Self Evaluation
I think for attainment I would give myself a 2 (v.good). I think I always take part in the lesson, and make myself feel comfortable and relaxed.
For Effort I would definitely rate myself as 1. I put a lot of effort in my written work and make it to the best of my ability.
Punctuality, for this again i would give myself a 1. I am always on time and equipped with my work/homework and ready to start the lesson.
Submission and quality of homework: for this I would rate myself as a 2. I try my very best to produce the work to my ability and make it to the highest standard as possible.
Ability to work independently: for this I would probably give myself a 3. I really enjoy working as a group, but when I work alone I tend to get all the work done to the best of my ability.
Quality of writing: For this I would give myself a 3 again. I think the quality of my work will be a 2 again. I put a lot of effort in my work and I make sure it is to the best of my ability.
Media Folder: Definitely i would give myself a 1. My work is well organised and I make sure that everything in my folder is updated at all times.
Oral contribution in class: For this I would give myself a 2. I do take part in the lesson but i feel i can contribute more. (too shy)
Contribution to the debate team: definitely i would give myself a 1, not only because I am the captain but also because I make sure that everyone gets their work done on time.
Module 5: 1 well organised and up to date.
Module : 3 Needs to be updated with latest issues and debate news would give myself a 3.
Monday 25 February 2008
Sunday 3 February 2008
First Draft Idependant Study
‘For 10 years I lived a life of beating and degradation[1]’
How has Race and Gender been Represented in Asian British films, in particular reference to ‘Provoked’.
Asians have become one of the fast growing Race in Britain today ‘According to the National Office of Statistics, there were two million Asians in Britain by the end of 1999, an increase of more than half a million since the 1991 Census’[2]. In today’s society they make up nearly half the population and have settled well into it. However, ‘Many British Asians consider themselves to be British but at home they are more in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots[3]. Despite still living in Britain, Asians still stick to their cultural values as we see people celebrating Diwali and Eid. Thus, other Asian British films show a lot of male dominance and have portrayed Asians to be suppressed within their culture, especially the females to be inferior towards the men. However, recently realised movies a clear example to be ‘Provoked’ (directed by Jag Mundhra 2006) challenge the patriarchal society in today’s generation and view women’s into a new light.
Typically ‘under a patriarchal regime, women are, by definition, excluded from positions of power and authority’[4]. Women were depicted as passive objects and were seen to be ‘inferior’ towards the men and were classified to be dependant on the males, as they were seen to be ‘breadwinners’. During the early days women were seen to be having domestic roles such as being a housewife, cooking and cleaning, and were treated as children as they could not take their own decisions. Again this portrays that females in the early days relied a lot on the men’s. ‘Provoked’ (dir: Jag Mundhra 2006) clearly shows how Aishwarya Rai the female protagonist is dependant on her husband Naveen Andrews: ‘…£60 how will I manage the household expensive?’[5] Asian representation has always shown a female to be a typical housewife and to nurture the children, as they believe this is the best role that suits a wife/mother to do.
Asians have become a large proportion of the UK population and now are recognised by ‘the power of the brown pound’[6]. Asians are recognised by their culture that is developing rapidly over the UK, we now see people celebrating Eid and Diwali. Despite calling themselves ‘British Asians’ they have not forgotten their roots and values. A prime example of this can be recent movies that target British Asian, such as ‘East is East’ (Damien O’ Donnell, 1999), Bend it Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, 2002) Bride and Prejudice (Gurinder Chadha, 2004) and so on. ‘Provoked’ focuses on the genre of a docu-drama, and tells the true story of Kiranjeet Ahluwalia who got battered by her alcoholic husband. This fits in well with the British Asian audiences as not only is the text realistic but because of some of the ideologies and values that the movie is representing.
A typical stereotype that are seen in nearly all Asian British films is ‘ … masculinity confer a privileged position of power and authority… to which woman is the Other’ [7]. This is simply saying that men are viewed as a ‘god like image’ and are seen to be superior where the female is seen to be inferior. Linking this matter to ‘Provoked’ the high angle shot of Naveen hitting Aishwarya, and Aishwarya is sitting on the floor crying simply connotes that Naveen is superior and has got power and authority over Aishwarya, and the low angle shot on Aishwarya crying shows that she is subordinate to her husband and retains no power over him. Females were seen and treated like passive objects, that only know how to cook and clean, and are well at doing domestic roles. Comparing this to ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ we see the mother of Jess all the time cooking and cleaning, which shows the British Asian Audience that despite living in Britain and fitting in the British culture ‘they are more in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots’[8], where the role of the female is to be a housewife and provide warmth and love to the family.
Developing on to this matter, ‘Provoked’ shows how Aishwarya is following her rules and cultural values by wearing a ‘Salwar Kameez’, gold bangles and most importantly her wedding necklace which acts like a symbol of her being married. Again the ideology this is sending out to the British Asian audience is that despite living in Britain and adapting to their culture they follow their culture values. ‘Provoked’ heavily focuses a lot on the culture, the close up zoom on Aishwarya taking of her wedding necklace and the parallel music at the back makes the scene look emotional and dramatic, signifying how important religion is.
Both men and females roles have clearly been segregated in British Asian films. The extreme close up of the money is Naveen’s hand in ‘Provoked’ simply shows us that he is the ‘breadwinner’ of the house and the house runs in his hand only as he brings the money home, Aishwarya is seen packing the clothes away and cooking which makes her look inferior towards her husband and a typical ‘housewife’. Constantly seen in other Asian films ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ we see Jess’s mum in the kitchen cooking and Anupum Kher her husband in his uniform relaxing and watching T.V. This is a clear stereotype in today’s society, especially with in the Asian culture. The impression we as the audience get is first of all a sense of identification. We can relate that men are seen to be superior and as the ‘Breadwinner’ and the female seen to be doing the domestic roles and portrayed as subordinate to the men.
Women’s identity had drastically changed after the Second World War This is the period when men were fighting in the war, so females had to take over. ‘Women were also conscripted to civilian war work in factories’[9]. It can be argued this is the element when females had gained freedom and independence, and were viewed into a new light. Typically, females were seen as nurturing their children and seen to be the ‘expressive leader’ in the family, hence ‘women bore the responsibility of feeding, clothing and keeping their families together’[10]. Again this is showing how society was changing and giving females more of the opportunity to gain freedom and independence.
Living in the 21st century ‘woman show that they can do everything that man can’[11]. We no longer just see males to be ‘breadwinners’ but also females are no longer seen to be subordinate to the men’s, as ‘women are more likely then men to work part-time’[12]. In British Asian films we do also see a lot of role reversal, which shows to us that our society has developed and is still developing.
During the beginning of ‘Provoked’ there is a POV shot of Aishwarya walking up the stairs with a candle in her hand. The background is all dark and creates a ‘Chiaro-Oscuro’ effect. We then see a birds eye view shot of her husband (Naveen) getting burnt in the bed. This creates enigma for the audience and makes them think why Aishwarya killed her husband. This is following Bathes enigma theory, and the purpose of this shot may portray Aishwarya to be independent and making her look ‘superior and dominant’, as she has killed her husband and wanting ‘freedom’[13] .
This can be linked to a historical text that follows very similar conventions to ‘Provoked’. ‘Mother India’ 1957 is a movie that heavily focuses on the genre of independence and dominance. This film revolves around Nargis (the main female protagonist) after her husbands death, it is down to Nargis to take care of her children and pay her debts of. In one of the scene there is a horrific hurricane where Nargis is fighting to save her children and keep them secure, there is a medium shot of Nargis holding the shelter when it is collapsing as her children are on top of it. This shows us that a woman can easily have masculine qualities in them, and it makes Nargis look like a strong and dominant character in the movie, where she is seen to be ‘Superior’. Furthermore, in one of the songs is ‘Mother India’ we see Nargis farming and working really hard on the farm with her children , with the edits in the song it makes the narrative flow and gives a sense to the audience that her children are dependant on her and it is up to her to fulfil her children’s needs. Again, this is not only making Nargis look superior and dominant, but also it makes her look like a ‘Breadwinner’, as the fatherly figure is missing.
‘Bend it Like Beckham’ focuses on Jess an Asian girl from a Sikh family who is a big fan of David Beckham. In this film, we see Jess to be as a individual as she wants to play football, hence her strict mum and dad are totally against this ‘ your sisters getting engaged and your sitting here watching this skinhead boy’[14]. This shows the typical conventions of Asian’s, how they perceive themselves to be ‘ideal’ and the ‘best’, and how the Asian should just stay in their culture and not get influenced into other cultures. The fast editing shot of Jess tacking the football in the park against 5 men shows how Jess is seen to be independent and it also makes her look dominant against them, as she is the only female. Again we can link this to Levi Strauss binary opposition, the men can be seen as evil and Jess the only female can be seen as good. Adding on to this, Jess’s mum is very strict with her religion as she is following her cultural vales at all times, she is concerned with Jess playing football all the time. We see a shot of her mother cooking, while at the back Jess has got ‘cauliflower’ and is practicing her skills on it: ‘ I was married at your age…you don’t even want to learn how to cook daal’[15] (daal meaning curry) . Again this is showing, despite living in Britain Asians still follow their roots and values, and classify women’s to only be housewives.
Within this movie Jess has also got older sister who is getting married. We can categorise their roles into two ‘the Whore’ and ‘Madonna’. We can say that her older sister is the ‘Whore’ as she is seen to have a sexual relationship with her boyfriend, and her friends are seen to be wearing ‘skimpy’ clothing. Thus, her older sister is seen to stand out in front of Jess, as she wears make up and is seen as a typical ‘feminine’. It can be argued that Jess is seen to be ‘Madonna’, despite knowing that she does not cook or clean but is seen as a ‘tom boy’: ‘ Femininity is not a core value for woman today’[16], this can reflect back at Jess’s character as she does not care how she looks, but is only interested in playing football. Her father Anuphum Kher is not happy with his daughter playing football: ‘you must start behaving like a proper woman’[17]. Again this is clearly showing that her father wants her to be cooking and cleaning as football is a ‘boy thing’. Gradually at the end of the film, her father and mother are happy with her playing football and decide to give her freedom rather then ‘ …making round chapattis’[18]. This is showing that gender roles have changed and it is not only the males who are seen to be independent but also female can be seen as hard-working and dominant.
Looking back at ‘Provoked’, there is racism seen towards the Asians, simply meaning Aishwarya Rai. When she is sent to prison and while taking the name of all criminals, the Inspector who is Black finds it difficult to pronounce her name, but says everyone else’s name perfectly fine, and this was done deliberately: ‘ Kiran…ja? What?... Kiranjeet Ahluwalia’[19], during this Aishwarya pronounces her own name stating that it is not a difficult name to pronounce. This links to the society we are living in as it is a multi cultural society with different races and ethnicity. Aishwarya is the only Asian in the prison, and gets attacked by a white criminal. By the use of a long shot, it highlights clearly that Aishwarya is getting bullied and is seen as the ‘odd one out’ , as all the other people are white/black. It targets the British Asian audience that they are the ones who tend to get bullied on a lot. This can be linked to the ‘British Empire’ during the period of Colonisation when they used to rule the ‘Indians’, and the British had viewed the Indians as ‘Cowards, effeminate, untrustworthy’[20]. Simply making the Indians to look inferior towards the White, and making the White to look ‘Superior’.
Racism is also seen in East is East, as this is one of the main genre it is connoting as it was set in 1971, and the conflict there was between India and Pakistan. George Khan is a Pakistani living in Salford that runs a chip shop. He is very strict with his religion and wants his 7 children to follow it appropriately, discovering his youngest son has not got circumcised he immediately pulls him out of the mosque and takes him to the hospital ‘Are you Indian’?[21]. When this is said from Mr.Khan’s mouth, there is a extreme close up with a angry face. This clearly shows us that there is still conflict with Indian’s and Pakistani’s. This can be linked in today’s society ‘Islamophobia an irrational fear or prejudice towards Muslims and the religion of Islam’[22]. People have become scared due to the media, and see every Muslim to be a ‘paki’ and a terrorist. The POV shot of Mr.Khan pulling his son out of the mosque ‘this is dirty’ [23](pointing down to his penis) shows the respect he has for his religion, and it can be said how important religion was then and still is seen to be important.
Going back to ‘Provoked’, ‘Female roles have definitely become tougher’[24]. Aishwarya gets her right political with the help of her prison friend who is white (Ronnie) as she helped her with her English and told her story of getting abused by her alcoholic husband. This shows us that we are living in a multi cultural society and that females are standing up for themselves, as they no longer want to be seen as inferior and subordinate to the men’s. ‘Provoked’ shows how the ‘Black Southall Sisters’ help Kiranjeet (Aishwarya) get freedom and persuade her to write a story ‘ I want to help you… Kiranjeet’[25]. This was a female who was helping her, and shows us that society has changed and developed and women now are seen to be strong and fight for their rights. Towards the end of the film, Aishwarya is freed and gets the chance to go to her house with her two children.
To conclude ‘Provoked’ is a prime example how Asian female roles have changed and that they can be seen to be powerful. Adding on to this, ‘Provoked’ shows the clear stereotypes of Asian, such include the clothing that they are wearing and most importantly the roles that are given. ‘there have been several films centred around leading female roles’[26], especially with British Asian film. Provoked is a film that challenges a lot of stereotypes and especially challenging the patriarchal society. ‘Women show that they can do everything that men can’[27], simply meaning women can be seen to be independent.
Word count: 2,772
[1] Provoked 2006
[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/asian_britain.stm
[3] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6921534.stm
[4] Gender Studies Terms and Debates A. Cranny-Francis, W.Waring, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby 2003 page 15
[5] Provoked 2006
[6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2004/jan/13/raceintheuk.advertising
[7] Gender Studies Terms and Debates, A.Cranny-Francis, W.Waring, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby 2003 page 14
[8] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6921534.stm
[9] http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/30/women/secondww.htm
[10] http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/30/women/secondww.htm
[11] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’, page 7
[12] http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/women_work/conference_downloads/adv_wom_key_fin.pdf
[13] Provoked 2006
[14] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[15] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[16] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’
[17] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[18] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[19] Provoked 2006
[20] Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
[21] East is East 1999
[22] http://www.islamophobia.org/news.php
[23] East is East
[24] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 66
[25] Provoked, 2006
[26] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 66
[27] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 7
‘For 10 years I lived a life of beating and degradation[1]’
How has Race and Gender been Represented in Asian British films, in particular reference to ‘Provoked’.
Asians have become one of the fast growing Race in Britain today ‘According to the National Office of Statistics, there were two million Asians in Britain by the end of 1999, an increase of more than half a million since the 1991 Census’[2]. In today’s society they make up nearly half the population and have settled well into it. However, ‘Many British Asians consider themselves to be British but at home they are more in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots[3]. Despite still living in Britain, Asians still stick to their cultural values as we see people celebrating Diwali and Eid. Thus, other Asian British films show a lot of male dominance and have portrayed Asians to be suppressed within their culture, especially the females to be inferior towards the men. However, recently realised movies a clear example to be ‘Provoked’ (directed by Jag Mundhra 2006) challenge the patriarchal society in today’s generation and view women’s into a new light.
Typically ‘under a patriarchal regime, women are, by definition, excluded from positions of power and authority’[4]. Women were depicted as passive objects and were seen to be ‘inferior’ towards the men and were classified to be dependant on the males, as they were seen to be ‘breadwinners’. During the early days women were seen to be having domestic roles such as being a housewife, cooking and cleaning, and were treated as children as they could not take their own decisions. Again this portrays that females in the early days relied a lot on the men’s. ‘Provoked’ (dir: Jag Mundhra 2006) clearly shows how Aishwarya Rai the female protagonist is dependant on her husband Naveen Andrews: ‘…£60 how will I manage the household expensive?’[5] Asian representation has always shown a female to be a typical housewife and to nurture the children, as they believe this is the best role that suits a wife/mother to do.
Asians have become a large proportion of the UK population and now are recognised by ‘the power of the brown pound’[6]. Asians are recognised by their culture that is developing rapidly over the UK, we now see people celebrating Eid and Diwali. Despite calling themselves ‘British Asians’ they have not forgotten their roots and values. A prime example of this can be recent movies that target British Asian, such as ‘East is East’ (Damien O’ Donnell, 1999), Bend it Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, 2002) Bride and Prejudice (Gurinder Chadha, 2004) and so on. ‘Provoked’ focuses on the genre of a docu-drama, and tells the true story of Kiranjeet Ahluwalia who got battered by her alcoholic husband. This fits in well with the British Asian audiences as not only is the text realistic but because of some of the ideologies and values that the movie is representing.
A typical stereotype that are seen in nearly all Asian British films is ‘ … masculinity confer a privileged position of power and authority… to which woman is the Other’ [7]. This is simply saying that men are viewed as a ‘god like image’ and are seen to be superior where the female is seen to be inferior. Linking this matter to ‘Provoked’ the high angle shot of Naveen hitting Aishwarya, and Aishwarya is sitting on the floor crying simply connotes that Naveen is superior and has got power and authority over Aishwarya, and the low angle shot on Aishwarya crying shows that she is subordinate to her husband and retains no power over him. Females were seen and treated like passive objects, that only know how to cook and clean, and are well at doing domestic roles. Comparing this to ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ we see the mother of Jess all the time cooking and cleaning, which shows the British Asian Audience that despite living in Britain and fitting in the British culture ‘they are more in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots’[8], where the role of the female is to be a housewife and provide warmth and love to the family.
Developing on to this matter, ‘Provoked’ shows how Aishwarya is following her rules and cultural values by wearing a ‘Salwar Kameez’, gold bangles and most importantly her wedding necklace which acts like a symbol of her being married. Again the ideology this is sending out to the British Asian audience is that despite living in Britain and adapting to their culture they follow their culture values. ‘Provoked’ heavily focuses a lot on the culture, the close up zoom on Aishwarya taking of her wedding necklace and the parallel music at the back makes the scene look emotional and dramatic, signifying how important religion is.
Both men and females roles have clearly been segregated in British Asian films. The extreme close up of the money is Naveen’s hand in ‘Provoked’ simply shows us that he is the ‘breadwinner’ of the house and the house runs in his hand only as he brings the money home, Aishwarya is seen packing the clothes away and cooking which makes her look inferior towards her husband and a typical ‘housewife’. Constantly seen in other Asian films ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ we see Jess’s mum in the kitchen cooking and Anupum Kher her husband in his uniform relaxing and watching T.V. This is a clear stereotype in today’s society, especially with in the Asian culture. The impression we as the audience get is first of all a sense of identification. We can relate that men are seen to be superior and as the ‘Breadwinner’ and the female seen to be doing the domestic roles and portrayed as subordinate to the men.
Women’s identity had drastically changed after the Second World War This is the period when men were fighting in the war, so females had to take over. ‘Women were also conscripted to civilian war work in factories’[9]. It can be argued this is the element when females had gained freedom and independence, and were viewed into a new light. Typically, females were seen as nurturing their children and seen to be the ‘expressive leader’ in the family, hence ‘women bore the responsibility of feeding, clothing and keeping their families together’[10]. Again this is showing how society was changing and giving females more of the opportunity to gain freedom and independence.
Living in the 21st century ‘woman show that they can do everything that man can’[11]. We no longer just see males to be ‘breadwinners’ but also females are no longer seen to be subordinate to the men’s, as ‘women are more likely then men to work part-time’[12]. In British Asian films we do also see a lot of role reversal, which shows to us that our society has developed and is still developing.
During the beginning of ‘Provoked’ there is a POV shot of Aishwarya walking up the stairs with a candle in her hand. The background is all dark and creates a ‘Chiaro-Oscuro’ effect. We then see a birds eye view shot of her husband (Naveen) getting burnt in the bed. This creates enigma for the audience and makes them think why Aishwarya killed her husband. This is following Bathes enigma theory, and the purpose of this shot may portray Aishwarya to be independent and making her look ‘superior and dominant’, as she has killed her husband and wanting ‘freedom’[13] .
This can be linked to a historical text that follows very similar conventions to ‘Provoked’. ‘Mother India’ 1957 is a movie that heavily focuses on the genre of independence and dominance. This film revolves around Nargis (the main female protagonist) after her husbands death, it is down to Nargis to take care of her children and pay her debts of. In one of the scene there is a horrific hurricane where Nargis is fighting to save her children and keep them secure, there is a medium shot of Nargis holding the shelter when it is collapsing as her children are on top of it. This shows us that a woman can easily have masculine qualities in them, and it makes Nargis look like a strong and dominant character in the movie, where she is seen to be ‘Superior’. Furthermore, in one of the songs is ‘Mother India’ we see Nargis farming and working really hard on the farm with her children , with the edits in the song it makes the narrative flow and gives a sense to the audience that her children are dependant on her and it is up to her to fulfil her children’s needs. Again, this is not only making Nargis look superior and dominant, but also it makes her look like a ‘Breadwinner’, as the fatherly figure is missing.
‘Bend it Like Beckham’ focuses on Jess an Asian girl from a Sikh family who is a big fan of David Beckham. In this film, we see Jess to be as a individual as she wants to play football, hence her strict mum and dad are totally against this ‘ your sisters getting engaged and your sitting here watching this skinhead boy’[14]. This shows the typical conventions of Asian’s, how they perceive themselves to be ‘ideal’ and the ‘best’, and how the Asian should just stay in their culture and not get influenced into other cultures. The fast editing shot of Jess tacking the football in the park against 5 men shows how Jess is seen to be independent and it also makes her look dominant against them, as she is the only female. Again we can link this to Levi Strauss binary opposition, the men can be seen as evil and Jess the only female can be seen as good. Adding on to this, Jess’s mum is very strict with her religion as she is following her cultural vales at all times, she is concerned with Jess playing football all the time. We see a shot of her mother cooking, while at the back Jess has got ‘cauliflower’ and is practicing her skills on it: ‘ I was married at your age…you don’t even want to learn how to cook daal’[15] (daal meaning curry) . Again this is showing, despite living in Britain Asians still follow their roots and values, and classify women’s to only be housewives.
Within this movie Jess has also got older sister who is getting married. We can categorise their roles into two ‘the Whore’ and ‘Madonna’. We can say that her older sister is the ‘Whore’ as she is seen to have a sexual relationship with her boyfriend, and her friends are seen to be wearing ‘skimpy’ clothing. Thus, her older sister is seen to stand out in front of Jess, as she wears make up and is seen as a typical ‘feminine’. It can be argued that Jess is seen to be ‘Madonna’, despite knowing that she does not cook or clean but is seen as a ‘tom boy’: ‘ Femininity is not a core value for woman today’[16], this can reflect back at Jess’s character as she does not care how she looks, but is only interested in playing football. Her father Anuphum Kher is not happy with his daughter playing football: ‘you must start behaving like a proper woman’[17]. Again this is clearly showing that her father wants her to be cooking and cleaning as football is a ‘boy thing’. Gradually at the end of the film, her father and mother are happy with her playing football and decide to give her freedom rather then ‘ …making round chapattis’[18]. This is showing that gender roles have changed and it is not only the males who are seen to be independent but also female can be seen as hard-working and dominant.
Looking back at ‘Provoked’, there is racism seen towards the Asians, simply meaning Aishwarya Rai. When she is sent to prison and while taking the name of all criminals, the Inspector who is Black finds it difficult to pronounce her name, but says everyone else’s name perfectly fine, and this was done deliberately: ‘ Kiran…ja? What?... Kiranjeet Ahluwalia’[19], during this Aishwarya pronounces her own name stating that it is not a difficult name to pronounce. This links to the society we are living in as it is a multi cultural society with different races and ethnicity. Aishwarya is the only Asian in the prison, and gets attacked by a white criminal. By the use of a long shot, it highlights clearly that Aishwarya is getting bullied and is seen as the ‘odd one out’ , as all the other people are white/black. It targets the British Asian audience that they are the ones who tend to get bullied on a lot. This can be linked to the ‘British Empire’ during the period of Colonisation when they used to rule the ‘Indians’, and the British had viewed the Indians as ‘Cowards, effeminate, untrustworthy’[20]. Simply making the Indians to look inferior towards the White, and making the White to look ‘Superior’.
Racism is also seen in East is East, as this is one of the main genre it is connoting as it was set in 1971, and the conflict there was between India and Pakistan. George Khan is a Pakistani living in Salford that runs a chip shop. He is very strict with his religion and wants his 7 children to follow it appropriately, discovering his youngest son has not got circumcised he immediately pulls him out of the mosque and takes him to the hospital ‘Are you Indian’?[21]. When this is said from Mr.Khan’s mouth, there is a extreme close up with a angry face. This clearly shows us that there is still conflict with Indian’s and Pakistani’s. This can be linked in today’s society ‘Islamophobia an irrational fear or prejudice towards Muslims and the religion of Islam’[22]. People have become scared due to the media, and see every Muslim to be a ‘paki’ and a terrorist. The POV shot of Mr.Khan pulling his son out of the mosque ‘this is dirty’ [23](pointing down to his penis) shows the respect he has for his religion, and it can be said how important religion was then and still is seen to be important.
Going back to ‘Provoked’, ‘Female roles have definitely become tougher’[24]. Aishwarya gets her right political with the help of her prison friend who is white (Ronnie) as she helped her with her English and told her story of getting abused by her alcoholic husband. This shows us that we are living in a multi cultural society and that females are standing up for themselves, as they no longer want to be seen as inferior and subordinate to the men’s. ‘Provoked’ shows how the ‘Black Southall Sisters’ help Kiranjeet (Aishwarya) get freedom and persuade her to write a story ‘ I want to help you… Kiranjeet’[25]. This was a female who was helping her, and shows us that society has changed and developed and women now are seen to be strong and fight for their rights. Towards the end of the film, Aishwarya is freed and gets the chance to go to her house with her two children.
To conclude ‘Provoked’ is a prime example how Asian female roles have changed and that they can be seen to be powerful. Adding on to this, ‘Provoked’ shows the clear stereotypes of Asian, such include the clothing that they are wearing and most importantly the roles that are given. ‘there have been several films centred around leading female roles’[26], especially with British Asian film. Provoked is a film that challenges a lot of stereotypes and especially challenging the patriarchal society. ‘Women show that they can do everything that men can’[27], simply meaning women can be seen to be independent.
Word count: 2,772
[1] Provoked 2006
[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2002/race/asian_britain.stm
[3] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6921534.stm
[4] Gender Studies Terms and Debates A. Cranny-Francis, W.Waring, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby 2003 page 15
[5] Provoked 2006
[6] http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2004/jan/13/raceintheuk.advertising
[7] Gender Studies Terms and Debates, A.Cranny-Francis, W.Waring, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby 2003 page 14
[8] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6921534.stm
[9] http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/30/women/secondww.htm
[10] http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/30/women/secondww.htm
[11] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’, page 7
[12] http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/women_work/conference_downloads/adv_wom_key_fin.pdf
[13] Provoked 2006
[14] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[15] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[16] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’
[17] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[18] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[19] Provoked 2006
[20] Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
[21] East is East 1999
[22] http://www.islamophobia.org/news.php
[23] East is East
[24] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 66
[25] Provoked, 2006
[26] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 66
[27] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 7
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