Free Sample Essay On Monsoon Wedding Movie

Question: Write essay on a film "Monsoon Wedding". Answer: Monsoon Wedding was a highly acclaimed movie which quite meticulously portrays the contradictions between cultural values of the family, and the self-asserting individualistic traits of the youngsters. The movie revolves around the idea of the significant impact of Western imperialism on the young generations of India, at the beginning of the 21St century (Desai). The arranged marriage is the most prevalent form of marriage in India, whereby the parents choose the bride or the groom for their offspring, and they are obliged to spend the rest of their life with almost a stranger (Ciren). Although arranged marriage does not necessarily imply the presence of love, Aditi, the female protagonist of the movie chooses to marry the groom, arranged by her parents, Hemant, rather than continuing her affair with the love of her life, Vikram. Although, Aditi has been shown as a decisive character, she is nevertheless a knowledgeable woman, who is discreet enough to weigh the pros of arranged marriage. She knows that marrying the man her family has chosen for her, will bring less anxiety and responsibility on her shoulder, as her parents have adequately taken care of all the factors before choosing the groom. Since the families played an important role in fixing them up, their relation will be based on a common set of beliefs, ideas and values, and hence i t will demand less adjustment on part of the newlywed bride. Although Aditi has loved Vikram only, yet she must comply with the traditional values and cultural heritage of an Indian society. The movie, although reveals a postmodern age, where cell phones and emails co-exist with the age-old Indian norms and values, yet Aditi, despite being a modern 21st century girl, chooses to enjoy the comfort of staying loyal to the family expectations, rather than asserting her own individual will. People in the West, are more acquainted with the idea of love marriage, as it allows them the freedom of choice and action of choosing their life partner on their own (Sharma). As a 21st century girl, Aditi faces a strong dilemma between two things, a strong independent spirit that strives to make free decisions in life, and a traditional spirit to stay obedient to the expectations of family and cultural communities. However, the movie also ironically presents a grim story, where a woman like Aditi, i s although conforming to the wishes of her family, yet she is unable to suppress her wishes of secretly meeting the man of her dreams, just before the night before her marriage (Wilson). The movie also revolves around the cultural conflict between traditional beliefs of the old world, and radical ideas of a progressive and westernized world. With the spread of globalization, the young characters of the film, cease to be the obedient followers of the Indian society, and refuse to be blindly socialized. Although Aditi marries in accordance with the wish of her parents, she rejects the Indian customs of having only one man in life. She hardly shows loyalty to her would-be husband, as she steps out of her home to meet her lover. Although Hemant appreciates afterwards, initially he is infuriated by discovering about the affair of her fianc. On the one hand, despite being a 21st century man living in Texas, he remains a conservative and rigidly possessive Indian husband, but on the other hand, he is also a man influenced by Western thought, and hence prioritizes the virtues of honesty, transparency and individual freedom of expression (Karena). The wedding planner Dubey is determined enough to use a sophisticated, white tent for the wedding party, but the orthodox Lalit, discards the whole idea as extremely silly, and urged more colorful, bright fabrics to use instead. Since most of the characters are Indians, living in abroad, or have international connections, each of them speak English apart from the Indian languages and characteristic of any Diaspora, the characters show the conflict between the opposing cultural traits. Although the movie at the end celebrates the triumph of family values and cultural norms of India, if attentively watched, it leaves sparks of repressed wishes and desires of the characters emerging from their contact with the Western culture (Sharpe). The movie is being directed by Mira Nair, while the script was being written by Sabrina Dhawan, and since two women shaped the movie, the movie is being rendered a feminist perspective. The movie at points tends to challenge and disrupt the traditional norms of female socialization. The monsoon, itself which arrives after the scorching heat of the summer, appears to be the metaphor for female sexual liberation from the authoritative forces of patriarchy. The movie unravels the grim side of the Indian domestic tale, as Tej is accused of having molested Ria, when she has been a child (Rajiva). Further, there is less hush surrounding the topic of sexual molestation, as Ria cannot be coerced into silence by the patriarchal forces of her family. She comes up gallantly, bluntly and unabashedly exposing the misdeeds of Tej, as he is caught giving too much attention to Aliya, Riyas young cousin (Sharpe). Not only so, even the character of Aditi is of a woman who strongly opposes and at least attempts to challenge the conservative ideas of a patriarchal society. She refuses to be socialized fully by a patriarchal society, as she dares to move out of her home and meet her lover. She defies the traditional norms of a male dominated society, which controls and fixates the movement of a woman, in the name of chastity preservation. In the film, Nair also exposes the Indian customs which tends to marginalize the position of women and subordinate them to the control of a patriarchal social set up. At the wedding party, when all the family members are posing for the photograph to be clicked, Riya as a girl is made to sit down near the feet of Tej, despite the charge of molestation being brought against her. Further, the cinematographic presentation of the mobie also emphasizes this recurrent theme of the movie. When finally Lalit asks Tej to leave the wedding party, considering the allegations brought against him, the camera starts panning across the female characters of the ho usehold, as to what their expressions are, to such a decision. Here, the female characters are found to assume more passive roles, as they are depicted as helpless, dependable entities who are left with no choice but to react to the decisions taken by the respectable, all powerful patriarchs of the household (Krueger). For the Indians, marriage is a very sacred form of union, which has profound implication of being a match made in Heaven. It idealizes this act, by not only incorporating religious mantras and rituals into the event, but also by glorifying it by claiming that the love between the newlywed is immortal by nature. In India, the most traditionally accepted form of marriage is arranged marriage, as it marks a unison that takes place with the help of the blessings of both the families. As traditional the Indians are, they are less open to the radical ideas of self-assertion and independence in the process of spouse selection. Hence, the family assumes an important role, and the patriarch of the family (Lalit here) is the ultimate decision maker in the marriage (Sprecher ). In India, it is not merely about love, but more than that when it comes to the question of successfully working out a marriage. Marriage in India, is not merely a marriage of two souls, as in other western countries, but it is also the marriage of two different families. Hence, the bride as well as the groom, has to adjust with, and if necessary assimilate, the culture, values and ideas of the spouses family. In India, if one decides to marry a man of her choice, not accepted by the family, the whole act is usually deemed as a selfish act. Indians are more guided by sentimental spirit, which compels them to abide first by the demands of their family, and then listen to the voice if their hearts. The very act of marriage which starts with the demand for adjustment for the sake of preservation of family values, continues to insist the couple to adjust and strive to stay together, rather than parting ways as a solution to the problem. Reference List: Ciren, Cuo-Mu, et al. "From arranged marriage to autonomous marriage: marriage liberalization in India, Ancient Rome, United Kingdom and China."International journal of humanities and social science6.1 (2016): 114-120. Desai, Jigna. "Negotiating national and transnational cultural citizenship."Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas(2013): 206. Karena, Cynthia. "Monsoon wedding: raining on tradition."Australian Screen Education Online33 (2003): 117. Krueger, Oliver. " Its all about loving your parents. The Reflection of Tradition, Modernity and Rituals in Popular Indian Movies."Marburg Journal of Religion9.1 (2015). Rajiva, Mythili. "In Papaji's House: Representations of the father/daughter relationship in South Asian diasporic cinema."Feminist Media Studies10.2 (2010): 213-228. Sharma, Manu. "Transnational Cinema: A Cross Culture Communication Medium."Journal of Mass Communication Journalism2014 (2014). Sharpe, Jenny.Gender, Nation, and Globalization in Monsoon Wedding and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Palgrave Macmillan US, 2007. Sharpe, Jenny.Gender, Nation, and Globalization in Monsoon Wedding and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Palgrave Macmillan US, 2007. Sprecher, Susan, and Rachita Chandak. "Attitudes about arranged marriages and dating among men and women from India."Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology20.1 (1992): 59-69. Wilson, Janet M. "Revising national/diasporic imaginaries: Bollywood diasporic Indian cinema and globalization." (2014).