Multiculturalism in my Beautiful Laundrette - Essay Example

MULTICULTURALISM IN MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE 0 Background Each generation of the British political system has been said to be characterized by a special aura and phenomenon that tends to become the history of the time, once that time is passed (ONeill, 1994). In the 1980s, there was such British euphoria, most attributable to the Margaret Thatcher Conservative government, which was characterized by policies that clearly endorsed the class stratification system by widening the gap between the rich and the poor, and drawing clear support for gender and racial discrimination (Kaleta, 1998). Unfortunately, the form of cinema that existed at the time known as the heritage cinema did very little to bring public attention to some of these British policies, which in reality did not have the support of many, people; British and non-British alike. But My Beautiful Laundrette set itself apart as a movie that would address some of these core issues that had received unfavorable silence from the cinemas (Monk, 2000). Through the movie, there was a clear “articulation of the gap between the middle class and the underclass, and the presentation of gender and sexuality in contemporary 1980s Britain” (Steele, 2000). The following sections of the paper shall therefore be dedicated to analyzing various ways in which My Beautiful Laundrette as a movie played a key social role of tackling British policies just before Thatcher and in the time of Thatcher through the use of motif and forms such as theme, characterization, camera technique among others. 2.0 My Beautiful Laundrette and the Enoch Powell Factor John Enoch Powell could be said to be a key figure in the portrait of British policies in the 1980s through most of his words and deeds. Enoch Powell is for instance famously known for what became known as the “Rivers of Blood” speech where he publicly criticized Commonwealth immigration and anti-discrimination legislations, which was seen by many as racist. Interestingly, the movie portrays some of these characteristics that were not just embedded in the nature and personality of people like Enoch Powell but in British politics as a whole. Some of these key themes that were seen both on the ground of practice and in My Beautiful Laundrette are discussed below (Hedling, 1995). 2.1 Immigration Immigration has been said by many to be the starting point to any successful and well meaning form of multiculturalism that takes place (Blaney, 1986). This is because favorable immigration policies open the doors for people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds to freely enter and leave a particular country in a legal way. In the Thatcher era of British politics, there was much pressure on Britain as a member and perhaps the leader of Commonwealth to adhere its self to such favorable immigration policies through the Commonwealth Immigration Legislation. But in the likeness of a manner that Enoch Powell publicly announces his displeasure for the immigration legislation; the movie is used to bring out the true meaning an essence of immigration in the days (BBC News, 2005). Through the movie, it is seen that the love for people and love for multiculturalism is not merely the true reason why several countries would embrace immigration legislations. This is because even though Omar and his family were seen as people from other cultures, trying to spice up the ingredient of multiculturalism, they were really faced with a kind of in-between-ness where they were somewhat finding it very difficult to fit in; amidst the imposition of British way of life at one point in time or the other (Pally, 1986). It is not for nothing that scenes such as attacks on Omar’s car and a subsequent retaliation by Salim in an attack on a punk were seen as a way of the Pakistani people voicing out their displeasure at the unfitting situation in which they found themselves. 2.2 Working-class Much of the reality of the class stratification that existed in Thatcher’s Britain is also exhibited to a very large extent in the movie, especially as the situation was a system that was highly criticized in the days (Quart, 1991). Surprisingly, the battle against British class stratification seems never to be won by anybody as the situation persists even today. But in his own little means, the filmmaker exhibited a clear cut difference between who a middle class and a lower class was through the characterization of Omar’s father and his uncle. Though these were not British, there is a significance meaning to their usage in the movie to lay out the implication that the working class system was something that had become a norm of the land, eating into all existing cultures and therefore dominating the relevance of multiculturalism (Hedling, 1995). That is, as far as the class system was concerned, it was almost impossible to cross cultures because it would overcome you. But Omar as a character was highly instrumental in laying out some of the key thesis that can developed about the working-class in the sense that his zeal and ambition to succeed with the Laundrette even at a time when recession was in place gives an indication that even though the class systems exist, the actual classification of people into the middle class or lower class depended on the person’s input in life. 2.3 Race In his speech, which was largely criticized by his own people, Enoch Powell alluded to the fact that the basis of his stance on the issue of immigration and race was because a fellow Briton had complained to him of how she feared racing her children in their own land because of the influx of foreigner activities (Miller, 1992). However, no matter how well Powell fought and the British government in general fought to consolidate and uphold a system whereby there would be a British race dominance over all other races, the movie sought to differ from the notion by using a theme of inter-racial relationship between Omar and Johnny to depict a shift from the paradigm. Steele (2010) therefore argues that “the Asian diaspora in London is bringing into question the stability of the host nation and its cultural identity.” To a very large extent therefore, there is a realization that the purported notion of racial supremacy in the British descent is not something that can be justified in any logical reasoning. If for nothing at all, Omar was not just a foreigner who succeeded in running a business just as his uncle had done but also went ahead to employ a Briton to work for him and under him. 2.4 Education The Conservative government headed by Margaret Thatcher laid so much emphasis on formal education and the beauty of it in becoming a college or university graduate (Salmon, 1993). Yet again, the working class syndrome would come in because people were indoctrinated to believe that they needed good education to be part of the middle class or at worse, good earners within the working class (Salmon, 1993). In the movie therefore, there were several attempts made by Omar’s father to talk Omar over into continuing with his education, which he had abandoned along the way. As far as intentions are concerned, Omar’s father could be justified in a number of ways especially for the fact that he had lived in England for far too many a years than his son and knew what the implications of being ‘uneducated’ could be to him. So in some way, Omar’s father, Hussein was only trying to be cautious but one would also ask how the justification in this thought of the father goes to defeat the thinking that multiculturalism should give people the freedom to be themselves within the new cultures they find themselves. This is said because Omar was doing everything possible to prove to his father that much like the old ways of the Pakistani culture, which is dominated by believe in trade and commerce (Salmon, 1993), he was putting in efforts to succeed with the Laundrette but not even this could convince his father to stop persuading him to go more British than Pakistani. 3.0 Social Realism Much of the theme and purpose of My Beautiful Laundrette is on social realism, a reason for which the subject has been given a thematic consideration in this paper. Cline (2013) explains that “An unapologetically political form of art, Social Realism was an attempt to portray life as realistically as possible, but for the purpose of demonstrating various social problems which needed to be addressed.” This means that social realism gives much exposure to issues affecting the life of the people in the working class, as well as the poor, who are the most vulnerable of social structures that maintain the said conditions and thus loudest in criticizing of some these social structures (ONeill, 1994). From the beginning to the end of My Beautiful Laundrette, there is the exhibition of social realism in a lot of ways, starting with Hussein’s highly critical attitude towards the Thatcher administration; a situation together with his family condition, which had actually left him in becoming a drunkard. As a journalist, Hussein could battle the issues of Britain he found unfavorable with his paper and ink but was so much into the realism of social life that he took the whole thing personal. Omar’s struggles to rise above the social standards also gives indication of social realism in the movie as his quest for success and thus the need for him to rule above social structures of his time led him into sometimes indulging in unlawful acts to ensure that his launderette succeeded at all cost. 3.1 Overview of the director, Stephen Frears and Social Realism Social realism is a phenomenon that was very common in the 1980s for a number of reasons, most of which were due to political influences and the kind of policies that the Thatcher government and successive governments introduced (Salmon, 1993). Generally, social realism is influenced by art and is therefore very necessary for the current discussion. The reason social realism is said to be influenced by art is that it was perceived to be a medium by which artists made their voices heard on the living conditions of the working class and poor in society (Miller, 1992). Again, artists of different backgrounds used social realism to give feedback to government on the impact that its policies had on the ordinary person. As a movie director, Stephen Frears could be said to belong to the art industry as filmmaking is an art on its own. Stephen Frears therefore used My Beautiful Laundrette as a tool for sending a message to the larger world about the kind of Britain that used to exist in his days. With the themes used, the director was hoping that a new sense of belongingness will be created among all people who lived in Britain at the time regardless of their race, educational status or gender. 3.2 Use of third via As in the concept of first and second worlds, third via is used in cinema to give characters special roles in which they create a world around themselves, which is appreciated and upheld by only the characters involved (Salmon, 1993). This is not commonly used as it has been seen as a means of introducing new systems of social existence that are normally not acceptable by the larger population. But depending on a message that a director wants to put across, third via can be used pretty well to achieve the overall goal in the movie’s message. In My Beautiful Laundrette, Stephen Frears uses third via by giving key characters like Oman and Johnny roles which closes them up to basic social rules on sex and race. For example in a typical Pakistani society, homosexuality is frowned on but Oman was involved in the act because he was given a world of his own to dwell in. Johnny who was a british would also under normal circumstance not associate himself with Oman who was a Pakistani but the use of third cinema or third via made this possible. Essentially, the major idea in relation to the theme of the movie for using third via was to show commitment towards cultural and social emancipation, which was otherwise lacking in Britain of the 1980s (Miller, 1992). 4.0 Influence of Thatcher Policies on Protagonists In this section, three themes are developed on the various influences that the Thatcher policies of the 1980s had on protagonists in the movie. Since the movie was set in the time of the Thatcher administration and with a theme directed at the policies of the then government, the director portrayed protagonists in certain ways that were reflective of the Thatcher policies. 4.1 Working versus Education The Thatcher days were times when social stratification in England was at its peak. The working class was therefore despised and discriminated against by the upper class (Salmon, 1993). This was partly due to government and for that matter Thatcher policies that made the rich more reach and the poor, poorer. Because of this, most people who did not belong to the upper class had a feeling and mentality that the only means for them to survive was to use the principle of survival of the fittest, whereby they had to look for means of making earns meet. In relation to the protagonists of the movie, Oman was seen choosing work over education because in his opinion, receiving education would only end him up still being a member of the working class. Literature has it that most people in the upper class were politicians and some few successful international business gurus. In effect, though his work was meager, Oman was hopeful that he could gain success with it to raise it to a standard or level that will make him earn the respect of society. But Oman’s father thought otherwise, thinking that education was the key to getting to the top and so he kept persuading Oman to further his education (Miller, 1992). 4.2 Battle against Racism The protagonists were given various roles by which they fought against racism. This was also seen as a key theme for the filmmaker as racism was something that was common within the Thatcher administration with the utterances of Enoch Powell serving as a typical example. Therefore at a time that politicians like Enoch Powel thought that policies should be made to set clear differences between native and indigenous English people and those were not as a way of protecting the English people in their own land, Oman was also being assigned a role to send a message to the English people and for that matter supporters of Enoch Powell that non-English people were also people who could be very responsible in their areas of work and operation. As a matter of fact, this message was so central and key to the director that he did not only use one non-English protagonist to portray the message but a non-English protagonist with a supporting protagonist who was English. In an irony of what the Thatcher policies were portraying of non-English, the non-English protagonist was more successful than the English protagonist, and was even the one who determined the pay of the English (BBC News, 2005). 4.3 Portrayal of multiculturalism in a positive way As Enoch Powell publicly spoke against racial togetherness, there was a generalized idea that Thatcher policies were unfavorable for coherent multiculturalism and that multiculturalism could not exist in a positive sense (Miller, 1992). For example in an environment where one person sees his culture to be better than the other and so suppresses the culture of the other person, multiculturalism may be in place already but this will not be exhibited in a positive fashion. It is against this backdrop that key protagonists were used in My Beautiful Laundrette to depict how multiculturalism could be exhibited in an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence and unity. This was necessary to do because it is only when there is a positive influence of multiculturalism that there can be cross cultural learning and impartation of knowledge. Consequently, Oman and his English friend Johnny were made to exchange a lot of cultural ideologies, which were well harnessed in a manner that could even cause them to become lovers. Once multiculturalism was made to rule, people of different cultures had benefits of their colleagues who were from different cultural backgrounds and there was peaceful coexistence as well. 5.0 Scenic Discussion There are various scenes of the movie that clearly outlines the theme and message of the filmmaker, some of which are briefly discussed in this section. 5.1 Scenes of Racism There were scenes within the movie that did not just exhibit racism but also racial hatred, which could be said to be the consequence of negative multiculturalism. The scene was when Salim had so much hatred for the Englishpunks such that he attempted running a car over them. Should he had been successful, the resulting factor was going to be that the lives of these people were going to be taken away from them. Meanwhile, death or killing could be seen as the worse form of way by which a person could show revenge to another person. The filmmaker was therefore tactical in the use of this scene to exemplify the intensity and level of hatred that actually existed between the Pakistanis and the British. Hitherto however, the punks that Salim had attempted to run over with his car had also attacked Omar’s car. This means that throughout the movie, a sense of racial misbalancing had been portrayed in various scenes of the movie with the highlighting scene being when death was threatened on people due to racial imbalance. Within the same scene, the filmmaker made the true intensions of Salim clear as he was not just threatening the punks because he actually succeeded in injuring one of them. 5.2 Scenes of Gender and Generational Difference Tania is given a central role in displaying the theme of gender and generational difference as various scenes of the movie are used to depict how she had to suffer basic abuses based on her gender and generational difference from Johnny and Omar. In two of such scenes, Tania is depicted of a person of an undeserving favor when she was proposed to by Omar only under the influence of alcohol. Though with no acts of violence attached, this is a clear indication of victimization of Tania’s gender and individuality as someone who did not really deserve to be taken serious and someone who did not deserve the best of a man with full glimpse of his senses (Kaleta, 1998). Coupled with this scene is when the same Tania is engaged in other scenes of flirting by Johnny, who was supposed to be Omar’s lover. This is also a depiction of sexual abuse on the gender of Tania, being taken to be a symbol of sex by the two characters, Omar and Johnny. Rather painfully for Tania, there is a scene when Johnny had to reveal the hard truth to her of his relationship with Omar, only to break the fragile lady’s heart. 5.3 Scenes of Social Struggle Scenes upon scenes are used to display the theme of social struggle, particularly at the launderette when it was first opened. For a Pakistani who was formally pursuing education to decide to settle for a business in the running of what was supposed to be his uncle’s launderette was a clear depiction of the need for Omar to survive in a social crust that had been created. And so at the scene when they opened the launderette, even though Omar was seen to be full of excitement for the new journey of life he had started, it was a rather inner-filled moment of emotion of a new meaning that he had to give to the social prison formed around him. Indeed, the social struggle that Omar was trying to fit himself into was one that was created by a series of compounded factors with much attribute to the Thatcher policies as the policies had created such a vast vacuum between the rich and the poor; and the British and non-British. For a person among the poor or non-British social worlds, of which Omar belonged to both to fit perfectly into society, the person had to put up an extra ordinary attitude towards life and that was what Omar saw in the opening of the launderette. 6.0 Technique and Forms 6.1 Camera movement The general use of camera movement in My Beautiful Laundrette was such that it will be used to differentiate the movie, which was first shot with an idea of becoming used for television from other feature films. For this reason, there is the general use slow paced movement, still movements and focused zooming of the camera. These techniques were also used to be part of the actual story telling process as in most cases, the camera movement was used in such a way that it succeeded in giving the audience a deeper understanding of what was going on or taking place among the actors. For example Williams (2001) writes of the use of spy’s view camera position in the scene when Nasser and Rachel were among the washing machines celebrating what could be termed as their lust. According to Williams (2001), One camera position during this scene is a spys view of Nasser and Rachel from this back-room. This contributes to the ironic treatment of the heterosexual pair because it provides the audience with a vantage point on their activity. This shows how the director involved the audience in the movie by the simple use of camera technique. 6.2 Conflict There are several aspects of the movie that are used to depict a sense of conflict or opposition between two sides of an issue. For example the characterization of Omar and Johnny is one form of conflict with the issue of racism where instead of the English Johnny gaining dominance over the non-English Omar, there is an opposition to racism where more powers are given to Omar in the form of financial and social freedom as against Johnny who had to somewhat serve under Omar. Again, between Omar’s father and his uncle are great depictions of conflict and opposition in characterization and roles. Whiles Omar’s father was a hater of the Thatcher policies and had been down by it with an emotional effect; Omar’s uncle did not seem to be bordered about prevailing issues in terms of the Thatcher policies and so got along with life quite well. Between the two people also, it is seen how Omar’s father struggle in poverty whiles a person of his race, Nasser, who was Omar’s uncle was rather successful in his line of business. Much attributable to the theme and context of the movie, the filmmaker was drawing a point on the fact that resistance and opposition may exist in the form of racial and social abuses but it takes a person’s personal reception of life to overcome these. REFERENCE LIST Miller, Joseph B., "For His New Film, Hanif Kureishi Reaches for a Beautiful Laundrette," in New York Times Current Events Edition (New York), 2 August 1992. Cline, Austin. Social Realism. 2013. Web. March 25, 2013 Monk, Clark. The heritage film and gendered spectatorship. 2000. Web. March 26, 2013 Blaney, M., "The Empire Strikes Back," in Filmfaust (Frankfurt), February-March 1986. BBC News. 1968: Powell slates immigration policy. 2005. Web. March 21, 2013 Kaleta, Kenneth C., Hanif Kureishi: Postcolonial Storyteller, United Experts Limited: Austin, 1998. Print. Hedling, Enoch, "Shopkeepers, Profiteers, and Libertines," in Lahikuva (Turku), no. 3, 1995. Miller, John B., "For His New Film, Hanif Kureishi Reaches for a Beautiful Laundrette," in New York Times Current Events Edition (New York), 2 August 1992. ONeill, Eithne, Stephen Frears, Omega Press Limited: Paris, 1994. Print. Pally, M., "Kureishi like a fox," in Film Comment (New York), September-October 1986. Quart, Larry., "The Politics of Irony: The Frears-Kureishi Films," in Film Criticism (Meadville, Pennsylvania), no. 1–2, 1991–92. Salmon, P., "Revising the Traditions: Hanif Kureishi and Contemporary British Cinema," in Canadian Journal of Film Studies (Ottawa), vol. 2, no. 2–3, 1993. Salmon, Peters., "Revising the Traditions: Hanif Kureishi and Contemporary British Cinema," in Canadian Journal of Film Studies (Ottawa), vol. 2, no. 2–3, 1993. Steele J, My Beautitful Laundrette. 2000. Web. March 19. 2013 Read More