Film Analysis Essay on Water by Deepa Mehta About a Little Indian Widow

Introduction

Water is a film that was directed by Indian-Canadian director Deepa Mehta. The context of the film was done in Benares, India. The film talks about Chuiya, a seven-year-old Indian girl who has lost her older husband. Even though she cannot recall having done any wedding she is declared a widow and is forced to follow the rituals of a woman after losing her husband (Mehmood, 2012). During the ritual, Chuiya's head is shaven, and she is compelled to wear a coarse white cotton sari. She is brought to an "ashram" for widows where she has to live. She does not see any relationship between herself and the rest of the widows and hence wants to go home to her household (Mehmood, 2012). While still at the ashram she learns that her friend Kalyan is compelled to prostitution by Madhumati in order for her to pay rent. Kalyan gets married to Narayan a well-educated man and ardent follower of Gandhi. The film concludes with Shakuntala deserted on a platform after the train has departed with Chuiya and Narayan.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the Indian tradition, women are subjected to social implications after losing her husband (Kopal n.p). Widows are forced to undergo rituals such as getting their head shaven and wear a coarse white cotton sari. Further, they are left in ashram with other widows by their families since widows are not supposed to live alone. According to the Indian culture young women are subjected to child marriage, and it is seen when Chuiya a seven-year-old girl is wedded to a fifty-year-old man (Kopal n.p).In the Indian culture there is caste system where social status is ranked according to hierarchy and set by birth. The Brahman caste is treated with more respect and value as opposed to other castes (Kopal n.p). A widow is also restricted from using honey, meat, salt, spiritual liquor, and even sleep on the ground. Widows undergo through a poor life when they are confined in the ashrams. For example, Kalyan is forced into sexual services, Chuiya and Shakuntala are begging for money in front of temple with other widows (Mehmood, 2012).

The theme, tensions between modernity and tradition is set in the movie to show the struggles that were imposed on women in India. The hatred and oppression women faced during the pre-independent era is still evident in today's society (Nandakumar, 2011). Consequently, movies are the valuable tools of communication and they have a potential for enlightening individuals. The ideology in the film is to show the tensions exhibited in the traditional way of life and the modern. For example, in the modern era, marriage between a child and an old man is not acceptable and it is considered a serious offense.

Gender as a cultural construction creates cultural violence in the movie. However, through the Indian Cinema, cultural construction reproduces patriarchal norms and values through which women are portrayed main in a hypersexual manner and self-sacrificing. According to Nandakumar (2011), the realms of the film creates a scenario where women voices especially the widowed are distanced from the typical cultural construct and at the same time are not heard. The dominant patriarchal system examines sexuality and women's desires in Indian culture.

The impact of history and politics on everyday life is essential in shaping culture and making society a better place. When looking at the Indian Nationalists, history helps them to find answers to the future, for instance, Mehta having been influenced by the ideas of the West, she addresses problems of her culture using western understanding (Burton, 2013). Moreover, traditional culture helps to address problems that women are facing in society in the modern era. The film acts like a vehicle and a cultural domain that legitimizes the participation of Indian women in political development.

Self-making and ethical subjectivity also are explicit in the Indian film (Burton, 2013). There is a competitive edge covering the topic of tradition and culture through the cinema. Women should be treated as heroines who should not be demonized by the societal dominant patriarchal figures. Similarly, ethical regulations are made to correspond to social practices, for example, ancient texts do not reflect the reality rather negative attitude towards women. There are harsh conditions reinstated towards widows which justify the exploitation of vulnerable children and women.

Traditional and ethical contradiction pretense challenges in everyday life but since life is comprehensible, individuals can take thought and orient themselves from the harsh way of life. Family cohesion is an important attribute which should ensure that women and children are given support, love, and, protected from early marriages despite the self-made rituals. The stigma attached to the vamp affects the careers of women in the film and it portrays their inferiority in society. Burton, (2013), avows that humor opens a new space for the marginalized persons particularly women and widows in the Indian culture to be heard. The film uses humor to open many destabilizing forms in the Hindu culture.

References

Burton, D. F. (2013). Fire, Water, and The Goddess: the films of Deepa Mehta and Satyajit Ray as critiques of Hindu patriarchy. Journal of Religion & Film, 17(2), 3. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&context=jrf

Kopal, Gorg. Movie Review: Water (A Reflection of Society of 1938). Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/29698664/Movie_Review_Water_A_Reflection_of_Society_of_1938_

Mehmood, M. J. (2012). An Analysis of Deepa Mehta's Water. Retrieved from: https://www.academia.edu/33361548/An_Analysis_of_Deepa_Mehtas_Water

Nandakumar, S. (2011). The Stereotypical Portrayal of Women in Commercial Indian Cinema (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from: https://uh-ir.tdl.org/uh-ir/bitstream/handle/10657/217/NANDAKUMAR-.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y