GHD advert.

The GHD advert plays on the concept on parody, stereotypes and integrates post modernist ideas in the narrative through the way it pokes fun at the 10 commandments. This change in attitude may stem from social issues which are relevant to the 21st century such as the debate of secularization as Voodoo is portrayed to initiate power and change instead of religion.
Firstly, the advert is set in Black and white to initiate that GHD is an established and successful product which may encourage the audience to purchase them. It can also conform to the idea of Levi Strauss’s binary oppositions as it may reflect the stark stereotype of how females are either categorized as “whores” or “housewives” as both innocent and evil girls are portrayed in this advert.
Moreover, the capitalists ideologies are manifest as if you have these “GHD’s”, you will be successful in life by gaining popularity and the men you desire. This idea is put into practice when the female steals her “best friends” husband as she is too beautiful to resist. Not only does reflect heterosexual ideologies, but also shows how females are still subordinate to males as the male is forcing himself on the female highlighting his physical strength. This also conforms to Proppian’s theory of the Hero, as the male looks like “Hercules” and reflects a “damsel in distress” idea.
Patriarchy is also reflected through the way in which a male can ‘enjoy’ how the two sisters start fighting, almost in a pornographic style showing the extreme levels male attention can create between two siblings. Also, towards the end of the advert, a female collapses and the male grasps hold of her. This suggests that the male is symbolic of a crutch for the female and she is dependant on him for support.

Provoked....an accurate portrayal?

Like its put-upon heroine, "Provoked " is caught between two worlds. For Bollywood fans, used to coy depictions of love and sex, this battered- wife drama -- based on a true story that changed British laws regarding spousal abuse -- may daringly tell it like it is. Others will see a tamed and glamorized fiction that rises to the level of a good Lifetime movie -- but only just.

In any case, Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai was probably the wrong choice to play Kiranjit Ahluwalia , who on May 9, 1989, set her husband Deepak (Naveen Andrews ) on fire after years of beatings at his hands. With her delicate features and immense, startlingly blue eyes, Rai comes across as the supermodel of immigrant Punjabi wives, and her wounded-bird performance has, at best, three notes. It's a sympathetic performance but not a compelling one.

The story, on the other hand, can't help but be. After Kiranjit's crime and her husband's death days later, she's rushed through London's criminal system with few protections. Because there was a two-hour "cooling down" period between the final beating and her attack, magistrates rule out self-defense and a jury agrees. Kiranjit's British barrister (Rebecca Pidgeon ) is shown to be well-intentioned but uninventive, and it's up to an women's activist group led by Radha Dalal (Nandita Das ) to marshal forces for an appeal.

In the interim between the trials, "Provoked" turns into a genteel, sisterly women-in-prison movie as the heroine is cajoled out of her shell by the sweetest gang of gaolbirds you'll ever meet. Well, there is that butch bully with the bad teeth, but Kiranjit's cellmate Ronnie (Miranda Richardson , letting her hair down with extra relish) protects the newcomer while telling of her own injuries at the hands of husbands and the law.

Every so often, director Jag Mundhra flashes back to scenes of Kiranjit's abusive marriage, turning up the soap-opera music with blunt effectiveness. "Provoked" gathers momentum toward the end, as Radha finds helpful loopholes and a barrister (Robbie Coltrane ) willing to take advantage of them, and as the heroine's spine starts to stiffen with the support of her new friends.

There's an interesting movie in here, too, about the isolation of Indian brides brought to a new country by strange new husbands and mistreated, but "Provoked" rarely ducks below its glossy surface to go there. It'll seem like raw stuff to viewers raised on demure Bollywood musicals, but compared to the 1984 TV movie "The Burning Bed " -- let alone the tip of the iceberg we see in the news -- "Provoked" doesn't hit back nearly hard enough.

Aishwarya Rai's 'Provoked' a winner at UK box office
20th Apr 2007 09.01 IST
By Agencies

The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai 's latest film Provoked has turned out to be a box office winner in the UK.

Ash, who is set to tie the knot with Abhishek Bachchan today in Mumbai, plays the pivotal role of a battered Indian housewife based in the UK in the film.




'Eros International', distributor of the film, said in a statement Thursday that ‘Provoked’, released on April 6, has crossed Fox Searchlight distributed The Namesake 's weekend box office takings in the UK.

‘The Namesake’ is directed by Mira Nair and stars Irrfan Khan and Tabu .

‘Provoked’ grossed 1,40,204 pounds with just 35 prints as against 1,25,084 pounds for ‘The Namesake’ with 59 prints in its opening weekend, thus giving a nearly double screen average of 4,005 pounds as against 2,120 pounds for ‘The Namesake’.

Time Out London, a tabloid, refers to ‘Provoked’ as a film that "packs a Punch". Daily Mirror, another tabloid, said the film was "a worthy story and this drama deals with the delicate subject matter with a sensitive touch", giving the film three stars.

‘Provoked’ is the true life story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia (played by Ash), the Indian woman who overturned the British judicial system and transformed the meaning of 'provocation' in the case of physically abused women, winning justice for women subjected to domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse.

The film, directed by Jagmohan Mundhra and based on Ahluwalia's autobiography Circle of Light, follows her lonely struggle in an abusive ten-year marriage, her retaliation through the murder of her violent husband and efforts of women activists to bring her justice.

Ambient sound: Natural sounds such as Birds singing and trees swaying to depict the harmonic portrayal of the family life between the two couples...yet.

Antagonist: The villain, the male in Provoked can be inferred to be the antagonist as he inflicts violence and brutality on his wife.

Biopic: This refers to a film based on a true life story. Provoked is the true story of Kiranjit Aluwalia who murders her husband un- intensially in order to seek revenge for the 10 years she has suffered in silence from domestic violence.

Cahiers du Cineme: A French magazine which emphasise the need to reflect contemporary life experiences. Provoked does this as the audience become aware of the true life story which portrays how Kiranjit Aluwalia in Southall suffered from domestic violence from her husband.

Counterculture: a subculture that rejects the mainstream values of society. When Provoked was shot, in 1996, females were considered to be subordinate to males and therefore no-one fought with the views they had. However, a group named Southall Black sisters, full of females attempt to bring Aishwarya Rai’s in just sentence to publicity by doing all sorts of things.

Dutch angle: This term refers to a type of camera shot which involves tilting the camera to create a sense of distortion. This is used in Provoked when Aishwarya Rai attempts to burn her fire to portray her immorality.

Liberal feminism: Feminism is defiantly a key theme in Provoked, and feminists such as Southall Black sisters help bring Aishwarirya Rai’s case to light.

Method acting- Konstantin Stanislavsky: Aishwarya Rai merges herself psychologically into the character she is representing, for example Kiranjit Aluwalia to match the emotions of the character to create a film that is high in validity.

Video nasty: This refers to a video with a high level of violence and sexual violence as its principal content. Although this is not the primary theme in provoked, it is integrated within the movie as it progresses.

Shep Analysis.

Social: Social issues are definatly involved in Provoked. Undoubtedly, the social position of females has increased over the years and has nearly reached its epitome. For example, Maritual rape was considered illegal in 1991 and was made a law. However, Provoked strongly challenges this law as maritual rape is still evident in the movie as Aishwariya Rai's husband forces himself onto her numerous amounts of times as she is definitely being victimized as she is is not physically and mentally able to defend herself from the strong forces of violence he is taking on upon her. Therefore, the issue of equality between males and females still remains deeply unequal.
Historical: The historical references to Provoked include the ways in which females gained voice and significance after the world war 2. For example, during the war, this is when females first got their chance to experience work life etc. This has been an influential factor in their rise to equality.

Economical: The economical issues in Provoked include

Political: There is one major political issue which is reccurent thoughout the whole of the film Provoked. This is whether the victim, Aishawariya Rai should be able to seek justice and liberation after murdering her husband. In other words, this is a question of sin and justice. However, acts such as the Southall Black Sisters have allowed many females to seek help if they are undergoing the same problems. This can be linked to the social contexts to.

Bollywood Movies: Subverts or reinforces stereotypes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74xWB2X0SyU&feature=related

This scene from Khabi Kushi Khabhi Gham solidifies my hypothesis as females are looked upon to be the housewife. Essentially, by conforming to the housewife roles and routines, she has to take part in the relgious activities around the house to maintain the wellbeing of her family. By Kareena Kapoor singing a religious hymn, she is making the whole house happy and is contributing to the livelyhood of the family by washing away any arguments. Instantly, this tells us that the steroetype of females acting as passive audeinces but maintaining peace within the family is strongly advocated here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knriKq9r-GM
This song is a small prelude to the narrative of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In this movie, the male protagonist falls for the more girly, flirtacious girl who wears revealing clothes, in comparison to his best friend who is more of a tomboy, but has fancied the protagonist for a logn period of time. This is conforming to sociologist theorist Scheibe, who stated that females are most predominatly concerned with beauty, as the flirtacious girl is clearly a tart.

Glossary of Key words:

Vamp- refers to the transition of female roles in Bollywood. These females appear to be highly seductive and michieveious yet flirty.

Books i can use for guidance and evidence:

*Encyclopeda of Indian Cinema-Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willeman.
*Bollywood-Tejaswini Ganti
*Bollywood cinema, Temples of desire-Vijay Mishra.

Ttitles of movies I will be refferring to alongside Provoked:

As i will be talking about British Asian movies and wil be comparing them to Bollywood movies, here is the list of movies i shall be including in my study:

British Asian movies- Bend it like Beckham, East is East, Anita and Me, The Guru, Life isn't all hahehehe, Monsoon wedding, Bride and Predjudice.

Bollywood movies i shall be reffering to- Mother India, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Khabi Kushi Khabi Gham, Black, ChameliI(where the main female is only suessful in life because she is a prostite).

Theorists I will be referring to:

Mulvey-Male Gaze:
Aishawariya Rai in one scene wears revealing attire and this scene is later followed by her spouse taking advantage of her and therefore forcing himself on her and carrying out the activity of maritual rape.

Shulasmith Firestone: She stated females are biologically oppressed in their families and this idea is evident as the victim is unable to defend herself as she is physically weaker than the male is appears to be masculine and powerful.

Levi Strauss:
He talked about binary oppositions in media texts, and my study conforms to his idea from the dated stereotype of females in Bollywood movies in comparision to its British Asian counterparts which attempt to subvert the typical sterotype of females whenever there is a chance.

Gunter's 'Media, Gender and identity' hypothesis claims that women were twice as likely to be seen inside the home than men. This is clearly advocated through various scenes in Provoked which manifest Aishawariya Rai as the typical indian housewife, whilst her husband goes 2 work. Not only is this conforming to steroetypes of Asian females, but is also strenghthening the male position as the sole breadwinner in families.

Analysis of the trailer: Provoked!

Within seconds of the jovial familial ideology created, this consensual and harmonic depiction of the family is demolished as forms of female oppression are evident in this biased marital relationship as the male inflicts violence onto Aishwariya Rai which promotes the ideology that society is still patriarchal even in the 21st century. The short caption which then appears stating “victim” when the female faces abuse followed by a freeze in the movement of the trailer emphasises the shock value of domestic violence, and can also reflect the fear in the females emotions. Also, the significance of the high angle shot highlights male superiority and paints the image of the female as being vulnerable and intimidated by her husband. Alongside with this, the typical stereotype of females being emotional is reflected through the medium shot of the mother hugging her two children, and no references are made to the male showing affection to his children which shows females are still perceived to be the main nuturers in the family. However, beyond this moment, this British Asian film attempts to subvert the sterotype if females in many ways. For example, many of the criminals in the prison are females which to some extent exemplifies that females are infact capable of commiting devious crimes in life too, and that they are not as innocent as they are not as innocent as they were in previous ages. Moreover, Aishawariya Rai confides to Southall Black sisters who forward her case and bring attention to the members o the public in order to server Aishawariya Rai justice. They are successful in doing so, which depicts that females in modern day society are capable of taking control of significant issues in a diplomatic and intelligent way and will still be heard. Moreover, the ending slogan: “In prison she found her freedom”, not only acts as a catalyst to lure the audience into watching the movie, but also conforms to Levi Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions as prison is normally associated with isolation and that is where she found her freedom which is unusal. Nevertheless, this represents how socially deprived she was in her marriage and now that she has gained freedom by going to prison higlights her happiness as she never did endure that before. She is now an indepedant lady as the trailer shows her wearing smart attire which subverts the sterortype of females up the social hbeing a housewife as she can move up the social hierarchy in the workforce and has the ability to predominantly be a breadwinner. Therefore, Provoked challenges the sterortype of women as it represents them as ambitious females in the end.

Hypothesis

I will be investigating how far British Asian films such as Provoked attempt to subvert the steroetype of women, whilst Bollywood films such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham still reinforce traditional stereotypes of females being most suited to a domestic/housewife role, and often act upon the idea of the female being a "damsel in distress" where females are emotional and in need of a man in order to maintain security within themselves.

How far do British Asian movies such as "Provoked" attempt to subvert the typical stereotype of Asian females in comparison to Bollywood movies?

Provoked is a deplorable British Asian film directed by Jag Mundra in 2007. It encapsulates a realistic portrayal of domestic violence that is still evident in the 21st century. With its narrative based upon a true story that took place in Southall, the audience for Provoked are stunned with shock and curiosity to see the transition in the social status of the main protagonist as justice is bought about into the life of Kiranjit Aluwalia (Aishwarya Rai) as she becomes stronger and gains independence as the film progresses and the stereotype of a female being initially feeble is strongly subverted. She is given the criminal life sentence of life imprisonment as she attempts to break through her oppression by her husband in marital life, and in order conduct this, it was vital for her to kill him so that she can escape from lady inside her who was a victim of constant marital rape and violence and can no longer face the brutality of her spouse. In the form of self defence, she unintentionally kills him by setting fire to him, and wrongly receives a unjust sentence. However, towards the end of the movie, she not only gains strength and courage, but will the help of Southall Black sisters she brings her plight to attention of the media to support moves for her freedom. Eventually, after serving time due to manslaughter instead of murder, she is reunited with her children and faces a fruitful future. She is even awarded by Cherie Blair for her crusade against domestic violence and the audience see a stark change in her previous character which bordered on intimidation and instability, to a character whose now frivolous, emotionally secure and full of strength and courage.