A tag-on to the excellent previous posts by Filmi Girl, veracious, and rhilex.
Survey my movie collection pre-Bollywood, and you would have noticed a few things: 1) They were all mass entertainers, with a few exceptions like the Japanese original of Shall We Dance? 2) They were disproportionately musicals. 3) They were heavy on the rom-coms and/or action, almost all with a happy ending, and 4) There weren't that many of them.
(Now my book collection, on the other hand... That's a whole 'nother animal, and a whole 'nother post.)
At last count, I had watched nearly 100 Bollywood films and own somewhere in the neighborhood of forty. So what changed? Am I trying to be Indian? Does this gorii girl wish she were "exotic?"
Well, no. I'm a happily married mother of three who works part-time in her own home. While that life may have its drudgeries, I don't want to escape it. I like being an American (and yes, sad to say, being a white American with educated parents has afforded me privileges that would not have been mine otherwise--I realize that). I like living where I do. I appreciate my German-Scots background. I understand and appreciate that, even though our income level is low for an American family, we still have more, materially speaking, than 80% of the world's families. Maybe 90%. I don't own a single piece of Indian clothing; I've had three kids and T-shirts cover the fat rolls better. I'm a Christian. And yeah. I like speaking English, mainly because it's the only language in which I'm fluent. I want what I have and I have what I want.
So why do I watch Indian movies? Simply, the Hindi and Telugu film industries (I haven't tried any others, besides one Tamil) put out products that appeal to my tastes. I love musicals. I love romantic comedies. I love books with subplots and side characters that play only a satellite's role in the main story, and I didn't know before I started watching Bollywood that there were movies like that too. I like bright colors and melodrama and close family ties. I don't like anorexic standards for women, where eating a normal meal is somehow seen as "unprofessional" for an actress, and Bollywood still has a few normal-looking women's bodies (Telugu films have more). I don't like a lot of skin show, and don't really enjoy sex scenes. (Honestly, all I can think about is how awkward such things have to be in front of the grip and the camera operator and the director and the...) The relative lack of sleaze in a typical Bollywood film, when contrasted with many Hollywood products, was a welcome change.
As far as the "exoticism" factor goes, let me assure everyone that when I appreciate Shahid Kapoor or Hrithik Roshan's good looks, I am not thinking "they're so different! and exotic!" Let's be honest with ourselves here, the vast majority of Bollywood movie stars are whiter than the white people in the United States. Ain't nothing exotic about Katrina Kaif's looks from where I'm standing.
In fact, I like words, and the translated lyrics of songs available on BollyWHAT? intrigued me. I've gotten to know which expressions are standard ("hold you in my eyelashes," anyone?) and which are relatively unique. The beauty of the lyrics encouraged me to get to know a little bit of Hindi, though living in upper East Tennessee means there isn't anyone to practice with. I also know some Italian--a lot more than I do Hindi. And some Spanish. Hopefully no one will accuse me of wanting to become European or South American because of my fondness for acquiring languages other than my mother tongue. (And yeah, that one comment a little while ago was a bit surprising, because I had taken the chorus of a Hindi song and tacked a "nahiin" on the end of it... So the--I assume--native speaker of Hindi who attacked me was in fact correcting the lyricist's grammatical structure. Take it up with Mayur Puri, sweetheart.)
Part of living in a global community means understanding that we can all learn from each other. If Bollywood inspires a few more ignorant Westerners to expand their horizons a bit, I think that's a good thing. Just because I now know much more about India than I did two years ago doesn't mean I wish I were Indian. It does, however, mean that I won't apologize for loving Indian films. Because I do.
I just read rhilex's response and now yours, and I have lots to say about what's going around in Bollyblogland so I'm just going to post the same reply I did on Alex' blog (be warned - it's long and probably should be it's own post, but oh well).
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to see how one person can propel such a wave of thought provoking pieces through this vast blogging community. I have had thoughts (which I've previously posted at my blog) about whether I was being seen as a person who was guilty of objectifying or exoticism, and I may very well have been. But I have a question to pose. I don't see what is really so wrong about wanting to learn about and love other cultures. It seems that, as non-desi fans of Bollywood, it is absolutely okay to watch, enjoy and even love Indian cinema, as long as we don't cross that line (the one that seems to be so clearly defined by filmigirl and veracious' blogs). There are hundreds of thousands of people who come to Canada and the U.S. each year from other countries all over the world because they WANT TO BE CANADIAN OR AMERICAN. If you love Canada so much that you want to be Canadian who am I to deny these people their right to chose who they want to be? If I decided one day that I wanted to pack it all up and move to India, I think I have as much right as all those people who come here. I'm not saying I don't like being Canadian. It is who I am. But it doesn't define me infinity. And whatever draws you to something (whether it's the music, the movies, the customes or whatever) how can it be bad if it makes you want to learn and grow. If no one stepped outside their own little box what a boring world it would be.
Anyway, this was a very long reply. I feel that the more I see people trying to defend themselves against a very few select group who simply just don't understand why a "white girl would watch Bollywood", the more I want to shout at them all to chill out. It's a big world. Let's share it.
It's so interesting that one post from Filmi Girl can get us all typing. But this is a great post. I can agree with most everything here, not the least the reasons why you feel Bollywood is more suited to your tastes!
ReplyDeleteIts sad that all of you need to justify your Bollywood fandom (in excellent posts, by the way!). As an Indian from India, I have never felt the need to justify my Hollywood fandom or defend my right to drool over Rock Hudson or Pierce Brosnan. Surely what holds good for an Indian vis-a-vis Hollywood should also work in reverse? And considering how many Indians tend to routinely use English in novel forms (read "mangle it"!), I dont think an Indian has any business telling "foreigners" that they cannot try their hand at an Indian language!
ReplyDeleteI for one am always happy to see more people loving Bollywood as much as I do, irrespective of nationality. And I am constantly learning new things from non-Indian bloggers about Indian films, things that I would never have noticed otherwise! So, cross-cultural pollination is a great thing, and believe me, except of a minuscule (and silly) minority, we all love it.
Yay!! Another interesting post!!
ReplyDelete@shell honestly, I think the difference between "becoming American" and "becoming Indian" is one of nationalism. The crazies on both sides who want to keep the countries "pure" don't appreciate cross-pollination... sometimes their voices are just louder than everybody else's. :(
Very good post! And I'm the same way with sex scenes -- all I can think is, "How awkward that must be!"
ReplyDeleteI think there are people guilty of exoticising Bollywood movies, but they're the ones who see Bride and Prejudice or Slumdog Millionaire and then think that's all there is to it. "Oh yes, Bollywood is colorful and wonderful and so Different!" They have no interest in learning more, they just go see the latest "fad" movie.
And the bottom line is, if loving Prabhas and Shahid Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan is wrong, then I don't want to be right!
as long as we don't cross that line (the one that seems to be so clearly defined by filmigirl and veracious' blogs)
ReplyDeleteI feel like I should stress the fact I stated my own views, not unwritten rules for other fans to follow. I mean, if somebody crosses those lines in a way I find sort of tacky, I'm free to make a judgment on them but they're free to keep doing whatever it is they want to do. And I hope the post didn't lead people to the misconception that I am constantly walking on eggshells not to hurt imagined Indian people's feelings. That's not the case at all. I consider these things but they're not on my brain 24/7 when I blog about Indian films.
But I think we're all essentially in agreement. There's nothing wrong with enjoying Indian entertainment while not being Indian.
Great post, I haven't thought about why I love Indian cinema since I grew up with it...but I've never gotten hate mail either. But when I did have the John Abraham website, I got a couple of catty emails but that's it.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't able to log in earlier!
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest with ourselves here, the vast majority of Bollywood movie stars are whiter than the white people in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI think that's more pancake and flood lighting than genetics. Off the top of my head, aside from the Kapoor clan, the aforementioned Katrina Kaif, and a couple of other people whose names escape me, most Bollywood actors fall somewhere within the brown spectrum. I'm thinking of folks like Priyanka Chopra, Mallika Sherawat, Rani Mukherjee, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Ajay Devgan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Amrita Rao, Abhishek, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, John Abraham, etc., etc. (Not to put a damper on your post, but I just wanted to point out the "smoke and mirrors" thing WRT certain physical characters you see on screen.)
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ReplyDeleteHi Ajnabi - totally agree with your views on aneroxic actresses and Katrina Kaif (can't understand her popularity - not good in acting or dancing etc although is pretty).
ReplyDeleteAs Bollyviewer said, most of us Indians love to watch movies from other countries including Hollywood movies and have never felt the need to justify our interest or fanhood for some foreign actors. Same should hold true for non indian lovers of Indian movies.
I would ignore the minority few (insecure) who send acidic comments.
Continue blogging!
why does anyone care why a white girl watches bollywood because you like it duhhh???
ReplyDeletequite intelligent post over nothing, if people give you a hard time over what you're watching then screw them, what was the need to explain yourself, would people ask or care why a black girl listens to country music again (bad example perhaps) i'm tempted to read this post as the superiority complex white folks often have of themselves, do indians who watch hollywood or british films feel the need to justify their love but yet because i'm WHITE i can do a post on why i like a film of a 'lesser' respected film genre
I would like a reply and you not deleting this comment is a great show of character
Fine post. My short response is: what Bollyviewer says! (As it so often is).
ReplyDeleteMy longer response is something of an aside to Anonymous about why posts like this exist. I am often flabbergasted how often people in Internetland get blasted for stepping outside some narrowly perceived definition of who people are supposed to be. Certain people seem more comfortable keeping others in boxes, as demographic categories, defining them in a narrow way, and then feel threatened when this notion is challenged, even indirectly.
I've borrowed the phrase "of origin" from the self-help world, and tend to refer to one's "culture of origin." Any time someone is interested in something that is, or appears to be, outside their "culture of origin" (usually as defined by people who don't know them, and are making wild assumptions), there are people online who will attack them.
To some extent, most people have to brush these attacks off. But after awhile, it can result in a certain amount of legitimate soul-searching, which can help the individual define what they're doing, and is perfectly reasonable to share. There's nothing wrong with thoughtful, reasoned communication about a controversial subject.
A totally non-Bollywood example of this phenomenon: I'm interested in theology and religious symbolism. I'm also interested in folk magic, as practiced by ordinary people in different cultures. Any time someone wants to really learn about these things, and crosses a line of gender, or race, or language, or a geographic barrier, someone is poised to start a flame war on cultural appropriation. Many times, these people are motivated by justifiable frustrations, but the results don't do anything to help their causes.
I was on a folklore listesrv for a long time, run by a nationally known expert on African-American religion and folk magic traditions. Who is, by the way, white, as were most of the prominent posters. The original purpose of the listserv was to educate people about African-American religion and folklore. But it was so policed for any tiny sign of "exoticism" and "cultural appropriation" that, in the end, I believe it did more harm than good. To everybody involved.
The logical bind boiled down to this: it started with an assumption that anyone who's not African-American is racist toward African-Americans. I don't think that's true, but I can see where the idea comes from, so I'll give them that as a premise.
The next premise was that part of White America's racism is its ignorance and disinterest in other cultures, other people, etc. So far, that's defendable.
But in the next breath, the same people who established the first two premises turned around and suspected that any white person, who happened to be interested in African-American religion and folk magic, must be motivated by exoticism and a desire for cultural appropriation. Which is, as they defined it, racist.
By their logic, everyone other than the members of an elite clique, who had somehow transcended it all, was basically incurably racist. The message was sort of: you can be a racist at home, sticking with the narrow world you were born into, where ignorance is bliss, or try to learn more, try to expand your ideas, with the result that people are yelling at you all the time about what an awful racist you are.
Sorry I got so long-winded here -- I just wanted to say that this problem is everywhere. But in a nutshell: yes, there are definitely people who would give a black girl a hard time for listening to country music. I think that would be wrong. And there may be Indians who love Hollywood films, who may begin to feel they need to explain why. I think that would be unnecessary. Nobody needs to justify what they love. But if that black girl or that Indian film fan felt like talking about why they love what they do, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that either.
After all, Dil Chahta Hai...
I feel that the more I see people trying to defend themselves against a very few select group who simply just don't understand why a "white girl would watch Bollywood", the more I want to shout at them all to chill out.
ReplyDeleteshell: Really? This post makes you want to shout at me to chill out? I must not have written it very well then, because the last thing I wanted was to be inflammatory or hysterical. I don't consider myself defending myself so much as stating the reasons behind my viewing choices. If you haven't been on the receiving end of the kind of comments I've gotten in my inbox, I'm very happy for you, but as Anarchivist says, to some extent, most people have to brush these attacks off. But after awhile, it can result in a certain amount of legitimate soul-searching. I wanted to post my reasons for viewing Bollywood on my blog. Now I've got it out of my system and I'll return to business as usual.
As far as people wanting to be Canadian or American; well, I think it's debatable whether, in fact, many of them do want to be Canadian so much as they want to avail themselves of the opportunities we have in our corner of the world. I don't judge anyone who wants to pack up and move halfway around the globe and assimilate into another culture. Obviously, whoever does that has some powerful motivators so good for them.
rhilex: I like the interesting points of view that have been aired. A little thought is good for all of us!
bollyviewer: Sometimes a little mean-ness from a petty few is a good excuse for giving a shout-out to the industry that made me into a fanatic. I appreciate the vastly more positive feedback I've gotten from all but a chosen few.
main-hoon-emily: Great point about Slumdog and B&P. And I'm with you about "don't want to be right!" LOL
veracious: Yes, precisely, nothing wrong at all.
Nicki: I haven't gotten that much, but it's been all in a lump lately. Yech. Hence the comment moderation in action.
lapetitediva: Yeah, I know that. My point is, people looking for "exotic Asian women" aren't going to find the look they idealize in a Bollywood film, because regardless of what means they use to achieve the look, most of the actresses look like white people.
Filmbuff: quitting blogging never crossed my mind, but I do appreciate your encouraging words.
Anonymous: I couldn't care less what people who don't have the guts to give even a fake name think of my character. In any case, Anarchivist answered you far better than I could, which is the only reason your comment is still here.
Anarchivist: I love your reply! And yes, you manage to put it so well, But if that black girl or that Indian film fan felt like talking about why they love what they do, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that either. Thanks. :-)