In a continually globalised world, the diaspora makes up an ever increasing percentage of the population. The Indian diaspora as of 2019 is estimated at 17.5million people (According to the United Nations). Traditionally this diaspora has not always been well represented by the National cinema and First Cinema Industries that have often dominated the globalised markets. Bollywood narratives of “Male characters living abroad were portrayed as villainous, morally corrupt, and lacking the traditionally held Indian values of honesty and loyalty…” (Deshpande & Mazaj 2010). A problematic portrayal of millions of Indians living abroad, it was not until the nineties with the successes of films like “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Chopra 1995)” about Non-Resident Indians who were still “Indian at heart” that Bollywood were unable to ignore their enormous international market. (Dudrah 2002). Hollywood has frequently been questioned for their representation of Diasporic South Asians living in the states. Indian representation often consisting of mystic stereotypes (Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom, Spielberg 1984) Comic Relief (The Big Bang Theory) or offensive stereotype (The Love Guru, Schnable 2009). However, there has been slow movement away from such typecasting through recent films like The Big Sick (Showalter 2017) programmes like Master of None (Ansari 2015).
To discuss the role of Transnational Cinema in representing the experiences of Diaspora, Transnational Cinema must first be defined: Higson stated the study as “…an attempt, therefore to acknowledge the changing nature of film production, distribution and reception in an increasingly globalized world and offers up an alternative conceptual framework within which to analyse film culture, becoming a subtler means of describing cultural and economic formations that are rarely contained by national boundaries”. (Higson 2000).
Diasporic films like Minari (Chung 2020) could be identified as transnational, despite being an American Production because of the content matter, whereas, other films like Babel (Iñárritu 2005) are also considered transnational for production belonging to several different countries. Ezra and Rowdenargue that the “key to transnationalism is the recognition of the decline of national sovereignty as a regulatory force in global coexistence.” (Ezra and Rowden 2006). The key theme appearing to be a movement away from National cinema and a focus on global and human issues.
It is notable however, that transnational cinema has often been criticised for a supposed inability to portray genuinely global stories. For example Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Lee 2000) is a popular Transnational film, a blockbuster produced by Chinese and American production companies that has been criticised for its western geared narrative. Making use of various Western tropes such as the romantic plot or the “Asian woman warrior” popularised by American film Mulan (Cook & Bancroft 1998).
“The films most likely to circulate transnationally are those that are more ‘Western-friendly’ and have adopted familiar genres, narratives, or themes. This is often done to fulfil the “desire for tasty, easily swallowed, apolitical global-cultural morsels,” craved by audiences accustomed to American Orientalism.” (Desai 2004)
This essay will be analysing the narratives utilised by transnational cinema in conveying the experience of the diaspora, with a focus towards the South Asian Diaspora. Looking at the diasporic films of directors like Gurinder Chadha and Mira Nair.
“Children born to migrant’s will be influenced by the ‘past migration history’ of their parents or grandparents. Nevertheless, there are different experiences of migration and diaspora, which force generational differences, because of the ‘disjunction between past and present [and] between here and there.’” (McLeod 2000:211).
A diasporic story is not contingent on the stories of first generation migrants but often the dynamic created by their families who occupy multiple national identities. British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha has in several of her films explored what it means to be one of the diaspora.
“Chadha’s work deals with social issues and racial tension through a comedic rather than documentary style and, as Alison Butler observes, Chadha has used her own experience of hyphenated identity or mobility between cultures as the basis of dramas of cultural difference which insist on its presence within communities, families and individuals.” (Hockenhull 2017).
Having started her career making films for the BBC, BFI and Channel 4 and having a filmography that has been nearly entirely produced in the UK, it could be argued that her work is not Transnational Cinema, but merely British Cinema. However, defining transnational as a response to First and National Cinema, the international appeal and success in crafting representation on people beyond national identities, her films could be considered some of the most important of the genre.
Chadha’s breakout film Bhaji on the Beach (1993) deals with serious issues such as single parenthood, racism, and the growing rift between the Indian born elders and the British born younger generation. While the film takes inspiration from Bollywood productions and makes use of the melodrama and imagery that is common in such productions, Bhaji on the Beach plays more like an Ealing comedy. Bhangra music plays and traditional clothes are worn, but to the backdrop of the Blackpool illuminations, a British resort town.
“Chadha described ‘Bhaji on the Beach’ as ‘very much a British Asian film.’ The director grew up in Southall, a largely Punjabi neighbourhood in West London, after her family moved from Kenya when she was 3. ‘I know the community so well,’ the director said. ‘I’m not afraid to show our weaknesses as well as our strengths.’” (Hornaday 1994).
Chadha is still embracing the subject of diaspora almost 2 decades later. Blinded by the light (Chadha, 2019) delves into the experiences of Sarfraz Manzoor, a Pakistani born journalist who despite the strong influences of his parent’s religion and culture, discovers a love for Bruce Springsteen and other American influences. The conflict this causes between him and his parents is explained by Ezra and Rowden, who refer to “the Nostalgia of the “Old Country” (Javed’s Parents) offering a “tenuous refuge” when compared to all that the western world has to offer, in this case the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Blinded by the Light is a deeply personal story that deals with a variety of issues that the diaspora faced in Luton during the 1980s. The main character “Javed” (Viveik Kalra)experiences abuse from National Front thugs andwitnesses the racism directed at his local mosque and at family friends. But while this provides a backdrop, the plot is mostly propelled by the family rifts that form as a result of his father’s traditional expectations of him and his western grown desires in life.
The teenage rebellion that permeates Bhaji on the Beach and Bend it like Beckham (Chadha 2002) is also prevalent in Blinded by the Light. Javed is constantly comparing the life of the British born teenagers with his own, juxtaposing cultural differences like his neighbour’s girlfriend with his father’s strict demand to “Stay Away from Girls” and class differences like the large house that his (secret) girlfriend lives in with her upper class parents to his modest terraced on the Marsh Farm estate.
While the film follows Javed’s newfound love of Springsteen and desire to move to America, more integral to the story appears to be the moments when he reconnects to his family’s culture. Switching off his Walkman and listening to the Hindi dance music with his contemporaries is a defining moment for Javed, as he learns that his cultural music can also be a youthful expression of rebellion and not just “something his father listens to.”
A great deal of the film is spent telling the story of two differing perspectives to diasporic life. Not only Javed who has lived in England most of his life and believes himself to be British, but his father who lived mostly in Pakistan and identifies as such. It could be argued that the central plot is less about Javed’s coming of age and has more to do with the reconciliation of father and son who have two very different interpretations of life in England. It is a story about the similarities to be found in two different kinds of diasporic citizen.
The common theme in the film is the Pakistani immigrant experiences of Javed’s father putting him at odds with the British youth experiences of Javed.
“Writing is for English people, with rich parents” are among the disagreements expressed by Javed’s father and while through Javed’s eyes, it’s a villainous thing to say, the audience are able to relate to the concerns of a working class immigrant, himself unable to find a job since the mass layoffs of Vauxhall Motors. It is probable that Chadha was referring to her own experiences as the daughter of immigrants trying to break into the creative industries.
“Chadha experienced problems raising the appropriate funds…I said that whenever there are panels to talk about diversity, I’m wheeled on as a British filmmaker of colour, but here I am struggling to make a fucking film about a person of colour.” (Hockenhull 2017).
Most notably however is the conclusion in which Javed and his father are able to find the common ground in their lives, represented by their listening to “Born to Run” together, a song that speaks to both of them, if for different reasons. Malik says to Javed “Write your stories yes, but don’t forget ours”. The advice is echoed among diasporic filmmakers like Chadha and Ové (Pressure 1976) who’s work strives to tell the story of their parents and their upbringing in a market that is dominated by American or European stories, or polluted with white saviour narratives and stereotyped representation.
The subjects in Bruce Springsteen’s music that Javed and his father find common ground in demonstrate a series of universal themes like the importance of hard work, the pain of shattered dreams and the imperative role of family. In a way this is the perfect metaphor; Finding a unity in music (especially an internationally famous musician) is further evidence of the degradation of national barriers as people find unity in global entertainment.
It would appear that part of the success of diasporic cinema is found in a place of genuineness and relatability. Chadha often utilises her personal experiences through her work. What is noteworthy is that some of the most notable examples of South Asian diaspora representation do not come from transnational cinema but Bollywood itself.
“Within the diverse media landscape, where Hindi films are basically consumed at home, going to the movies has very much become a part of outdoor leisure life for many South Asian families in and around Frankfurt in the past two to three years”. (Brosius 2005).
Starting with the international Bollywood boom of the early 1990s and continuing into the 21st century, more films were produced in Mumbai that told the stories of diasporic communities living in other cities around the world. Namastey London (Shah 2007), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…(Johar 2001), Dostana (mansukhani 2008), Salaam Namaste (Anand 2005) are all examples of well received diasporic films, telling a variety of stories in countries that have high Indian diasporas, the £31,000,000 (over 3 billion rupees) income is notable as much of that was garnered through home media and international releases, demonstrating their popularity and ability to resonate with the diaspora.
Still maintaining the characteristics of Indian films however, it could be argued that they are at odds with the Transnational style of filmmaking that is often geared towards a western audience. Their popularity among the diaspora in comparison to the British Transnational film Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle 2008) which while financially successful among western audiences was slammed by South Asian audiences as a poor adaptation and an example of orientalism, is an example polyvalent world cinema. However, it could also be argued that such films are representative of Cultural Hybridisation and represent a global film industry that isn’t dominated by the West.
One example of a successful transnational representation of the diaspora however is The Namesake (Nair, 2011). Both the writer Sooni Tarapovevaland director Mira Nairare both experts of the diasporic experience, having been raised and educated in India, but spending significant time in and in Nair’s case raising a family in the United States.
The story follows the lives of a Bengali family who have resettled in New York. The film makes use of both the English and Bengali languages and aesthetically switches between the westernised New York and the home of the Ganguli family. The story like Blinded by the Light is told through the eyes of the Gogol (Kal Penn), the New York born son of his first generation immigrant parents.
Like Javed, Gogol relates more to the country of his birth and grows up to be uninterested in his heritage or culture, more interested in pot, women or later on in his career prospects as an immigrant. His decision to change his name is a damning moment in the film, as not only is it reflective of the many in his shoes who have made that decision (often to avoid discrimination) but the story of struggle and perseverance behind the name mirrors the same stories of difficulties and perseverance is known too well to Gogol’s parents and the many who have migrated in their life.
The film is not, however, unsympathetic to Gogol, it successfully tells the story of two generations of diaspora and acknowledges that both stories are very different. While Gogol’s parents perseverance are about the terror of uprooting their lives and starting over in a new country, Gogol’s own perveance is in finding his identity. What both parties have in common is the discrimination they will face in their respective stories.
Paul Gilroy wrote that “Diasporic identity is focused on the social dynamics of remembrance and commemoration defined by a strong sense of the dangers involved in forgetting the location of origin and the process of dispersal”.
This is a recurring theme throughout The Namesake as Gogol’s parents live in fear of his forgetting his homeland, however the audience is aware that by his adulthood, Gogol isn’t dismissive of their homeland, but worried about life in his own. While his love of Maxine (Jacinda Barrett)is considered an attack against his heritage by his parents, to Gogol it is simply a love match. Likewise they feel their culture is threated by Gogol’s affection for Maxine’s family, but the audience is aware that this is simply because of their warmth as people, juxtaposing with the more reserved nature of the Ganguli family.
Nair does not shy away from the errors of diasporic parents either, while many such films paint the ways of the homeland as best, Gogol’s mistakes in the film often stem from his attempts at being closer to his Bengali ties. Leaving Maxine and entering into a doomed marriage with a woman on the basis of her race is the culmination of his failure to connect his heritage and his upbringing in a positive way, his mother even commenting that she made a mistake in pushing for such a marriage.
In fact the main takeaway from The Namesake is that Gogol finds a love of his heritage when he is under no pressure to do so. Exploring India during his gap year transforms him from an uninterested teenager to someone deeply proud of their heritage. More important in this film than his heritage though, is the love of his family. Nair makes the important case that diasporic families are not just about their migration, but are like everyone else in the world, about their family. Not unlike the films of Chadha, The Namesake, it is very much a film about family, a subject that is at the heart of diasporic cinema.
People are often motivated into migration by providing for or creating a better life for their families and many of the issues that arise in such stories are family issues as the two different world collide.
In conclusion, the effect that Transnational Cinema has on telling the stories of Diaspora depends mostly on how you define the cinematic movement.
While there are a few internationally produced films like The Namesake, it is clear that most productions of such a scale are geared towards Western audiences like Slumdog Millionaire and rarely approach the subject of the diaspora.
However, those that define transnational cinema by the subject matter of the film, will find a significant amount of diasporic representation in such films. Gurinder Chadha’s films, while made entirely within the British film industry, films like Bend it like Beckham and Blinded by the Light, are accurate portrayals of the diaspora. Likewise some of the strongest films representing the South Asian diaspora, have come from India.
What is certain, is that the best films of the diaspora have come from a place of experience, diversity in filmmaking leads to the telling of genuine stories, which best represent the diaspora. While transnational cinema has played an important role in representing the stories of the diaspora, the success of such stories has come from filmmakers with the variety of experiences and the stories that they are best equipped to tell.
Films Referenced:
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Chopra 1995)
Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom (Spielberg, 1984)
The Love Guru (Schnable, 2009)
The Big Sick (Showalter, 2017)
Master of None (Ansari 2015).
Minari (Chung, 2020)
Babel (Iñárritu, 2005)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Lee, 2000)
Mulan (Cook & Bancroft, 1998)
Bhaji on the Beach (Chadha, 1993)
Blinded by the light (Chadha, 2019)
and Bend it like Beckham (Chadha 2002)
Pressure (Ové , 1976)
Namastey London (Shah, 2007)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…(Johar, 2001)
Dostana (mansukhani, 2008)
Salaam Namaste (Anand, 2005)
Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle, 2008)
Namesake (Nair, 2011)
Bibliography:
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Manzoor, Sarfraz. (2008) “Greetings from Bury Park: Race. Religion. Rock ‘n’ Roll. Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Gilroy, P. (1997). Diaspora and the detours of identity. In K. Woodward (Ed.), Identity and difference (pp. 299–346). Sage Publications, Inc; Open University Press.
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