In the West, people cannot imagine of being “forced” to do something, because the freedom is at the head of everything. The freedom is not than just a civic licence, but represents a Western mentality; Western way of thinking, feeling and living. To lose this freedom would mean to lose a part of identity and completely change some fundamental ideas about “rights”, “liberty” and “autonomy” which firmly took roots in the Western culture. However, I’ve also heard lots of stories from my Indian friends about the “beauty” of arranged marriages and their traditions. People, raised in that culture, perceive arranged marriages as the only right and good thing to do and sometimes, perceives the West as some lecherous and even dissolute place.
I cannot say that I would like to have an arranged marriage myself because, I am not part of this culture, however what I personally like is the strong-tied family relationships and a remarkable respect between family members in this culture, which were shown in the film. I believe that it represents something that Western people don’t always have, becoming too concerned about their autonomy and individualism.
I’ve recently discovered an interesting interview with the famous Indian actress Aishwarya Rai when she came on David Letterman’s show. Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed while watching this interview. I found that the way David Letterman was trying to make fun of Indian traditions was way too unprofessional and insulting even for me as a viewer. His derisive tone and mocking questions about living together with parents in India and always keeping saying: “oh, but here in United Sates…” were I believe a little harsh for a famous and professional American television host.
Maybe I am just caviling at every word, but you can agree or disagree with by watching this interview on youtube. If you don’t feel like watching the whole 7 minutes interview, you can switch over right away on minute 3:00, when Letterman starts to ask Aishwarya about her parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment