Name:
Supervisor:
Course:
Date:
Cultural Communication: Mississippi Masala
Mississippi Masala is a movie that was produced in 1991 by Mira Nair who herself is of Indian descent. She direct and co-produces the film and she is the best example of a person who is experiencing the good and the bad of two worlds. The films centers on the romantic relationship between an Indian woman and an African American man who has his origins from Uganda. The films delve into the complexities of interactions that exist between people of different cultures. It gives a historical context that gives the person watching a glimpse into what it is like to live in American as an immigrant.
The story begins in America and during the reign of Idi Amin who orders all Indians and white to leave the country as he felt that the Indians were getting richer and keeping the wealth to themselves and wanted to shift this trend to favour the Africans. One scene that stands out is where Okello is bidding farewell to Chacha, they tear down, and Okello speaks to Mina in Swahili and urges her not to forget her Swahili. This reveals that the children who were of Indian descent had become acclimatized to the African way of living and even learned an African language. Perhaps Okello’s beseeching Mina not to forget her Swahili is an effort to tell her not to discard the African socialization that she had become accustomed to.
There is a wedding scene where women are gossiping about Mina. “You can be dark and have no money, or fair and have money, but you can’t be dark and have no money and expect to get Hari Patel” (Mississippi Masala). Mina’s mother is hopeful that her daughter will make a good match. This shows oppression within themselves that seems to divide this group of people. It seems that there are different values for the shade of brown one is, and this especially is considered when it comes to marriage. A comparison is drawn between Mina’s darker skin and her parent’s financial ability (Banks et al., 7).
One of the specific episodes that seem to be governed by a cultural episode is a scene in the film where Mina visits Demetrius and his family. As they are on the way, Mina tells Demetrius that she is ‘mix Masala’ and this is a reference to the various places she has grown, in Uganda, England and Mississippi. Masala is mainly a type of spice that is made of different other spices. Demetrius asks if she is African and Mina goes into detail explaining how Indian got to be in African. The difference is seen evident when Dexter says “You’re just like us” Dexter, however, has never been to Africa.
The burden they share of racism is revealed when Ms Masala acknowledge that they have got to endure it to some level otherwise will forever be angry. This is where their identities meet despite their difference. These are scenes that one can still identify today in the US where racism is still alive. Sometimes not a pronounced but at other time very evident.
In conclusion, the differences are apparent in how the different cultures deal with each other in an effort to reach an understanding. There clearly is a clash of cultures and ethnocentrism, but eventually, cultural relativism is vital in bridging the differences between the two cultures.
References
Banks, Taunya Lovell. “Both Edges of the Margin: Blacks and Asians in Mississippi Masala, Barriers to Coalition Building.” Asian lJ 5 (1998): 7.
Mississippi Masala. Nair, Mira. Mirabai Films Inc. 1991