Hollywood and its culture misperceptions: why can’t they do it right?

by Abha Malpani on

It amazes me how Hollywood can make fantastic movies that usually pay tremendous attention to getting facts right, but when it comes to the representation of distinctly different cultures, they often get it wrong. Seriously wrong. And what’s sad is that it’s intentional, and for pure commercial gain.

The latest such case is soon to be released Hollywood movie starring Mike Myers — “Love Guru”. Its release has strongly been protested against by religious Hindus across the US for lampooning Hinduism, mocking Ashram life and Hindu philosophy, and laughing at religious Hindu practices.

This movie releases tomorrow, so such protests have been made purely basis news and trailers; having watched the trailer and seen the website, I was pretty embarrassed at what I was seeing. An Indian “guru” being ridiculous and ridiculing various aspects of Hinduism that millions of Hindus consider sacred. One of his “sutras” encourages you to go to a fake porn site, the yoga positions are stupid, you can even find him spreading his “knowledge” on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

The movie revolves around the “second best Indian love guru coming to the US” and then you see various snippets of him:1) in a bar (drinking is not accepted in Hinduism, 2) hitting on Jessica Alba and getting a kick out of knowing she had a lesbian experience in college (homosexuality is taboo), 3) Making fun of yoga positions, the list goes on.
By birth I’m Hindu, but I’m not religious at all. I often criticize Hindu customs as I fail to understand them. But, unless it’s got to do with a man marrying a dog (a true exception), I will never mock religious faiths. At the end of the day, these things are deep rooted in history and tradition, and if it works for you, no one has the right to ridicule it.

As Rajan Zed, a California based Hindu pandit, most correctly said in relation to this comedy: “Humor is a part and parcel of Hindu society and our folk festivals, plays, stories, etc., are full of parody, satire, mimicry, buffoonery, etc. We are strong enough to take a joke. But there are certain convictions in every tradition, which are venerable and not meant to be mocked.”

Hollywood movies have such a large viewership globally that doing a movie like this and then defending it, is just completely out of line.

Sex and the City: You can catch up with a craze in the modern age

by Jamie Rhein on

Sex and the City was the hot topic the summer between our two years living in Taiwan and our two years in India. I saw it once at a friend’s house when I stopped over in Albuquerque for a few days visit. I liked it, but nothing I couldn’t live without. I was jet-lagged anyway. Two years later, I saw one more episode. Friends we were visiting in Pochetello, Idaho had TiVoed it—something else that was new phenomenon in the U.S. cultural scene.

Five years after that, there I was last night with two of my women friends at the opening night Sex and the City event at Drexel East, one of the independent movie theaters in Columbus, Ohio. One friend was wearing a black dress. Since living overseas has made me totally out of tune with what to wear on many occasions, and I don’t travel in glamorous circles very often, I wasn’t paying attention to my attire. Plus, this was a back to back event–the first event was the end-of -the-year potluck at my son’s elementary school. With ten minutes in between the two, I had on a very nice T-shirt, black jeans and a pair of new shoes that fit into casual nice. Ooops.

I was all caught up with the Sex and the City storyline, however, thanks to videos and cable television. It used to be that living overseas meant huge chunks of popular culture were totally gone. It wasn’t a terrible loss, but there were movies I hadn’t seen, or events that happened in celebrity-ville that I wasn’t privy too. There were some conversations at parties I couldn’t join in. No loss really, but it was clear who had been living a life out of the American mainstream.

These days, it is not hard to stay caught up, or to catch up, even though people started miles before. When we lived in New Delhi, we rented Season 1, 2 and 3 of The Sopranos, and with each new season rented those too. Although, we weren’t where everyone else was who saw the series as it was unfolding, with the speed of being able to watch back to back episodes in a row at one sitting, it didn’t take long for us to be in the know of the latest whack job.

It is true that watching the TBS rerun version of Sex in the City is not the same as the HBO version, and at times it’s hard to keep the episodes in order as to what events happened first when one doesn’t start watching at the beginning, but last night I was caught up. It has taken five years, but I do know when it comes to Sex and the City what everyone is talking about, and I finally found out what a Cosmos is. As part of the event you could buy one.

Because I lived overseas during the Cosmos craze, I had a beer instead. It’s summer and I was hot. And, yes, I did like the movie. I think Manohla Dargis’s review in the New York Times is off the mark, although, I usually agree with this particular film critic.

Favorite towns: Woodstock, the place in upstate New York where the concert didn’t happen

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though the town of Woodstock in the Hudson Valley region of New York balked at letting the mega concert happen within its domain—and even though all of Ulster County didn’t want the concert there, Woodstock the town is a groovy, upscale (and a little downscale) arts haven that is definitely worth heading to for a day of wandering, particularly if you like to shop for lovely, interesting items. It is one of my favorite towns to head, particularly because the people who live here make sure it remains true to who they are and not what corporate giants would like them to be.

There are tree-lined streets and small historic buildings. The arts focus started here back in 1902 which helps make it eye candy for shopping. Plus, even though the concert didn’t happen here, hippies are welcome and mixed in with the upscale, there is an edgy grit.

I head here every summer to look for wedding, baby and birthday gifts, plus a new pair of shoes. The shoes are for me. Sometimes it’s a quick trip, mostly for the shoes, but once in awhile there’s that wonderful summer day where no where else really matters. Here is my Woodstock guide–mostly shopping. Everything I’ve listed, I have done.

Some shopping stops that are my favorites:

If you wander along Tinker Street where each of these are located, you’ll also come across shops selling all sorts of specialty items from kitchen supplies to books to clothing to greeting cards. Some shops are the up-scale variety and others center around tie dye and incense.

Clouds Gallery: Located on the right-hand side of Tinker Street if you are driving up through town. The specialty is hand blown contemporary glass, fine American crafts and jewelry. My daughter has a collection of blown glass hearts– one for each birthday, from this store. The hearts are gifts from my mother who is my companion on these jaunts. Tell Robert, the owner, I said hi.

Pegasus Footwear: This is where I always find an interesting pair of shoes. The types they sell are perfect for travelers’ feet. They also last.

Timbuktu: An eclectic mix of folk art, pottery, jewelry and fusion type fare from different countries. Whoever is the buyer knows his or her stuff. Presents I’ve bought here: salad servers with beaded work from Kenya, a hand painted clock with a sun’s face on it, and ceramics to name a few.

Tinker Street Toys of Woodstock: Right next door to Clouds. This is a child’s dream store (and adults). I’ve played in here many a time and pick up stocking stuffers for the real kids in my life–and my husband.

For other shopping suggestions, click here.

Where to eat

Our favorite place is The Little Bear, an upscale Chinese restaurant two miles out of town. Eat in the sun room type addition. It overlooks a stream and you may even see deer. I’ve been here with kids and the staff has always been amenable–even when my son was only a year and a half.

Anywhere I’ve wandered in for a bite, I’ve found the food good, but you can’t go wrong at The Little Bear.

What to do at night:

The Tinker Street Cinema movie theater, housed in a former church–, the old wooden, white kind, is a one-screen kind of place. Popcorn always tastes better in movie theaters like this one. The last movie I saw here was 21 Grams.

There are other things to do at night, but since I’m mostly visiting family and friends in Kingston, I’m not here much after dinner. Folks, who have, please offer suggestions. I do know there are always concerts, talks and art events going on somewhere. This is a happening place.

Other places to head:

Where Woodstock, the concert happened. It takes a 43 mile drive.

Heath Ledger died today and I’m thinking of Brokeback Mountain and Wyoming

by Jamie Rhein on

Wow! I am truly in shock. I was writing up another post and swung over to The New York Times on line when I saw Heath Ledger was found dead today. How awful and how odd. I just saw him this weekend in the movie “I’m Not There” and earlier today, before I heard he had died, I thought, you know, when I think of Heath Ledger, he’s Ennis Del Mar working on a ranch in Wyoming. What is he doing playing an incarnation of Bob Dylan? Yes, yes, I know it’s acting, but there are some roles and some landscape vistas that go together so well that they play over and over in ones head as if there is a movie camera in there.

The summer after I saw “Brokeback Mountain” we drove through Wyoming on our way from Colorado to Montana and back through Wyoming again. I thought of Ennis and wondered how he was doing without Jack. Again, yes, yes, I know Ennis is a fictitious character created by Annie Proulx, but still, her short story and the movie captured a certain quality of Wyoming so perfectly. (Yes, I know that it was shot in Canada, but it looked like Wyoming.)

As I recently posted, John Ur is writing about movies that capture a sense of place. “Brokeback Mountain” is one that certainly does that. And without Heath Ledger, “Brokeback Mountain” wouldn’t have been the same kind of movie that made people look at Wyoming in a new, different way.

Budget Travel Online’s most travel-inspiring movies of 2007

by Justin Glow on

Budget Travel Online has listed 10 of the most travel-inspiring movies of 2007, along with “how to re-create the best moments.” If you missed a lot of big movies in 2007, and are looking for some help filling out a few boring weeknights with some travel-inspiring movies, be sure and check out the list.

I’ve personally seen 4 out of 10, including ONCE, THE DARJEELING LIMITED, RATATOUILLE, and the final chapter in every traveler’s favorite series, THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Here’s my take on what I know:

ONCE — Cute little movie. Not very much travel imagery, but worth a watch nonetheless. Location: Ireland.

THE DARJEELING LIMITED — If you’re interested in India, or have traveled there in the past (as I have), watch this movie. If you have no interest, or aren’t a die-hard Wes Anderson fan, this might be one to pass on. Location: India.

RATATOUILLE — Animated. Sorry, kids, but I thought this one was boring. (And I may be the only person on Earth who thinks this way.) Location: Virtual Paris.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM — You’d be hard-pressed to find a traveler who doesn’t like the BOURNE series. In fact, I watched the last installment in a hostel in Slovenia with a dozen other travelers. Great movie, perhaps the best in the series. Location: All over!

Check out Budget Travel Online’s MOVIE QUEST! for the rest.