InPapaji's House

Abstract

This paper examines cinematic images of gender in the South Asian diaspora through four recent films—Bend It Like Beckham, Bollywood/Hollywood, Monsoon Wedding, and Second Generation. Using post-colonial theory along with feminist film theory, I analyze the father/daughter dynamic in the above films for their treatment of race, gender, sexuality, and generation. I pose the following two questions: 1) how do father/daughter representations in these films perpetuate ideas of dominant fatherhood within the diaspora; and 2) how do these representations offer images of “oppositional fatherhood,” which challenge stereotypes of South Asian patriarchy? I look at the colonial influence on contemporary homeland and immigrant identities. I then discuss the patriarchal component of South Asian father/daughter relations. I move on to examine notions of good fatherhood (represented through love and loss) and bad fatherhood (as sexually violent) and how the different films deal with these issues.

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