On your first trip to the Taj Mahal, you would have been itched to click a picture of yourself trying to hold the monument from its tip, obviously imitating to do so from a distance and not actually grasping it. Well, it is nothing short of a ritual for any tourist visiting the Taj Mahal. While a few theories without a head or a tail try to justify that Shah Jahan chopped the hands of the labourers of the Mahal, the monument still holds immense significance in the Indian heritage.
Often termed as a symbol of love, Taj Mahal depicts the great architectural mastery Indians had from the very beginning. Today, the state-of-the-art monument is the prime tourist attraction and contributes a major chunk to Indian tourism.
While most of the monuments were built in the pre-historic and pre-democratic times, the latest addition to the Indian collection came into existence in 2018. Inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, the Statue of Unity, as its name suggests, symbolises unity. However, the reason behind its formation stands questionable because of its high cost. If economists are to be believed, the statue will continue recovering the revenue from its building cost in many decades to come.
A fact that is not new to any Indian is that our country preserves the most diverse cultures and heritages. The beautiful and visionary monuments built by the former rulers epitomize Indian culture and exude great Indian architecture. Other than their beauty, they also bring a sarcastic side to our notice. Being built centuries ago with minimal resources, the monuments still hold their structure strong to date. However, the infrastructure developed today using high-tech resources, doesn’t take a lot of effort and time to break down.
The Indian capital, New Delhi, and its neighbouring regions are a hub of historic monuments of great importance and pride. On one hand, Qutub Minar symbolizes victory, on the other hand, Lal Qila(Red Fort) is often seen as a symbol of rebellion. The Red Fort, for that matter, is a very important building for the Indian constitution as the nation’s Prime Minister hoists the national flag on it every Independence day. The ritual is being followed since our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, performed the same on the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort.
Monuments play a crucial role in preserving a nation’s heritage and culture. Coming from different backgrounds, the citizens feel connected to each other’s culture through a glimpse of the historic structures. From Konark Temple in Odisha to The Gateway Of India in Mumbai and from Taj Mahal in Agra to the iconic temples in southern India, every memorial glorifies various cultures of our country. From depicting love to victory and from science to harmony, Indian architecture covers all bases making India a truly great country.
Greeting ladies and gentlemen. In today’s episode of Content, Censoring, and Controversies (CCC), we bring to you a book that has seemed to stir conversation around interfaith marriages, 27 years after its release—A Suitable Boy. More than the book, to be honest, it was the mini web series (of the same name) that found itself in the middle of a political broil, roping in the director Mira Nair and certain other executives from Netflix who had produced the show (in India).
The UK mini web-series (which was first broadcasted on BBC) found itself at the receiving ende of demands for an apology by Hindu nationalists of the BJP as they complained about a scene in the series where a young Hindu girl kisses a young Muslim boy in the premises of a Hindu temple.
While several leaders from the party pointed out the explicit act of kissing (which for some reason is regarded as a very gora thing to do in one of the most highly populated countries in the world) in a ground as sacred as the temple, others commented that it encouraged the entire concept, so to say, of “Love Jihad”—an Islamophobic propaganda-pushing strategy put forward by several right-wingers—wherein young and innocent Hindu girls are lured into marriage by the charm and handsomeness of Muslim men, and are then forcefully converted into Islam. An article by The Print even went on to describe “Love Jihad” as follows:
‘Love jihad’ is slowly and steadily turning into the carrot that is leading the donkey towards the formation of a state where politics and religion merge, and the Hindu Rashtra will finally become a reality.
The series starring actors like Tanya Maiktala, Ishan Khatter, Tabu, and Rasika Duggal in pivotal roles was accused of tainting the image and sanctity of the temple. The claim, however, was rubbished when officials pointed out that no part of the kissing scene was actually shot in the premise of a temple. Nevertheless, the scene did seem to provoke anti-Hindu sentiments, according to some officials of the BJP. Narottam Mishra, a member of the B.J.P, and Home Minister in Madhya Pradesh state, had shown displeasure at the kissing scene between the protagonists and had further commented that a case had been filed accordingly.
“To me there is nothing suitable in that. In our temple, if you are filming a kissing scene, Rama music is on in the background, I do not consider it good,” Mr. Mishra said at a news conference on Monday, referring to Hindu devotional music. “For that there are other places.”
However, for what remains something really ironic, the Hindus—at least until before the 13th century—regarded topics related to love, sex, etc. as something really essential and spoke about it in a very liberating manner, and students were extensively taught about it as well. The free conversation about the art behind such “unsuitable” acts can be seen on the walls of famous temples like the Khajuraho Temples in Madhya Pradesh, Sun Temple in Orissa, and Markandeshwar Temple in Maharashtra, among many others, which sculpts all sorts of sexual depictions between all kinds of genders. While there are many theories out there which explain how and why many ancient temples are carved with statues depicting sexual positions that most of India would still feel a little too conserved to strike a conversation about, one theory particularly suggests that the art of lovemaking, in general, was considered a good omen, when performed in the sacred halls of a temple.
The entire debate seems to be ticked on at a time, when the government in four BJP led-states seem to have proposed laws and actions against those who encourage unlawful religious conversion just to stay and get married. The displeasure towards such communions was showcased in a previous episode of our production that covered how a Tanishq store in Gujarat was brought down after the company advertised its product on the theme of blissful interfaith relations.
While most experts suggest that there are very grim chances of Netflix landing in any legal trouble—though if held guilty (chanceless) executives could land in jail for a period of 3 years—the entire debate has at least shone some light on how the freedom to choose a partner might be at risk, and how the dynamics of conversations about various topics have changed in all these years.
Oh, and by the way, for those who haven’t seen A Suitable Boy yet, Netflix will be available for free between the 5th and 6th of December.
James Gunn’s firing from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by Disney has shaken Hollywood.
The Gunn fiasco blew up during the San Diego Comic-Con weekend, with Disney removing him after some polemical tweets were uncovered. Since then, there has been a furore on both sides. Many celebrities have come forward in Gunn’s defence calling for his reinstatement, including the Guardians of the Galaxy cast. The most outspoken has been Dave Bautista, who has threatened to quit if Gunn’s submitted screenplay is not used. Recently, it’s been rumoured that Gunn may return to Marvel in a different capacity, although nothing has been made official.
James Gunn
His firing is about so many things beyond Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s about the alt-right, Me Too, the Disney monopoly, fandom, Marvel’s cosmic future, Marvel vs. DC (because of course), and the question of a person’s ability to change. Covering the ever-shifting story has been a challenge – so much is up in the air – and some of the more recent developments (Gunn may return to Marvel under a different franchise) make the whole thing seem farcical.
Plainly, I don’t find Gunn’s jokes that funny but can’t condemn him now for making them over a decade ago and certainly don’t think they’re a fireable offence. That’s the core of this. Disney should have done their due diligence and looked into the context; everything that’s followed in this PR disaster stems from that rushed decision. Had they just paused for thought, I guarantee this entire thing would have blown over. Unfortunately, the Hollywood machine never looks back and Disney and Gunn are going through this tortured situation for no real gain.
All this really shows that big companies can be influenced by political mavericks, that knee-jerk reactions can overcome reason. And in the fraught world we find ourselves in, that’s not a good policy. I have no doubt Gunn will be fine – this entire thing has probably made him a bigger name – but even if he returns back to Marvel, the lesson and legacy of this decision are worrying.
The Gunn situation is unfortunate and not nearly as simple as anyone seems to think. Those that defend him are willing to move past his inappropriate jokes because they were years ago and he seems to be a changed person since then. They think Disney can and should simply reinstate him as a director because it was an obvious smear campaign and those that don’t agree will get over it. Those that aren’t letting him off the hook think the jokes are emblematic of a larger issue with Gunn’s character, expecting another shoe to drop like so many other Hollywood figures recently. Making matters worse, the issue is also intrinsically linked to partisan politics and fanboy bias, meaning it’s nearly impossible for any meaningful or enlightening discussion to happen in the short term.
The fact that Disney was so quick to fire him is the most complicating factor, throwing an even bigger spotlight on the issue when it could have been handled in a more measured way, avoiding as much attention, and allowing Gunn to stay on after an investigation and character review. Fans and general audience members will likely eventually move on, provided nothing else comes to light, but society is slow to process this kind of situation, so it’ll be a number of years before he’s not such a polarizing figure. So, while it’s unlikely that he’ll direct Guardians of the Galaxy 3, his relationship with Marvel Studios as a director probably isn’t over, and he likely has opportunities elsewhere as other studios seem less bothered than Disney by his predicament.
Yes. The jokes about rape and paedophilia that got James Gunn fired from his position as writer and director of Marvel’s hugely successful Guardians of the Galaxy franchise are largely un-funny, tasteless, and in most cases disgusting. We should probably get that out of the way right up front because to defend Gunn in the wake of Disney’s decision, is to also defend the content of the tweets.
But a surprisingly often overlooked part of the conversation is the fact that the ringleader of Gunn’s downfall, Mike Cernovich, had to scroll back to 2011 to find the tweets at all. Seven years, conveniently bypassing apologies and mea culpa, overlooking attempts at change, ignoring statements like the one Gunn posted just days before he was fired:
To deny someone the capacity to change is a dangerous precedent to set, not just in Hollywood where a person’s public life is on display 24/7 but to anyone engaging in the social media age. It sets the bar at, “What’s the point?” It gives the message that concepts like betterment and learning are futile because the sins of your past are an immovable weight that only gets heavier the harder you climb. Strange, from a monolith like Disney, which has worked tirelessly to paint over a past filled with scars like Song of the South and Dumbo‘s horribly stereotypical black crows, to name just an instance. But through a sheer effort of PR and Marvel-aided goodwill, that Disney feels like a ghost of the studio now. Which is exactly what makes Gunn’s firing so frustrating; Disney didn’t fire a director, they fired his ghost. The meme below explains the hypocrisy on the side of Disney.
Before Friday, we were watching Gunn find himself on-screen among the stars. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies are, boiled down, stories about shoddy people—rascals, thieves, assassins, criminals—learning through intense trial and error to be less shoddy. Not just that, but the literal magic that comes with the realization that your past does not define you. One of the most genuinely insane opinions I’ve seen come out of this situation is, “I still love the Guardians movies, but I can’t support Gunn.” You learned nothing. Behind the space fights and the laser beams, there’s a story about overcoming the person you were. The filmmaker’s brother, Sean Gunn—who also played Kraglin in the Guardians films—said as much on Twitter this past Saturday:
The term many people like to lob at the pro-Gunn side of the argument is ‘hypocrite’. It’s hypocritical to not understand Gunn’s firing when, say, you support ABC removing Roseanne Barr from her sitcom for describing former Obama aide Valerie Jarett as, “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.” I don’t personally find it hypocritical to say that a racist thing said by a racist is different from a stupid thing said by an unfunny idiot. Both are “bad”, but one carries a lifetime’s worth of dangerous weight than the other. It’s also worth noting that whereas Gunn’s offensive tweets were made seven years ago, Barr never stopped making offensive comments and just expected all of us to roll with it.
But again, this is about a human’s capacity to change; it’s the difference between someone regretfully being a bad person in the past and someone unrepentantly being a bad person right now. This isn’t a this-side-versus-that thing. Mark Hammill is one of my favourite people on the planet, but if he took to Twitter to scream that he “thought the bitch was white” I’d say he probably doesn’t belong in the Star Wars franchise anymore. If Henry Cavill continues to confuse casual flirting with rape, we need a new Superman.
Fifth Pillar - VIT 