘Jane Austen Meets Gurinder Chadha’.  South Asian Popular Culture , vol. 4. no. 2, pp. 163-8.

Gurinder, C., & Berges, P.M. (2005).  Bride and Prejudice: Audio commentary. Alliance Films, DVD.

Lau, L. (2009) ‘Re-Orientalism: The Perpetration and development of Orientalism by Orientals’, Modern Asian Studies, vol.43, no.2, pp. 571-90.

Lucy, J. (2004). A. Reflexive Language: Reported Speech and Metapragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Mathur, S. (2007). ‘From British “Pride” to Indian “Bride”: Mapping the Contours of a Globalised (Post?)Colonialism’, M/C Journal, vol. 10, no.2.

Uberoi, P. (2006). Freedom and Destiny: Gender, family, and popular culture in India. New Delhi: Oxford UP, 2006.

Wilson, C. A. (2006). ‘Bride and prejudice: A Bollywood comedy, of manners’, Literature/Film Quarterly, vol. 34, no.4, pp. 323-31.

Last Completed Projects

Are you looking for a similar paper or any other quality academic essay? Then look no further. Our research paper writing service is what you require. Our team of experienced writers is on standby to deliver to you an original paper as per your specified instructions with zero plagiarism guaranteed. This is the perfect way you can prepare your own unique academic paper and score the grades you deserve.

Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.

[order_calculator]