Visual Arts History 1045A/B Study Guide - Final Guide: Non-Resident Indian And Person Of Indian Origin, New Hollywood, Neocolonialism
29 Apr 2018
School
Department
Professor
FILM 1022!
Third and Fourth Cinemas - 1960’s
•emerged as a result of colonialism and European imperialism (expansion of power during the
Renaissance)!
•colonial power viewed the world with a sense of entitlement !
•colonialism is natural and inevitable !
•colonial power imposed their own cultures upon the colonized territory !
•decolonization —> neo-colonization —> “third world”!
•third cinema was anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist !
•third cinema were aimed at inspiring political activity and educating citizens about cultural
history and contemporary conditions in regards to colonialism!
•emerged from centuries of exploitation and domination !
•movies were agents of education for those who were illiterate !
•third cinema filmmakers were primarily Marxists!
•Hollywood was viewed as an extension of American/Western colonialism !
•third cinema rejects the conventional narrative syntax of Hollywood and other Western
film industries in an effort to extent the limits of film structure and provide audiences with
new ways of seeing their sociopolitical reality !
•third cinema films are weapons against neo-colonialism !
•filmmaking as means of initiating revolutions !
•expression of revolutionary drive and resentment of neo-colonialism !
•The Hour of the Furnaces
•fourth cinema addresses undoing the stereotypes of Indigenous peoples that have
been portrayed in Western films
•fourth cinema is in opposition to first cinema (Hollywood), second (European art cinema), and
even third cinema because from the Indigenous place of standing, these are all invader
cinemas!
•fourth cinema is the cinema of Indigenous peoples around the world !
•“Americans needed a new hero during the Great Depression” - cowboys vs Indians
theme!
•Stagecoach - damaging for Native peoples!
•portrayal of Plains Indians in Western films !
•robbing nations of an identity and grouping them into one !
DIASPORA (Ararat and DDLJ?)
-dispersion!
-distinction between first generation and second generation !
-disaporic communities maintain a memory or vision of their original homeland !
-belief that as a disaporic community, they will never be fully integrated or assimilated/
accepted by their host country, or VICE VERSA!
-ancestral home is viewed as a place of eventual return !
-commitment to maintainance and preservation of their original culture in the new land !
-continuing relationship with original homeland!
-immigrants develop and sustain a sense of community through forms of communication such
as language, media, rituals, etc!
-maintenance of connection provides a sense of community and unity !
-collective memory of the homeland enables scattered individuals to unite to create real or
imagined relationships with each other !
-forms of cultural empowerment !
-South Asian diaspora are people originally from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., including
approximately 22 million people internationally !
$-approximately 15 million are Indian!
$-NRIs - non resident Indians; upwardly mobile - diaspora of late capital !
FILM 1022!
$-PIOs - persons of Indian origin - diaspora of original capital !
-DDLJ was one of the first films to feature NRIs and PIOs as central characters !
-the immense popularity of DDLJ went on to catalyze an entire genre of Bollywood films that
are set abroad, focusing on the lives of dispoaric individuals !
-Bollywood disaporic film !
-Bollywood NRI film
-prior to DLLJ, NRIs and PIOs were cast as minor stereotypical characters in Bollywood
cinema, and depicted as unsatisfied living abroad with an strong inclination to return home !
-reversal of typical dichotomy !
-DDLJ challenges old stereotypes of NRIs and PIO portrayal in other films!
-DDLJ highlights their potentially problematic “Western” qualities !
$-they live in London !
$-mansion!
$-Westernized furnishings!
$-Pops is very “liberal”!
$-Raj drinks alcohol, and portrayed as a playboy !
$-both Pops and Raj wear Western clothing in opposition to traditional Indian clothes !
$-Raj and Pops refute NRI stereotypes!
-“Dont be fooled by these clothes. I carry India in my heart.” -Pops!
-“I might have born i England, but I have Hindustani.”-Raj!
-“I’m Hindustani. And I know what honour means to a Hindustani woman.” - Raj !
-DDLJ suggests that identity is not limited by geography or birth place !
-DDLJ’s subtext and implicit dilemma is how to keep Indian traditions alive outside of India !
-London is depicted as overwhelmingly gloomy, grey, rainy with many enclosed spaces !
-Punjab is depicted as lush, and green, sunny bright, with great vibrancy !
-Baldev sustains himself in London by maintaining the fantasy of home (Indian/Punjub)!
-the fantasy is binary in that is may also be burden to maintain the notion of home !
-upon returning to India, Baldev’s memory/fantasy of Punjab is unchanged !
-this belief is fantasy, however this belief tends to be central and essential to the disaporic
experience !
-DDLJ’s opening sequence establishes Baldev’s position as an outsider in London and
underscores Baldev’s preservation of India as home !
-to Baldev, India equates tradition (family values, strong morals), while England presents
corrupting influence of the West !
-“In the heart of London, I’ve kept India alive!” - Baldev!
-in DDLJ, the Second Generation is conflict with the First Generation: their persistent
homesickness, their fear of the “corrupting” influence of Western culture on their children!
-DDLJ does not address issues of inequality that immigrants and diaporic communities often
face because it does not want to antagonize the Indian diaspora !
-the film wants to connect with diaspora !
-DDLJ cannot therefore imply that the diaporic experience of one of suffering (except from
nostalgia stemming from love of the homeland)!
-DDLJ implies that Indians living abroad are narrated by success and happiness !
Ararat and the Politics of Genocide
•nationalism, transnationalism !
•diaspora populations through their own productions and tastes and preferences shape their
own ideas of nationalism and transnationalism!
•Armenian diaspora !
•Armenian genocide in 1950s, the genocide forced many Armenians into exile !
FILM 1022!
•nation = imagined political community (Benedict Anderson)!
•the notion of a nation is artificial, manufactured, constructed through stories and
mythology by wars, events, etc.!
•languages for communication !
•media is an integral part of shaping individuals’ ideas of a nation !
•nation-states are products of modern times and communication and technology !
•films have been essential to the development of nations !
•globalization complicates the notion of a nation !
•diasporic films address peoples’ sense of their lack of full belonging in a country that is not
their place of origin !
•“Hollywood North”!
•“runaway productions”!
•post-national cinema !
•Rafi to Ali: “Do you know what Hitler told his military Commanders to convince them that his
plan would work? ‘Who remembers the extermination of the Armenians?’”!
•preservation of memory - obligatory?!
•the film understands and recognizes the dynamics of remembering traumatic events and how
to address such controversies !
•story telling can be misleading and is intrinsically driven by personal factors such as greed,
jealousy, prejudices!
•narratives must be chose, and chosen carefully!
•by reflecting on a particular event of the past presents a plethora of difficulties !
•acceptance of truths!
•art forms are a method of memory preservation of the genocide among the disaporic
community!
•stories transcend time !
•film within a film - the boundaries between each entity begin to fuse !
•objectivity - each individuals’ own version of their narratives is what suits them best !
•METANARRATIVE - both films contribute to a final narrative but also contradict each
other !
•the contradiction speaks to the nature of the Armenian genocide in a suitable way !
•subplot - the mystery that surrounds Celia’s father’s death !
•unclear!
•ambiguity!
•Mt. Ararat!
•should the memory of traumatic events be forfeited? is dwelling on traumatic events
masochistic?!
•Gorky’s painting is valuable because it explains who the Armenians are and why they are
present !
•Gorky’s personal memories of his mother, the genocide, his exile, and his battle with
depression!
•Ararat addresses: the trauma of the immigrant experience and the geographic distance from
one’s home !
The Maltese Falcon
Early 1920s to Early 1960s , CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD CINEMA
•dialogue writing was an integral part of early 1900s films !
•cinematography techniques were vastly different !
•visual styles were primarily static!
Document Summary
Third and fourth cinemas - 1960"s: emerged as a result of colonialism and european imperialism (expansion of power during the. Disaporic communities maintain a memory or vision of their original homeland. Belief that as a disaporic community, they will never be fully integrated or assimilated/ accepted by their host country, or vice versa. Ancestral home is viewed as a place of eventual return. Commitment to maintainance and preservation of their original culture in the new land. Immigrants develop and sustain a sense of community through forms of communication such as language, media, rituals, etc. Maintenance of connection provides a sense of community and unity. Collective memory of the homeland enables scattered individuals to unite to create real or imagined relationships with each other. South asian diaspora are people originally from india, pakistan, bangladesh, etc. , including approximately 22 million people internationally. Nris - non resident indians; upwardly mobile - diaspora of late capital.
