Would Shilpa Shetty be where she is today if it wasn't for Jane Goody's 'politically wrong' remarks ? What if Jane had been 'nice' to her in the reality show? Goody is dying in a few weeks, leaving behind two little children that she's providing for financially by selling her story. She said what she did in the show because she didn't know better. What was Jane's role in our world in this lifetime?
That aside, why were Goody's remarks racist and why is SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE different? She asked Shilpa Shetty if she lived in a slum...and commented on her bleaching her skin. How many Indian women use bleach and 'whitening' creams? I know I do. Why did we all react like we did? Does the truth hurt that bad? If it does why is SM a rage? BOYLE is the toast of Bollywood and Hollywood and bootlicking Indians that are and aren't part of the movie are going ballistic with joy at all the adulation the movie is recieving.
I don't get it. Do you?
6 comments:
"Regarding racial discrimination & the rest……me thinks that issue of discrimination in these times has lost "color"……we have all sorts but the moment the color of skin is involved it takes on a whole new dimension. Whatever it may have been in the past , for being "racist" now , I believe the motivations are more economic, prevalent more among the uneducated and/or those who feel threatened and suspicious of all "aliens". It is not a manifestation of the Aryan / Caucasian belief that they are a superior race coz of the color of their skin.
My colleagues at work often used to complain that on their visits to Europe , they was a subtle difference in the manner they were treated by their European counterparts I personally did not experience any such acts of discrimination so have a sneaking suspicion that most of this divide lurks in our own minds and has basis in our own insecurities as far as our color goes and we often misconstrue & read more into what may be an innocuous gesture/word/behavior. But I may be totally off the track having never lived for an extended period of time overseas.
Coming back to big brother, Shilpa S, the "racial slur"……wonder what is the profile of a typical participant. And after all it is a reality show so what do u expect….cooped up with strangers. Haven’t seen the program either desi or phirangi ,but what I gathered from the video clip of the said matter is that it is over hyped tripe. And the reactions from various quarters..…activists /the intelligentsia /feminists need issues, politicians need mileage, personalities of indian origin need to take a stand, media needs stories, big brother needs viewer ship/ big bucks, people need controversies, SS needs publicity…..so there we are!!!
Well that was my dose of a 2 minute analysis as hubby dearest calls it."
Well this was a response I had given in a little online group discussion some years back and I have reproduced it here from my blog.Kinda feeling lazy to form another response :-)
As for SlumDog Millionaire and all such controversial issues, the average human loves to take offense when they is none meant, no? Some sort of misguided genetic signature of self preservation which urges us to do it, dunno??
Agree with most points. Though what I was trying to say is...one is globally a vamp and another is globally a hero for having said pretty much the same thing!
Jane Goody/S S blew out of proportion in India and Britain because "WE" chose to make it an issue as "WE" were the aggrieved party (were we?? we need to grow up!!)
With SDM...there are detractors as well those going overboard /ecstatic with pride as well as those who just view it as they would any other fairly well made movie.
So yes,if a "foreigner" says it as it is or makes moronic ill informed statements about India/Indians we REACT because we feel the need to DEFEND! Nothing rational about it :-)
Thats the way I see it!
Foreigner makes good remark, we celebrate
Foreigner makes bad remark, we protest
We're only proving that we're still the kaalas looking for gora approval!
Does hollywood crave a CINE BLITZ award?
Cine Blitz is just an award instituted by a filmi magazine for Bollywood churnouts and NOT from an accredited Academy of Motion Picture ,Art and Sciences (a professional honorary organization)inviting movies globally for nominations! A inapt comparison.Of course as in an such awards, there is some amount of politics/bias/hype/branding
involved.
And I see nothing wrong is seeking approval from a superior entity even if it is "foreign".And an award which celebrates excellance in any field is kudos to the recipient. Why qualify and dissect it.
Having said that, we should work towards building competancies so that awards instituted by agencies based in India have as much if not more prestige value attached to it.
And the reason that we as a country are so swayed by approvals as much as dispprovals by
"foreigners" in certain fields could be simply because we yet do not view ourselves at par with them...I may be wrong of course
Stand corrected - CB comparison - though it was just used randomly to mean INDIAN awards for excellence in different cinematic depts.
As far as 'superiority' goes, there are plenty of rumours floating on the net about the Oscars being rigged too. Never know. Who decides what is superior anyway? I remember "Elipattayam" in Malayalam getting a National Award and not being able to sit thru 5 minutes of it. Haven't met ANYONE in the family or our Malayali circle that enjoyed or understood the movie. Superior is always a relative term.
I also wonder, if CB DID invite entries from abroad and was resistered as blah la di dah, if it would interest Hollywood walas unless like you said, they set stringent standards and stick to them...if they ever would,that is.
Whether it is Goody or Boyle, our selfimage/selfconfidence should remain unaltered. And for that we must first get one/some. We seem to be saying the same thing in essence.
And you are right, ofcourse. :)))
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