Showing posts with label child marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child marriage. Show all posts

01 February 2013

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: the Deepa Mehta elements trilogy

#InspirationalMovie


Director Deepa Mehta is one of our hero(ine)s. And her elements trilogy covers many of the themes we are deeply interested in. The XX century and how modernization has changed the ways we look at love, marriage, and tradition. The emancipation of women, and clashes with people who didn't think it was a good idea. The pain and exclusion, and also deep satisfaction that following your heart may bring...

Water (2005) takes us to the India of 1930's and deep into the restrictions that patriarchy imposes on women, widows in this case. The conundrum of arranged (child) marriage, women becoming possessions of their husbands, and then completely marginalized in case of the death of the husband... changed by the innocence of a child that hasn't assumed the tradition yet.


Earth (1998) takes us to the partition of India (1940's), a moment of religious and political violence where love finds it hard to survive in it's clashes with political and traditional loyalties.


Fire (1996), set later on in the XX century, reminds that marriage can still be arranged and that forms of acceptable love are still dictated by the tradition and the law, including some of them and excluding other ones. 

11 January 2013

Friday is the (Inspirational) Movie Night: Brave (2012)

#inspirationalmovies

This week we stay with the female emancipation and child marriage but through the eyes of Disney/Pixar. We suggest you watch Brave (2012, Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell).

Yes, fair enough, it is not the greatest beacon of feministing to be found in the history of the cinematograph. Nevertheless, we have to admit that Disney princesses are changing for good. This one, Merida, together with the newest Rapunzel being the most advanced ones.

And Brave is good exactly for what it is: not a taming-of-the-shrew story (like, Mulan (1998)). Merida doesn't need to change herself, she just have to find a way to convince her mother that it is not the moment for her to get married + that if she will chose a partner in future, she'll do that on her own... 

Certainly better idea for what to watch together with little children (not only girls, mind you!) than Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), or Sleeping Beauty (1959) that are left to more mature audiences that can approach the story critically (and read into the richness of symbols that are by no means innocent).

06 January 2013

Sunday is the day when #GirlsDecide: Hosna


This time we travel to Bangladesh to meet Hosna* and hear about her decision making journey. She tells us about her fears regarding an early marriage and looks for a way to make an autonomous decision about her future, while involving her community and changing some of the customs.