Water Movie Directed by Deepa Mehta - Essay Example

The Movie Water Introduction Films and movies such as the movie water (2005) directed by Deepa Mehta can be used in aclassroom setting to enable students to gain a deeper understanding of intercultural communication concepts and perspectives. It enables students to gain awareness of cultural differences portrayed in behaviors, values and communication styles across various cultures. The setting of the water movie is in the 1938 Indian culture. The main character, Chuyia is married in her teenage years to an elderly man who passes away shortly thus rendering her a young widow. She is taken to a holy city of Baranas to live with other elderly widows where she is destined to spend the rest of her life although she keeps hoping that her mother would come and take her home. Another character in the movie is Kalyani, a young widow who falls in love with Nayaran, a follower of Gandhi, and she is presented with the dilemma of keeping the Hindu tradition or marrying him. The movie therefore explores the fate of the young widows and their struggle to remain afloat in the deep waters of the Hindu tradition and religion. In this paper, the film water (2005) will be used to identify and discuss the various intercultural communication concepts. The film water (2005) offers a controversial presentation of stereotypes in the Hindu culture. Widows are considered as unlucky and cursed members of the Hindu society and culture. According to the Hindu religion and culture, widows are the Zamindar prostitutes. They are confined to the widow dorm, exploited and have nowhere to go to. Chuyia hopes that her mother would come to take her away from the widow dorm but this is not the case because she is bound by the Hindu culture and she only has three options at her disposal; to remarry her dead husband’s brother, to die on the husbands pyre or to commit her entire life into celibacy. She is violated, abused and misused in the Zamindar where she is sent for child prostitution. One of the more rational widows, Shakuntala feels sorry for her, arranges to get her out of the suffering of the widow house, and entrusts her under the care of Gandhi. Kalyani, another widow falls in love with Nayarana and agrees to marry him. She however commits suicide in shame upon realizing that she had been his father’s prostitute. The roles of Kalyani as the woman who commits suicide as a way of escaping the cruel cultural norms and the other widows as those who conforms to the rules of culture and religion represents the social stereotypes in the movie. On the other hand, the role of Shakuntala, who rejects the rule of her traditional culture and sticks to her moral standards and ethics, represents the desire to avoid drowning in the cultural water and stereotypes. This represents the decisive moment and a desire to portray the true emotions of the Hindu people regarding the cruel cultural norms. Dressing and language in the movie water (2005) depicts the true Hindu culture in the 1940’s. Chuyia, like other widows, dresses in short skirts, veil-less upper torso and brief blouses in order to provide maximum exposure of her body to suit her prostitute role. She is not allowed to put on her jewelers and she is forced to shave her hair as a symbol of renunciation and indication of the widowhood status. It is only Kalyani who is allowed to retain her long hair, which serves as an enticement to male customers whom she attracts for purposes of raising money for the ashrams. The movie is also traditionally Hindu in the sense that the characters speak Hindi throughout in all the scenes. The movie was however, rejected by the Indians who were angered by her depiction of the Indian tradition, culture and religion. The director used excessive overtones of the western culture thus portraying Hinduism for the American perspective. The use of light music, bright colors and various moments of happiness was perceived to be more of the western culture than the Eastern world. The film is considered to be against the Hindu culture and more of a promotion of the Western believes and culture. This perception led to the rejection of the movie and its shooting led to riots and violence. Models of interpersonal relationship and interaction can be explored by considering differences in verbal and non-verbal communication in the water movie. A good example relates to who can touch whom, where and when. The Hindi tradition does not allow an interaction and touch relationship between the high-caste social class and lowly widows who are deemed as the social mischiefs. When Nayarana comes to court Kalyani, a polite personal distance is set between them. In terms of verbal communication, however, Nayarana seems to go against the norms of the society when communication with his father. His father justifies his behaviors in exploitation of the women as a right for men based on the privileges of the caste system and tells Nayarana that he cannot get married to a widow. Nayarana reacts by rejecting his father, an act that is radical and against the traditional Hindu rules of interaction where the father is to be respected despite the prevailing circumstances. The movie water (2005) also explores the fate of Nayarana who is the foreigner in a strange land and culture of the Hindi. Nayarana is a reformist, who assumes the role of a high –caste liberal Brahmin and a strong follower of Gandhi. He falls in love with Kalyani and seeks to marry her. Nauarana represents the role of an enthusiastic participant who rejects the traditional values and norms of the Hindu tradition by planning to marry a widow. The marriage between Kalyani and Nayarana would is anathema to the Hindu tradition and a threat to prostitution which is a source of income for the ashram. Although Nayarana’s mother and Madhumati are against the relationship and attempt to prevent the marriage, Kalyani is able to escape by the help of Shakuntala. Unfortunately, the love story ends in tragedy when Kalyani drowns in the waters of Ganges. Conclusion The film water (2005) is a masterpiece, which teaches us about several intercultural issues and differences. In the Hindu tradition, the widows are untouchable, social misfits are only fit for economic purposes through prostitution. However, the feminist idea is very strong in the whole movie with emphasis on the survival of the women and widows. The essence of the stagnant and the flowing water in the movie, therefore, provides a good framework for contrasting humanity with renewal. Although the film has a sad love ending, Mehta shows us that there is some hope of saving the Hindu women and widows when the Gandhi supporters carry Chuyia away on the train. Mehta therefore succeeds in proving to us that the problems we face are grounded in our own stereotyped traditional believes and cultures which are always misinterpreted and manipulated to fit our interests. The movie offers us a good basis for analyzing the impact of cultural differences on our relationship and interaction with the other cultures. Work Cited Mehta, Deepa (Director). The Movie Water, 2005. Read More