FINAL FINAL INDEPENDANT STUDY

‘For 10 years I lived a life of beating and degradation[1]’

How has Race and Gender been Represented in British Asian films, with particular reference to ‘Provoked’.
Asians have become one of the fast growing ethnicities 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]. Hence, Asians contribute a lot to our society, in today’s multi-cultural Britain. However, ‘Many British Asians consider themselves to be British, but at home they are more in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots[3]’. Asian British consider themselves British; however, they confirm and believe in their own culture. Thus, contradicting the true British values. An example of this can be, Asians speak English in the wider world but once inside have a world of their own. Perhaps because of this British Asian films often represent Asians inaccurately, for example, a lot of male dominance is seen towards the females. They have become stereotypes due to the dominant and patriarchal nature the male plays in their live. The male is considered the breadwinner of the house, making him active. Whereas, the females role to be the housekeeper, therefore, defining her role as passive and inferior to the males. However, recently released movie, ‘Provoked’, directed by Jag Mundhra, 2006, challenges the idea and assumption about this patriarchal society and view women in a new domain.

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 males, as they were seen to be ‘breadwinners’. Women are dependant on the males, as they are biologically stronger then women, and the females are physically seen to be inferior towards them. ‘Provoked’ (Dir: Jag Mundhra 2006) clearly shows how Rai the female protagonist is dependant on her husband Andrews: ‘…£60 how will I manage the household expensive?’[5] . Rai here confirms to the passive women whom relies upon her husband, who has both biological and social power. The biological, being the strong physical side and the social him having the money or the materials. However, Rai limits both. In addition to this, she has the potential to change the second; she too can earn money. Nevertheless, women at the time were considered inferior. Hence, the Eastern culture puts women in a repressed state. Another reason why this was not making a stereotype of the Asians, East VS West can be seen as a binary opposition, (Levi Strauss) where the West is rationale, dominant, and active, whereas the East is irrational, passive, and repressed. Throughout the course of this essay, these arguments will be discussed.

Asians have become a large proportion of the UK population and now are recognised by ‘the power of the brown pound’[6], they are economically growing and are making their identity through this. This can be linked to the idea of how British Asian films have increased tremendously ‘over the last twenty years, attitudes in Britain towards Asian cultures have shifted, as has the taste of mainstream audiences for Asian-themed films’[7] such as ‘East is East’ (Damien O’ Donnell, 1999), Bend it Like Beckham (Gurinder Chadha, 2002) Bride and Prejudice (Gurinder Chadha, 2004). ‘British Asian filmmaking has its roots in the 'Black' politics of the 1960s and '70s’[8]. These two were racial minorities in Britain and had to challenge this racism, and by doing so came to filming and have made some great movies, such include Baldwin's Nigger, 1969, Horace Ové. Asians as a number are increasing and will continue to do so. The West is fascinated by the culture of the East, and this can be a reason for the brown pound to still be in demand. ‘Provoked’ focuses on the genre of a docu-drama, and tells the true story of Kiranjeet Ahluwalia who is a victim of domestic violence by her alcoholic husband.

Throughout Provoked and many Asian films, the male are depicted as active, both physically and mentally. Whereas the women as passive and inferior to the men ‘… masculinity confer a privileged position of power and authority… to which woman is the Other’[9]. This is seen in ‘Provoked’ where there is a high angle shot of Andrews beating Rai and she is sitting on the floor crying. This connotes Andrews is superior and has power over Rai. The high angle also connotes him being given the God like authoritative. An image in the Eastern culture, which exists, is the husband should be seen as a god like figure. The low angle shot on Rai crying shows that she is subordinate to her husband and retains no power over him.

Moreover, the Mise En Scene in Provoked in particular reference to Rai’s costumes reflects her obedience and loyalty towards her husband. She is constantly seen wearing traditional costumes like Salwar Kameez, golden bangles and most importantly her wedding necklace. This portrays to the audience that she is a traditional women whom loves her culture: ‘they are in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots’[10], despite living in Britain. Nevertheless, Rai’s bond with her culture could be an illusion, for her husband, as he perceives her weak, as she will not confront him. He may perceive her to be weak as she never dresses in English clothes, and this may be a reason for him having an affair with a white woman. This may suggests that Britain is a multi-cultural society we are living in, where all the Asians interact with each other.

‘Provoked’ heavily focuses a lot on the culture, the close up zoom of Rai in jail taking of her wedding necklace and the parallel music at the back makes the scene look emotional and dramatic, signifying how important ones religion and culture is. Developing this many Asian religion see god to be male, this therefore makes religion to be patriarchal, and when the females prays to god, it therefore makes them look passive, as they are being portrayed as passive and dependant on the males.

Furthermore, both sexes’ roles have clearly been segregated in ‘Provoked’. Similarly, this segregation is due to the material, power and money. The extreme close up money is Andrews hand in ‘Provoked’ simply shows us that he is the sole breadwinner of the house. Hence, conforming the ideology that he is the dominant one. Rai 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 reoccurring stereotype in many Asian films, 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.

'Second Wave' was coined by Marsha Lear, and refers to the increase in feminist activity’[11]. This was the period, in the late 1960’s where females wanted to increase their status and make their identity of their own. It can be seen that Asians are trying to achieve this now. ‘Second Wave Feminism did not just strive to extend the range of social opportunities open to women, but also, through intervention within the spheres of reproduction, sexuality and cultural representation, to change their domestic and private lives’[12]. The purpose of this act was to give females a better right and say, in which they can be seen to be equal between the two sexes.

During the Second World War ‘Women were also conscripted to civilian war work in factories’[13] . This was the stage when females had to take over masculine jobs, as the men’s had gone to war. It can be said that females are seen to be superior and had gained their new identity by proving that they can do men’s job and not just sit at home and be typical housewives. However, this, preposition has not been yet achieved for the Asian culture, their religion and culture needs to be challenged.

Living in the 21st century ‘woman show that they can do everything that man can’[14]. In terms of the physical attributes 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’[15]. In British Asian films, we do also see a lot of role reversal, which shows to us that our society is developing. An example of this can be seen in ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ where Jess wants to become a football player, and achieve something in life rather then being perceived as a ‘housewife’.

Comparing this to ‘Provoked’, there is a POV shot of Rai walking up the stairs with a candle in her hand. The background is dark and Rai is holding a candle, which brings out the effect of ‘Chiaro-Oscuro’ giving the audience a harmonious effect. Rai walking on her own connotes independence, and no longer needs to rely on husband. When Rai burns Andrews’s body, this shows us not to underestimate females as they can also be seen as mentally powerful. This was the opening shot of the film following Barthes enigma theory, as it made the audience feel confused as to why she killed her husband, and puts the audience in a dilemma.

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 husband’s death, it is down to Nargis to take care of her children and pay her debts. 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 as it is collapsing and her children are on top of it. This shows us that 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 superior. Hence, some critics suggest that ‘woman is never genuine at any period of her life’[16]. This can be argued as both texts ‘Provoked and Mother India’ show both protagonists learned to live without the male figure in their lives. Nargis’s husband ran away after his hands were cut in an accident. Hence, he was emasculated and castrated. The women are portrayed as strong-minded individuals. Both these texts challenge and redefine women as strong.

Hence linking this matter to the social world, it can be argued that women are seen to be active role models, a fine example to be Benazir Bhutto. She was the first women to be elected and to run the Muslim state and was the Prime Minister of Pakistan; ‘she was one of the most high-profile women leaders in the world’[17]. This shows us that females in today’s generation can challenge masculinity, and in this case ‘overwhelmingly male-dominated political establishment’[18]. Referring back to ‘Provoked’ Rai has also challenged her husband by burning him and then being sent to jail, and getting justice.

‘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 an individual as she wants to play football, hence her strict parents are totally against this ‘your sisters getting engaged and you’re sitting here watching this skinhead boy’[19]. This shows the typical conventions of Asians, 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 tackling the football in the park against five 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’s can be seen as negative obstacles and Jess the only female as good.
Within this movie, Jess has an 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’[20], 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 is not happy with his daughter playing football: ‘you must start behaving like a proper woman’. Again, this is clearly showing that her father wants her to be cooking and cleaning as football is a ‘boy thing’. This matter is also supported by female feminists ‘women will always be women’[21], suggesting that women will always remain active, dominant. Gradually at the end of the film, her parents are happy with her playing football and decide to give her freedom rather then ‘…making round chapattis’.

Looking back at ‘Provoked’ Rai’s character could embody Madonna, as she has not being portrayed as a whore who wears tight clothing clothes and revealing her skin off to the males, rather she has been portrayed as ‘ a women who is not afraid of men’[22]. Again, a fine example of this is at the opening of the film where she burns her husband, and has the courage to go to jail. She liberated herself from the pain and torment she was going through.

‘The term racism… is frequently used to express patriotic fervour and straightforward ignorance about other cultures’[23]. When Rai is sent to prison inspectors are 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. The reason for this being is because Rai was the only Asian, and she may have felt like the ‘Other’: ‘ Kiran…ja? What?... Kiranjeet Ahluwalia’, during this Rai 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. Ra is the only Asian in the prison, and is attacked by a white criminal. By the use of a long shot, it highlights clearly that Rai is being 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 Colonialism when they used to rule the ‘Indians’, and the British had viewed the Indians as ‘Cowards, effeminate, untrustworthy’[24]. In addition to this, it makes the Indians look derogated and cannot be trusted. Thus, it makes the Indians look inferior to the whites where as they are being portrayed as superior and active obstacles.

Both the Indians and Whites were categorized as ‘we are civilised they are barbaric’[25]. The imagery here it is hinting out are that Asians are seen to be wild and animalistic; we can link Levi Strauss’s binary opposition here, as good Vs evil. Developing onto this point theorist Homi Bhabha believes that ‘what we see in the brown Englishmen is a hideously displaced image of ourselves’ [26]. This simply suggests that Asians have become more English, that they are now mocking the English themselves. An example of this can be the programme ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ which was first seen in 1996.

Racism is another reoccurring theme in ‘East is East’, set in 1971, focusing on the conflict between India and Pakistan. George Khan is a Pakistani living in Salford who runs a chip shop. He is very deviant Muslim and wants his seven 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’? When this is said from Mr.Khan’s mouth, there is an extreme close up of his angry face. This clearly shows us that there is still conflict with India and Pakistan. This is seen in today’s society as ‘Islamophobia an irrational fear or prejudice towards Muslims and the religion of Islam’[27]. People have become scared due to the media’s portrayal of the Muslims being seen as terrorist and every Asian being called ‘Paki’. This is the Hypodermic Needle Theory, where passive audiences are injected by the media and digest into them whatever is given. . The POV shot of Mr.Khan pulling his son out of the mosque ‘this is dirty’ (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 in contemporary society.

However, in ‘Provoked’, ‘Female roles have definitely become tougher’[28]. Rai gets her right with the help of her prison friend who is white (Ronnie) as she helped her with her English and told her story of being 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 Rai get freedom and persuade her to write a story ‘ I want to help you… Kiranjeet’. 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, Rai is freed and gets the chance to go to her house with her two children. This gives out the sense of ‘comfortable reassurance, closing down the complexities and ambiguities of the social world’[29]. The film also makes statement by saying that all the communities regardless of race/gender need to collaborate with each other. Feminism is all one in the right for equality.

To conclude, we can now say that with thorough information womens’ roles have tremendously changed over the years and ‘Provoked’ is a fine example of a British Asian women seen in a new light. Rai has been portrayed as being active towards her husband and subordinate to him. ‘There have been several films centred around leading female roles’[30], 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’[31], simply meaning women can be seen to be independent and as active as men, and should not be underestimated. Moreover, it also connotes that we now live in a less racist society and everyone adapts to collaborate with each other.

Word count: 3,347

[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] http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/475617/
[8] http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/475617/
[9] Gender Studies Terms and Debates, A.Cranny-Francis, W.Waring, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby 2003 page 14
[10] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6921534.stm
[11] http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/ws/1st,_2nd,_3rd_wave.htm
[12] http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/ws/1st,_2nd,_3rd_wave.htm
[13] http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/30/women/secondww.htm
[14] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’, page 7
[15] http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/women_work/conference_downloads/adv_wom_key_fin.pdf
[16] Greer,Germanie (1999) ‘ The Female Eunuch’, page 119
[17] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2228796.stm
[18] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2228796.stm
[19] Bend it Like Beckham 2002
[20] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’
[21] Beauvoir De Simone,(1953) The Second Sex page 734
[22] Beauvoir De Simone,(1953) The Second Sex page 698
[23] Mason, David, (2000) Race and Ethnicity, Modern Britain page 9
[24] Sardar, Ziauddin (2000) Introducing Media Studies Page 13
[25] Sardar, Ziauddin (2000) Introducing Media Studies Page 13
[26] Sardar, Ziauddin (2000) Introducing Media Studies page 119
[27] http://www.islamophobia.org/news.php
[28] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 66
[29] Phillips, Patrick (1996)
[30] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 66
[31] Gauntlett, David (2002) ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ page 7