Draft How are Asian women represented in the film ‘Provoked’?
‘‘Kiranjit finds herself behind bars and her punishment is lifetime imprisonment but she is instead relived. Why? Because behind bars she finally found life…freedom’’In the 21st Century there has been a great amount of change in the Asian lifestyle of living. Asian women however have always been seen as 2nd class citizens by their partners and in the eyes of the law- looking back into the 19th Century, and dominantly portrayed within Bollywood movies.
In turn, Provoked (2006, Jag Mundhrah) allows audiences to address the issue of domestic violence and rape, ‘‘within certain limits aggressive male behaviour is accepted as normal part of everyday life’’ [1] amongst Asian women. The film creates awareness of what potentially occurs within Asian family households. Provoked belongs with British drama genre, even though having elements of Indian/Bollywood film styles. These elements therefore add to the authenticity of the film as they allow Provoked to attract a wider audience and attempt to create consciousness amongst different ethnical cultures.
Within Bollywood films women are typically represented as weak and ‘‘passive females’’ [2], with males having full control over them. This was widely represented in the powerful Mother India (1957, Mehboob Khan) where the protagonist is shown to be susceptible at the start of the film, but then it concludes with her fighting back for women’s’ justice. This is also the case within Provoked-4 decades later, where Kiranjit Ahluwalia (played by Aishwarya Rai) is seen to be passive and vulnerable, serving 10 years of physical and mental abuse, which threatened her life but with the help of Southall Black Sisters she manages to find freedom and impartiality.
Aishwarya Rai, one of the biggest globally known women within film, is more commonly known for playing major roles within Bollywood movies. In films such as Devdas and Umrao Jaan where she is seen to be an ‘‘object of desire’’ [3] Aiswarya Rai seemed to appeal to the target audience of escapist males and females, with Devdas taken a spectacular £466,370 in its opening weekeing in Britain, furthermore making it the most successful Bollywood film ever made.
[1]Lewis Glen, 1983: Real Men like Violence: Australian Men, Media and Violence. Kenhurst: Kangaroo press (pg 11)
[2]-Mulvey, Laura, 1975: Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema
[3]- Mulvey, Laura, 1975: Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema
In contrast Provoked only took £140,104 in the box office in its opening weekend, which could be due to the fact audiences were not appeal to the actress when playing a more serious abusive role. Having Aishwarya Rai play such a dominant role in Provoked, attracts a much larger target audience to the film, in both western and eastern parts of the world. Furthermore, the use of Punjabi language throughout the film helps bring out the element of Indian cinema, which adds to the realism, as well as allowing audiences to help relate to Kiranjit as the victim.
According to the National Office of Statistics, Asians have become one of the fastest growing ethnicities in Britain today, with two million Asians in Britain by the end of 1999, an increase of more than half a million since the 1991 Census. Moreover, Asians have become a large proportion of the UK population and now are recognised by ‘the power of the brown pound’. This can be related to the proposal of how Asian films have be been increased vastly ‘over the last twenty years, attitudes in Britain towards Asian cultures have shifted, as has the taste of mainstream audiences for Asian-themed films’ [4] an example of this is through the success of films such as: ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ (Gurinder Chadha, 2002) ‘Bride and Prejudice’ (Gurinder Chadha, 2004), ‘East is East’ (Damien O’ Donnell, 1999).
‘East is East’ [5] also tackles issues of domestic violence amongst Asian women, as we see the female Ella being brutally beaten by her Pakistani husband, George. ‘‘Asian men are sexist pigs who expect their wives to stay in the kitchen, not speak unless being spoken to, walk five paces behind their husband, and bear as many children as necessary until they give their husband a son.”[6]. George is represented as a very old fashioned dominant Asian husband, who expects his wife and children to respect him at all times. He conforms to the views of Asian men, that if they do not get their way they will resort to violence as a way to give them power and masculinity.
The stereotypical representation of an exploited Asian female is also a common image in a number of British Asian texts such as, ‘Bhaji on the Beach’ [7] (Gurinder Chadha 1993) and ‘East is East’ [8] (Damien O'Donnell1999) where patriarchal values are evidently present.
[4]-//www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/475617/
[5]-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166175
[6]-
http://www.bitterasianmen.com/parents.html[7]- Bhaji on the beach. Gurinder Chadha (1993)
[8]- East is East. Damien O'Donnell (1999)
‘‘Asians as a social group now encompass ‘3.5% of the population.’’ [9]Nevertheless, they are still often excessively under-represented on-screen with Asians and other ethnic minorities often playing the roles of ‘token’ characters. Men were more likely to be assertive, whilst women were more likely to be passive. Men were seen as: Adventurous, active, and victorious. Women were shown as being: Weak, ineffectual, victimised, supportive, laughable or 'merely token females'. [10]
‘Under a patriarchal regime, women are, by definition, excluded from positions of power and authority’ [11]
. Women were portrayed as submissive objects and were seen to be inferior towards males, as they were seen to be ‘breadwinners’. Women are dependant on males, as they are physically stronger then women, and the females are physically seen to be inferior towards them. ‘Provoked’ shows how Kiranjit; the female protagonist is dependant on her husband and this is why she suffered with 10 years of physical and mental abuse, which threatened her life before setting out her revenge.
''Media still replay the Madonna/whore dichotomy, and focus in a way untypical of any other crime on the victim or, as support groups now prefer to characterize her, 'the survivor’’[12]. Aishwarya Rai could symbolize ‘The Madonna’ through her costume and body language. She is represented as timid and quiet, not revealing her body or figure in any sexual way. She is portrayed as the perfect housewife whom just caters for her husband, whilst still getting vigorous abusive off him. This supports the idea that Asian women tend stick by their husbands just not to bring a bad name upon the family as this is culturally forbidden.
Stereotypes come from ideas and beliefs of one, which can be either negative or positive. As Provoked is based on a true story the representation of Deepak Ahluwalia seems to be fair as it is coming from ones first hand experience. Asian men are represented as being dominate and controlling in Provoked. In contrast some of the Dominant stereotypes of Asian men characterise them as effeminate (frail, meek, and passive) or as sexual deviants [13] this is something that Rudyard Kipling (the author of ‘The jungle book’) also quotes by saying Asian men are cowardly.
[9]-
http://www.bl.uk/collections/business/asiandemographics.html[10]-David Guntlett, Representation of Gender in the Past (2002)
[11]- A. Cranny-Francis, P.Stavropoulos, J.Kirkby (2003) Palagrave Macmillan Publishing’s: Gender Studies Terms and Debates (page 244)
[12]- Macdonald Myra: 1995: Representing Women- Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media- Hodder Arnold (Page 187)
[13]- Lee, Jenifer (2004) Routledge Publishings Asian American Youth: Culture, Identity and ethnicity pg 129
However, this is different to what Deepak was represented as, as he was shown to be very masculine and powerful- which was different to the typical stereotype suggested my Kipling.
In addition Asian men are stereotyped as being ‘sexually undesirable’ [14] and this is represented in a scene where Kiranjit is forced to sleep with Deepak, simply due to the fact she is his wife and should obey what her husband wants.
Asians mainly came to Britain in the 1970s, where South Asians came to immigrate to the United Kingdom. When they did come there was a lot of racism targeted at them, ‘The term racism… is frequently used to express patriotic fervour and straightforward ignorance about other cultures’ [15] this was typical amongst Asians and were classified by the term ‘‘No Blacks, No Dogs, and No Irish’’[16]. However, now Asians have gained sufficient social power and economic status in Britain. Provoked deals with colonialism in terms of the relationship between east and west. Deepak could be said to have the outlook in life and attitudes to do with his family and cultural backgrounds. Homi Bhabha has said to have believed that it is not a case for Britain vs. India, but instead there is a ‘‘Third Space and Hybridity.’’[17]
Feminism has helped to show how Asian culture has developed because in the film Provoked we see that Kiranjit was helped out by the local ‘Southall Black Sisters’, which was a non-profit organization which was established in 1979 to meet the needs of black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women. Kiranjit was their first case, which they helped to free and get her released from her husband’s murder. Without the help of Southall Black Sisters, it was unlikely that Kiranjit would have been freed, so because of organizations like that- Asian culture is becoming more open, due to the issues and awareness raised in Provoked it may help other women in Kiranjit’s position feel at ease about speaking about their abusive.
The Mise-en- Scene in Provoked, particularly Aishwaria Rais’ costumes replicate on her compliance and fidelity towards her husband. She is always seen wearing tradition Indian dress, salwar kameez, along with typical Asian bangles and her wedding necklace, to symbolise she is a married woman.
[14]-Lee, Jenifer (2004) Routledge Publishing’s Asian American Youth: Culture, Identity and ethnicity pg 129
[15]- Mason, David, (2000) Race and Ethnicity, Modern Britain Publishers (Page 9)
[16]http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/seth_freedman/2007/01/no_blacks_no_dogs_no_irish.
[17] Bhabha, Homi (2004) Routledge Publishing’s: The Location of Culture pg 402
This portrays the idea to the audience that even though she was born and raised in India and now living in Britain, she still has her cultural backgrounds, and this could be one of reasons why she has not confronted Deepak for all the abusive over the last 10years. She conforms to the idea that Asian women are just there to serve their husbands and are completely passive towards them.
The 20th century has become over ruled by female independence and their portrayal of being somewhat equal to men to a certain extent. Various mainstream Bollywood films such as ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)’ and ‘Dil to Paghal Hai (1997)’ have promoted women as being powerful and challenging patriarchal society. Kiranjit’s character in Provoked also challenges Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze, that women are ‘objectified for sexual imagery’ or just simply ‘sex objects’. Kiranjit challenges this stereotype as they is not just merely an object for desire, but instead a powerful woman, who raised the courage and strength to finally stand up to her abusive husband. However you may argue that she was still represented as the pretty, sincere and innocent housewife whom obeys her husband, which has been done to appeal to male audiences.
Provoked begins with the main characters conforming to stereotypical representations of both Asian men and women. Deepak is portrayed an alcoholic and physically abusive to his wife and Kiranjit is shown to be a typical housewife, taking care of her family and the home. ‘Women are often stereotyped as subservient to men, whether they are considered to be the dumb bimbo or a housewife, legitimizing their inferior position. [18]. Furthermore when the films narrative moves on the audience see the typical conventions of Kiranjit being challenged- as she breaks the norms and values of main stream Bollywood cinema, where we experience a female fighting back for her independence and freedom from her husband. Kiranjit does not follow the conventional qualities of an Asian woman shown in films. Contrasting from classical Bollywood movies Provoked positions the audience to see the narrative through the female perspective, this helps create sympathy and a relationship to the audience and the character.
‘Mother India (1957)’ and Provoked similarly begin with a flashback sequence of both protagonists in the films. Nargis, the female character of Mother India is portrayed as being strong and patriotic however the audience are also made aware that she is illiterate and the start of the film. This is also the case with Kiranjit from Provoked, but she is shown to be vulnerable and weak. Due to the fact that both women are illiterate they both suffer hardship through-out their lives. With both films portraying illiteracy in a different ways, it helps to emphasise the importance of education to the audience, as well as helping Asian women to develop academically- in order to help them achieve in life and stand up for themselves.
More recent films such as, ‘Metro (2006)’ and ‘Umrao Jaan(2002)' have clearly shown the changes of women in Bollywood films, decades ago. Women have become independent of their lives and have more control of what they do. This is what women fought for after world war two in the 1960s: ‘Second wave’. This refers to an increase in feminist activity, where women thrived to increase their status and create an individuality of their own. This act was formed to give women better righs and a say in society, moreover this is something that Asian women are now seen to be doing.
To conclude, women’s representations have changed vastly over the years, with them being portrayed as active individuals towards their husbands rather than just inferior as was seen in film decades ago. This was displayed through Provoked, where Kiranjit fights back towards her husband after fighting for 10years of sever abuse; she finally found the courage to stand up for herself. Additionally, Mainstream Bollywood films are progressively moving away from Mulvey’s theory of the active male and the passive female. It is still apparent that the symbolism of women in leading roles are still partial as patriarchal notions make it difficult for women to entirely break away from their stereotypical roles as they are still objectified sexually by males. In addition this idea was even displayed in Provoked, where Kiranjit was forced to sleep with Deepak because of her duty as a wife, she did so even though she did not want too, and it was not in her willpower to say ‘No’ to her husband.
Bibliography
Books
-Cranny-Francis, A., Kirby, J., Stavropolous, P. & Waring, W. (2003). Gender Studies: Terms and Debates. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Glen, L. (1983): Real Men like Violence: Australian Men, Media and Violence. Kenhurst: Kangaroo press.
-Lee, J. (2004). Asian American Youth: Culture, Identity and Ethnicity. New York: Routledge.
-Macdonald, M. (1995). Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication.
-Mulvey, L. (2007). Visual and Other Pleasures (Language, Discourse, Society). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Films/Television
Bend it Like Beckham- (2002) Gurinder Chadha
Bhaji on the Beach-(1993) (Gurinder Chadha)
Bride and Prejudice- (2004) Gurinder Chadha
Dil to Paghal Hai (1997) Yash Chopra
East is East-(1999) Damien O ’Donnell
Goodness Gracious Me-(1998) Nick Wood
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai-(1998) Karan Johar
Metro- (2006) Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Mother India- (1957) Mehboob Khan
Provoked- (2006) Jag Mundhrah
Umrao Jaan-(2002) Muzaffar Ali
