tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post6901206423148659491..comments2024-03-06T08:29:13.333-08:00Comments on stuff white people do: white movie friday : the darjeeling limitedmacon dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-50475157342368489502010-12-05T14:32:00.737-08:002010-12-05T14:32:00.737-08:00I think the film was poking fun at the "white...I think the film was poking fun at the "white" search for adventure and spiritual enlightenment. How did you miss the humor of that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-33015328801378812792009-09-09T21:06:23.067-07:002009-09-09T21:06:23.067-07:00If Wes Anderson wants to make a movie from his per...If Wes Anderson wants to make a movie from his perspective where the Indian is in the background, then that is his prerogative. He doesn't understand the Indian perspective and why should he? He is writing what he knows. I don't think people are watching this movie to be enlightened about Indian people or culture, if they are, it's rather offensive to a culture that is over 2000 yrs old. I am an Indian and I when I saw this movie, I didn't have an issue with how he represented Indians, I have learned a long time ago that you can't expect much than a convenience store worker or a geeky Indian kid who can't get laid in Western movies. Indians have Bollywood, even though most of their movies are sub par, or just plain suck, we have enough representation there. I don't need or want any validation from the white media. Why does the white media have the be the end-all for everything? There are lots of Indian film makers out there who can make a difference. The one guy I had a problem with was M Night Shymalan, who consistently makes the whitest movies possible, even down to AVATAR, casting white actors in Asian roles, but even he has a right to make any kind of movie he wants, regardless of race. Honestly, the main issue I had with Darjeeling Limited was hoe incredibly self centered everyone was..Analahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12159498729130149093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-29994912824452354642009-01-21T01:04:00.000-08:002009-01-21T01:04:00.000-08:00"A white man can only make a movie from a white pe..."A white man can only make a movie from a white perspective.<BR/>Otherwise, he wouldn't be WHITE."<BR/><BR/>Other folks have managed to write in another's perspective. Witches of Eastwick, for one, was written in female perspective by a guy. He was on NPR relatively recently. I'm a wee bit exhausted, but there are tons of other examples.Hybrid Hopeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16792790251168645096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-79850869838925030652009-01-19T19:58:00.000-08:002009-01-19T19:58:00.000-08:00My god, people.It's a movie.A white man can only m...My god, people.<BR/><BR/>It's a movie.<BR/><BR/>A white man can only make a movie from a white perspective.<BR/>Otherwise, he wouldn't be WHITE.<BR/><BR/>He is only acting, thinking, believing, and seeing as what he was born as; a white male.<BR/><BR/>Wes Anderson is white. He was not born in India, he is not Indian; he cannot understand the Indian culture. <BR/>The thing about how India smells "spicy" was put in there to be humorous and a jab at our ignorance, because that's what EVERY white person-or anyone who has never been to India-says when they leave. <BR/><BR/>Wes Anderson is not racist. He is white. <BR/>Unless there's some new theory now that every white person is racist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-44040696859523398802008-05-06T09:15:00.000-07:002008-05-06T09:15:00.000-07:00Thank you for coming back to let us know what you ...Thank you for coming back to let us know what you thought, SEPL. Yes, it is sad that the movie let you down like that. But not surprising.<BR/><BR/>Do you think any Hollywood or American "Independent" films get India right?macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-655734081052808132008-05-05T23:54:00.000-07:002008-05-05T23:54:00.000-07:00I like your analysis of the film after I finally s...I like your analysis of the film after I finally saw it. Although the peaceful moments in the village following the child's death are beautifully and respectfully done, I was surprised that the "ironic" racism continued after those scenes. It didn't make sense that the brothers went back to such throught provoking observations such as "wow, this country sure smells spicy."<BR/><BR/>I would have understood if the brothers learned from India after being forced to actually intergrate with the culture, but it was incredibly dissapointing and a bit saddening that he would continue with thoughtless lines from the characters who in the end just minimalize their experience in terms of how it made them even more enlightened people than the arrogant jerks they already were.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-62631709361254306392008-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:002008-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:00It's worth noting, too, that white people's "ironi...It's worth noting, too, that white people's "ironic" racism is still experienced by many people of color as.....racism.<BR/><BR/>In my experience, this "ironic" racism can be more humiliating because it is a setup - if I laugh along, I'm seen as a "good" POC and white people feel comfortable being racist around me, which they immediately take advantage of. If I don't, I'm seen as a bad, troublemaking POC who has no sense of humor and is "playing the race card."seitzkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16383559351073204534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-40433165102345934482008-04-26T07:32:00.000-07:002008-04-26T07:32:00.000-07:00Katie, I see Anderson's casting as "dutifully libe...Katie, I see Anderson's casting as "dutifully liberal" because it is diversified, to some extent, but only in minor characters. It seems to me that white liberals want a few people of color around, but they don't really want to deal with them as human beings, especially if such people of color have disturbing or perplexing things to say. (For what it's worth, I consider myself further to the left than a liberal.)<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the full explanation of your initial interpretation of the movie, Jim. It sounds like after having some things pointed out about it that differ from your first interpretation, you're still sticking with it. So, maybe I can't convince you that the film itself expresses a racist mindset, especially within the short space allowable in a blog's comment section, but I wasn't raised to be a quitter, so I'll try. <BR/><BR/>I would say that "anonymous" above makes great points about a particular non-white character in Anderson's films, one who's always basically the same character. Kumar Pallana is an Indian actor who has appeared in all but one of Anderson 's films. He doesn't really act, though--he usually just stands or sits around, voicelessly, and in "Darjeeling," he dies so namelessly. <BR/><BR/>Pallana's character does have a name in the other three usages Anderson has made of him, but they're names that to me demonstrate the more general belittling tendencies that Anderson has when it comes to non-white people. In Anderson's first film, "Bottle Rocket," Pallana's character is given a name, the actor's own first name, Kumar. In "Rushmore," though, Pallana plays Mr. LittleJeans, and in "Tenenbaums" his character's name is Pagoda. It's as if Anderson can't be bothered to assign this character a realistic name (which such a person in real life would obviously have). Worse yet, when this person does get a name, it's more like the name of a pet than that of a human being. <BR/><BR/>In "Darjeeling," Pallana's character again says nothing, appearing from behind a newspaper as he sits with the main characters. He's listed in the credits as "Old Man." Diehard Anderson fans will recognize him from other movies, and indeed, that seems to be exactly why he's in this one. He thus becomes a visual joke of sorts, and again, a mere prop to place next to the main characters so that we can see them, as you might say, cluelessly ignore this man. <BR/><BR/>I agree that Anderson does occasionally highlight the racial obliviousness of this movie's central characters, but they're supposed to be, overall, lovable guys for Anderson's largely white-hipster audience to "relate to." More to the point, though, the obliviousness that they exhibit to the individuality of Indian people, and their willingness to use them as a whole, and their country's landscape, almost entirely for their own purposes, is something the movie itself does too. The one exception for the characters--their attempt to rescue drowning Indian boys--is not an exception for the movie itself. Those boys and their grieving families remain nameless for viewers, as well as voiceless, since subtitles never provide us with their anguished words. <BR/><BR/>I suppose one might argue that the belittling names of Pallana's characters reflect the racism of the characters around him rather than that of the filmmaker. Making that argument, though, would require overlooking the racist usages to which Anderson himself puts non-white people and a non-white nation.macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-14239850335563682492008-04-26T07:08:00.000-07:002008-04-26T07:08:00.000-07:00Does "dutifully liberal" casting mean perpetually ...Does "dutifully liberal" casting mean perpetually silent brown servants, a la Pagoda? Because unless it does, I think you're understating the case somewhat.seitzkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16383559351073204534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-74835660457481364912008-04-25T21:57:00.000-07:002008-04-25T21:57:00.000-07:00Huh. Well, I saw the cluelessness of these white b...Huh. Well, I saw the cluelessness of these white brothers in India as one of the points of the movie. Their visit to India was a visit to the "holy places" on a strict timetable and of course, shopping! I thought Anderson was doing a satire of upper middle class whites, whose intent was to see a country but not too closely. Until the brothers come in contact with the group crossing the river, "look at these assholes", and become part of a family through tragedy. Maybe I'm seeing too much, or not seeing the level of overt racism you do, but I saw a tone of white people behaving badly throughout, and thought it was intentional. When they ditched the expensive luggage at the last, I was happy to see it go, and got the impression they had learned something. Anyway that was how I saw this movie- yes it would have been unbearable to take at face value, which is why I thought it was satire. And yes, I'm white.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-2223750380092918862008-04-25T12:57:00.000-07:002008-04-25T12:57:00.000-07:00while this is a good start, there are other aspect...while this is a good start, there are other aspects of wes anderson movies that are also troubling. don't forget about the easily-forgettable indian man that is in all of his movies. in the royal tenenbaums he is 'pagoda', in other movies he's unnamed. he stands around, sometimes being a loyal pet to white people and other times simply acting as a prop. in some of anderson's movies he seems to exist solely as decoration, or some sad attempt to diversify the cast. <BR/>another disturbing thing is that anderson's films are highly successful but still not considered "mainstream" or hollywood-ish, therefore it almost has no excuse for the blatant racism in his movies. anderson's movies are made for an alternative audience--one that likes to think of itself as smarter and more aware than those that watch mainstream movies. yet wes anderson movies so often do the exact same thing. it's like the packs of hipsters that buy Converse when it's owned by Nike.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-61665292815312647252008-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:002008-04-25T11:20:00.000-07:00I like your analysis, and I haven't seen the film ...I like your analysis, and I haven't seen the film as of yet, but I will provide my feedback as soon as I watch it since I am Indian after all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-61244668732645903042008-04-25T11:16:00.000-07:002008-04-25T11:16:00.000-07:00Lol I just got this in my Netflix. Thanks for you...Lol I just got this in my Netflix. Thanks for your comment!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com