Postcolonial Film Reviews: Midnight's Children, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Blank Prince and Abdul and Victoria
'Postcolonial studies' is a recently developed field which focuses on the aftermath effects of Colonialism on native Culture, Society, Politics, Ways of living and thinking. Postcolonial studies provide a variety of academic tools or theories to study the psychological, Social, Economic and cultural challenges people faced in the process of Decolonization. It also provides critical insight to study the postcolonial literature from different approaches. As Timothy Brennan rightly said...
"postcolonial studies brings together globalizing features of world history and human societies and colonial practices and anticolonial challenges"
Postcolonial theory disrupts western cultural and political hegemony by “giving natives the permission to tell their own stories”— Edward Said
Postcolonial Cinema Studies is a sub-genre of Postcolonial studies. Where the intersection between Post Colonial studies and Cinema Studies happen. How a movie represents Postcolonialism with use of Cinematography also a rising category under Postcolonial studies.
In this particular Blog a writer tries to study the selected films from the perspective of Postcolonialism. You can also watch, below attached Salman Rushdie's interview about what are the challenges he faced during this Film making.
Midnight's Children Movie (2012)
Midnight's Children is an award winning novel and master piece by Salman Rushdie later adapted as Film on the same name direction by Deepa Mehta and script written by Salman Rushdie.
Film is very much faithful to the novel with excellent direction, dialogues and acting creates visual images which make the film more interesting and worthy to watch. But to some extent the movie fails to create Emotional effects on the audience's mind. And we can understand why this happens because 'Adapting a movie from a novel is not an easy task.' And especially when Novel almost covers the history of 60 large years, begins from early 20th century to independence of India and post-Independence representation till the dark event in Indian History of Emergency of late 1970s. In a way the movie depicts the fragmented events of Novel which is described very detailed in Novel.
Here Salman Rushdie rejects the British Colonial version of India by protecting "New real India" after Independence which is very near to fact and Truth of Indian culture and history.
The movie unearths the history of Indian independence as well as of Indian partition by representing a pair of children who were born in Bombay at the stroke of midnight on 15th August, 1947, with the birth of a new country.
Midnight Children is a story of two new born babies who are born at Midnight stroke when India gets independence and both children swapped by Nurse Mary. Subsequent growth of both children in India, and simultaneously growth of India as an independent nation is depicted parallely in this movie.
The film is very rich in it's narration which significantly captures the history of pre-independent India and Pakistan, from World war first to second, And After Independence rule of Indira Gandhi and great historical event of 'Emergency' during 1975 to 1977. Use of Magic Realism makes the film more catchy which provides double folded meaning to narration. Symbols are also used effectively to enhance the visualization. It is a story of four generations from Grandparents to Grandchildren and the consequences experienced by them. The Narrator and central character rightly remarked that…
"I had been mysteriously handcuffed to history, my destinies indissolubly chained to those of my country."
Marxism is the major theme of the story. Joseph D'costa as a great supporter of marxist theory believes that…
"Rich need to be poor and
the poor need to be rich."
And for his notion his lover Mary- nurse at Hospital interchanges both children without any deep consideration for upcoming consequences. So, Saleem becomes the son of Amina Sinai who is from a wealthy rich family. And Shiva becomes the son of poor Snake charmer who is actually a child from the Sinai family.
Another major theme of Movie is Hybridity. Interchange of Child creates Hybrid identity of that child. And the parents of both children also belong to different communities. Shiva is a child of Muslim family now living with a Hindu snake charmer because of swapping. And Saleem is the child of Vaneeta, a hindu mother and Wee Willie Winkie, but actually he is born from Vanita's relationship with white Britisher Methwold. So, Saleem's Identity onone hand is Hindu and on the otger hand Christian and now he is living with Muslim Family.
"Midnight’s Children’s setting, Bombay, allows the novel’s stylistic innovations
and various forms of hybridity to flourish, because the city embodies the multiplicity,
theatricality, and diversity which the novel espouses."
Movie ends with the 'Emergency' applied in whole India under the rule of Indira Gandhi. At that time the camera revolved around a frame which shows 'Zero Years of Independence.' And again there is the birth of Adam who is the biological son of Shiva and Parvati raised by Saleem. So, the same event occurs at the Midnight of Independence. And this zero years shows that India is still undeveloped even after 40 years of Independence.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist Movie (2012)
"This sure-handed adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's international best seller shows Nair at her best."
(J.R.Jones)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is another post-colonial movie based on the same titled novel written by Mohsin Hamid, film directed by Meera Nair.
The story is narrated by Changez Khan(Riz Ahmed Actor) to an American Interviewer Bobby Lincoln. He narrates his own story of his fascination towards America, where he came with great ambitions. And how his strong faith shaken after the 9/11 attack on America and American's changing attitude towards Pakistani Muslim.
Identity of Changez Khan can be seen as hybrid identity, who born in Pakistan as Muslim and lived at America for few years and his comeback from America to Lahore is not complete abandonment of sub-continent America. The effects of American Culture can be still noticeable which shows his hybrid identity as Third Man, who is son of Pakistani poet, businessman of America and now a professor at Lahore.
American Islamophobia is a major theme of The Reluctant Fundamentalist movie. It depicts American's prejudicial nature towards any South Asian Muslim after 9/11 attack. They see Muslims with suspicious eyes. And only because of their so called stereotypical thought that Every Muslim is tereerist they forced Changez khan to remove his clothes. So, how far it is fair to blame every Muslim only because one is bad. How far it is fair to make generalization on the basis of only single evidence.
He is also suspected behind the kidnapping of Anse Rainier, an American professor at Lahore University. His beloved Erica also see him as Muslim Identity from Pakistani more than as human being. To make her show successful she uses the reference of Changez Khan…
"I had a Pakistani Once"
This shows how Americans look at Islamic identity with the so -called tag with 'Pakistani.' They are more interested in the religious identity of people instead of Normal Human beings. So, how the identity of South Asian Muslim is created by Occident is very artistically with subtlety of art came in light in this movie, where not much loud or violating action is used.
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