Essay on "Development Theory Immigrant Problems Identity Crisis and Modernization on Movie East"

Essay 6 pages (1938 words) Sources: 0

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development theory, immigrant problems, identity crisis and modernization on movie "East is East"

In order to properly elucidate how the film East is East provides a case study for several crucial issues to development theory -- the most salient of which include modernization, identity crises, and immigrant problems -- it is first necessary to present some background information on this work of art and to include a brief synopsis of the plot. East is East takes place within the city of Salford, England, in the early part of the 1970's. Before finding its way to film, this tale circulated throughout Britain for several years as a work of drama that was highly successful. For the most part, the film version was able to retain much of the angst, comedy, and emotional flair that have made this particular tale of mixed marriage and the children born from it relevant and intriguing to audiences today as it was during the time it was initially conceived.

The basic premise that East is based upon is the culture clash that inevitably occurs repeatedly between members of the Khan family. The family's father, George, is a Pakistani Muslim who has remained married to a British Christian wife, Ella, for the better part of 30 years. In many ways, the culture clash evinced throughout various dramatic episodes within the family pits George and his traditional Muslim values -- which have somehow resulted in a Christian wife, a point which is never explained -- against the typical British Christian environment in which he is raising his children in. A number of comedic episodes, more than one of which deals with attempted marriages between the Khan children and other Muslims, make it increasingly clear that George is unwilling to part with the Muslim values (for his children) which he had no problem parting with in his own marriage to Christian woman. The film ends with the third unsuccessful marriage attempt on the part of George to arrange a marriage for his children, which finally forces him to realize the error of his ways and the consequences for his family.

In attempting to analyze this film in terms of the several different components of development theory alluded to in the introductory paragraph of this document, it is necessary to provide a definition of this term. Development theory is primarily regarded as an amalgamation of theories from varying social and pedagogical constructs that accounts for the optimum way to induce beneficial change within a society. The crux of applying this theory to East is the fact that the culture clash represented within this work involves not just religious differences (Muslim vs. Christianity) but also varying modes of dress (Western vs. non-Western) and mores that pertain to concepts of Europe vs. those of the middle and near East.

Ideally, someone who is looking to apply developmental theory to a situation such as that provided by George Khan and his family, who are in Britain and are attempting to be raised with traditional Muslim values, would look to identify the varying assets or strengths of each culture and attempt to synthesize the best of them in a blend that is mutually beneficial. This sort of synthesis is also alluded to in modernization theory, which is one of the myriad of theories that encompass developmental theory. In a certain regard, modernization theory is an attempt to update traditional customs -- such as those pertaining to Westernized societies -- to incorporate them into a contemporary sense. The primary problem found throughout this film is that all of the principle characters are willing to adopt to this process, even Ella, except for the one with the most power among them -- George.

There are several instances in which George's obstinacy and refusal to compromise cause a number of obstacles in the lives and livelihoods of his family members. Although the obvious sources of conflict within this film are that between George and his children, one of the most fundamental sources of conflicts -- which is directly responsible for the engendering of George's progeny -- is that between George and Ella. In traditional Islam, women have an overstated subservient role in which they hide their bodies and defer to their husbands for virtually everything. Ella, who is a British citizen and has no claims to be a Muslim herself, cannot be expected to acquiesce to this sort of role -- yet George largely expects it of her. He believes himself to be the sole decision-maker in the family, and demands his wife's support in his actions and choices. Given the cultural synthesis that takes place in this film -- which is set in Britain -- developmental theory and modernization would attempt to merge the best of the prominence of Western women and the deference of Muslim women. Yet when Ella tries to voice an opinion contrary to that of her husband, she is ignored. When she acts contrary to his wishes, she is beaten.

The first of these beatings takes place when George is attempting to punish one of his sons for not telling him who desecrated the marriage items he was preparing for the wedding of two of his other sons. Later on, when Ella dislikes the mother of two of the daughters who George's same sons, Tariq and Abdul, to the point of the other woman openly insulting Ella and her children, George again beats his wife. Instead of respecting her opinion and the fact that she can even have one, and attempting to utilize the best of this aspect of Western culture and blending it with his view of women in via Islam, George still continues to act as though his culture, and his way are the only ones that count. The effect overall is that he alienates himself from his wife and from his children.

What is perhaps even more noxious than the effect of George's action on himself is the effect of his actions on his family. Due to his inability to successfully apply any of the concepts of modernization or developmental theory, George's austere vision of and adherence to Islam results in an identity crisis for his children which is quite demonstrable to the viewer of East is East. All children, perhaps, will go through stages of rebellion with their parents. Yet George's children only appear to rebel against him, which produces an identity crisis that primarily stems from the fact that the children are being raised to follow a culture and a tradition that only exists when their father is present. When he is not present, that is when the true fun begins for the children -- and the manifestations of their identity crises become readily apparent. The film begins with the children taking part in a Good Friday parade -- something that Islam and their father in particular would expressly forbid them from doing. George's mother is also a principle factor in this sort of conflicting of identity for her children, since she herself is Christian and allows the children to hide when their father nears and to continue after he passes.

This conflict of identity and the crisis it causes within the children is evinced in other ways, as well. Shortly after the scene with the parade, George's eldest son, Nazir, is slated to marry a Muslim woman in an arranged marriage which was largely designed by George. Nazir, however, is gay, and flees from his own wedding to the embarrassment of his clan to live with a male lover outside of the city. These actions present a remarkable candidness to the identity crisis George's children endure due to the duality of their parents' heritages -- particularly in view of the fact that George ostracizes Nazir from the family and regards him -- and tells others to regard him -- as dead. This conflict in Nazir's sexuality is merely another extension of the identity crisis that George forces upon his children due to his own mixed marriage.

The concept of identity crisis in East is fairly synonymous with the notion of immigrant problems in this movie as well. An excellent example of a problem that is related to immigration occurs when it an embarrassing incident for George's youngest son, Sajid, occurs at school and it is found out that Sajid has yet to be circumcised. Given the proclivity to Muslims to be circumcised at birth, it is fairly certain that such a problem would not have reared itself were George's children born in a hospitable in his native Pakistan, or in any other Muslim country as well. Although the situation is quickly remedied -- and painfully so for poor Sajid -- it serves as one of the turning points in the film because after the operation, Ella's own feelings of caring for her husband and protecting the best interest for her children from his one-sided, Muslim perspective become manifest and lead to the eventual conflicts that almost ruin the family.

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