Junot Diaz said that dismissing any opportunity for a person to be culturally represented turns them into a “monster” (goodreads.com). So, how does that apply to the media, specifically, Hollywood film? Recently there has been a growing outcry over the lack of complex minority experiences in award-winning films. As a result, more Black actors and actresses have been nominated in their respective categories. However, the same cannot be said for South Asians and Hispanics, who struggle to find movies where they are being accurately portrayed on-screen. The Hollywood film industry has made slight progress by creating pieces with complicated minority characters, especially for Blacks. Despite that, South Asians and Hispanics are still not seeing a multitude of hefty characters with accurate portrayals of their own experiences. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the term “Dickensian” is used to describe deplorable living or working conditions, like those typically found in a Charles Dicken’s novel.
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Of course, this term perfectly describes the dilapidated dwellings of Mumbai in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, as well as the stunning scenes of poverty-stricken people in Garth Brook’s Lion. Western films continue to have this fascination with India that reinforces the stereotype of whites needing to escape and rejuvenate or rescue the natives from their primitive conditions. “Ray’s analysis, made in the 1970s, holds true even today because the films listed above follow the familiar European colonial tropes of the mystical east as the site of rejuvenation for the jaded Western man/woman—Darjeeling Limited, Eat Pray and Love or Best Exotic Marigold Hotel—or the west as the heroic savior of the eastern man or woman from its own barbarity such as Slumdog Millionaire and Million Dollar Arm” (Roy, “Slumdog Millionaire: Capitalism, a Love Story”). As a result, Americans are only viewing this country through one lens. Even though Slumdog Millionaire premiered in 2008, the same pattern of the majority saving eastern people from their horrible circumstances can also be seen in Lion. For instance, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a way out of misfortune for Indians instead of being just another game show on television in America.” While merely popular in the United States, the show is portrayed as a phenomenon in India. …The game show’s promise of instant fortune takes on a disturbing urgency in a country where entrenched poverty (compounded by the legacy of the caste system) afflicts so many” (Daly, “Mumbai Masala”). Another example can be found in Lion, the story of Saroo Brierley, a native of a rural Indian town who is separated from his family as a young boy. Saroo is thousands of miles away from home, living on the streets, and scavenging for food until he is placed in an orphanage and adopted by an Australian couple. However, it is not until the Brierley’s adopt Saroo and bring him to Tasmania that his problems are over until memories of his old life resurface years later. “Those opening scenes have a relentless Dickensian harshness to them that ends only with the arrival of Nicole Kidman and David Wenham, as Saroo’s saviours (and in many ways, ours). And then, further reassurance that the worst is truly behind us arrives when the film jumps forward 20 years, and Dev Patel takes over as Saroo from the magical Sunny Pawar” (Rohan, “Lion Movie Review: Dev Patel Is Heartbreaking In This Oscar-Worthy Triumph. 5 Stars”). Even though both films are almost a decade apart, Hollywood continues to focus on India’s destitute for inspirational stories as if there are no other aspects worth exploring. Hispanics are also being culturally misrepresented when they are placed into roles …show more content…
Naomi Rodriguez, a Hispanic actress at Houston Community College, explained how Spanish directors and screenwriters who know what it is like being Hispanic in a predominately white society is crucial for genuine performances. “So, I think it’s just because people want to assume that we’re not competent at what we do, and I feel like race should not define that. I mean, you could be the wealthiest most white person on the planet and not know what you’re doing versus someone of color” (Rodriguez). Once Hollywood recognizes that hiring more minorities behind the scenes leads to more dramatic performances, then moviegoers will be more inclined to see
Of course, this term perfectly describes the dilapidated dwellings of Mumbai in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, as well as the stunning scenes of poverty-stricken people in Garth Brook’s Lion. Western films continue to have this fascination with India that reinforces the stereotype of whites needing to escape and rejuvenate or rescue the natives from their primitive conditions. “Ray’s analysis, made in the 1970s, holds true even today because the films listed above follow the familiar European colonial tropes of the mystical east as the site of rejuvenation for the jaded Western man/woman—Darjeeling Limited, Eat Pray and Love or Best Exotic Marigold Hotel—or the west as the heroic savior of the eastern man or woman from its own barbarity such as Slumdog Millionaire and Million Dollar Arm” (Roy, “Slumdog Millionaire: Capitalism, a Love Story”). As a result, Americans are only viewing this country through one lens. Even though Slumdog Millionaire premiered in 2008, the same pattern of the majority saving eastern people from their horrible circumstances can also be seen in Lion. For instance, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a way out of misfortune for Indians instead of being just another game show on television in America.” While merely popular in the United States, the show is portrayed as a phenomenon in India. …The game show’s promise of instant fortune takes on a disturbing urgency in a country where entrenched poverty (compounded by the legacy of the caste system) afflicts so many” (Daly, “Mumbai Masala”). Another example can be found in Lion, the story of Saroo Brierley, a native of a rural Indian town who is separated from his family as a young boy. Saroo is thousands of miles away from home, living on the streets, and scavenging for food until he is placed in an orphanage and adopted by an Australian couple. However, it is not until the Brierley’s adopt Saroo and bring him to Tasmania that his problems are over until memories of his old life resurface years later. “Those opening scenes have a relentless Dickensian harshness to them that ends only with the arrival of Nicole Kidman and David Wenham, as Saroo’s saviours (and in many ways, ours). And then, further reassurance that the worst is truly behind us arrives when the film jumps forward 20 years, and Dev Patel takes over as Saroo from the magical Sunny Pawar” (Rohan, “Lion Movie Review: Dev Patel Is Heartbreaking In This Oscar-Worthy Triumph. 5 Stars”). Even though both films are almost a decade apart, Hollywood continues to focus on India’s destitute for inspirational stories as if there are no other aspects worth exploring. Hispanics are also being culturally misrepresented when they are placed into roles …show more content…
Naomi Rodriguez, a Hispanic actress at Houston Community College, explained how Spanish directors and screenwriters who know what it is like being Hispanic in a predominately white society is crucial for genuine performances. “So, I think it’s just because people want to assume that we’re not competent at what we do, and I feel like race should not define that. I mean, you could be the wealthiest most white person on the planet and not know what you’re doing versus someone of color” (Rodriguez). Once Hollywood recognizes that hiring more minorities behind the scenes leads to more dramatic performances, then moviegoers will be more inclined to see