Post-colonial studies: Movie screening- 1] Midnight's children and 2] The Reluctant Fundamentalist

On 9 September 2018, we had a movie screening of "Midnight's children" and "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" at the Department of English, MKBU. So, this blog is a review of two movies from the post-colonial perspective, as a part of academic activity.

Here is the blog link of given task: Click here


#Post-Colonial studies
#Movie-screening

#Midnight's children
#1947- Independence of India

Midnight's Children is the movie directed by Deepa Mehta, which is an adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel. Fact is that it's also not considered as a good adaptation because it is merely impossible to convert the words Rushdie into the picture. Movie and book both deals with India's transition from colonialism to Independence as well as it deals with some high remarkable topics like the Partition of India and Pakistan, Magic realism, emergency etc.

This book got Booker Prize and James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981, it was also awarded the Booker of Bookers prize and also considered as the best all-time prize winner. Here we can often find some Chutnification of language as well as chutney appears many times in a symbolic way, as a symbol of mixing of so many things. 


Mr. Rushdie takes time of two years to pare down 600-pgs. book into a 130-pg script. His use of language makes him differ from other Indian English writers; his use of numerous Urdu and Hindi words without translation reflects his overconfidence. He represented the allegorical image of India. History and nation both narrated in a fictional way. Whatever happened in the novel has actually happened in India, but the use of metanarrative technique itself created doubt in the narration.

#Postcolonial views:

• Hybridity     

               #E.G.- Rushdie himself Saleem is a perfect representation of hybrid male born with multiple allegiances and identities.

• Emergency 1975

        #Real nature of Indira Gandhi and her policy towards poor and rich as well as her decision of putting emergency for her personal benefits.

• Vasectomy

        #Congress policy for poor people, they believe that poor can't have family and thus they did vasectomy of poor. 

• postcolonial feminism

        #E.G.-In the beginning of the movie Doctor did not allow to examine Naseem's illness to see her body, there a curtain between doctor and Naseem.

• Magic Realism

        #E.G.-  Magic realism is really presented well here in this movie. Here,  Parvati saves first Saleem's life and then her child's life by magic. In this movie, all characters are portrayed well specially Saleem,  Shiva, and Parvati. 

         




#The Reluctant Fundamentalist
#9/11- Ground Zero




During the discussion of the postcolonial study, we have watched the film 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' which was directed by Meera Nair. The film narrates the life of one Pakistani who is capable to work among American people but just being a Pakistani he suffered a lot and consider as a citizen of the second world. His self-respect has vanished with his clothes. He becomes a victim of the situation and it's made a great impact on him. An educated person is considered as a terrorist who is actually a teacher but he needs more security for him because other want to kill him and this security made his frame as a terrorist. This movie is directed by Mira Nair and it is based on the novel with the same title written by Mohsin Hamid. The main theme of the movie is how Muslim's were disrespected after the attack of 9/11. Here the protagonist Changez Khan goes to America to earn money. He makes friends fall in love with the American lady. But after the attack of 9/11,  his colleagues started misbehaving with him. We can see a postcolonial aspect here when the Muslims are disrespected by the Americans. 




Thank you