Escape from Bollywood!

Hey growing up seeing Hindi films or Indian movies like we call them in Trinidad or like how the whole world likes to call it now Bollywood films I always saw 'white people' in them. Usually to me the 'white people' in them represented a kinda stereotype of people with 'loose morals' things considered quintessential 'un-indian like' like showing lots of skin and drinking alcohol (especially girls). Of course the stereotypes world over have been changing and there is so much cultural mixing these days. And let's not forget that on 'The Simpsons' the Indians become Pakistanis and Hindus and Muslims have their religion mixed into a new religion perhaps that is progress for peace so who knows!?

So I probably can't put my finger any longer on what the 'white people' would be stereotyped as in these films anymore. But hey it seems it is not only me who thinks the 'white people' are stereotyped generally negatively cause you will hear the British woman on the clip saying how she doesnt know but usually the westerners are portrayed as baddies in the films so...

But yea I always wondered where those 'white people' in the films used to come from I think way back in the day they used to get some light skin indians to pass as white when they couldnt get enough of them. And I've seen the same attempts to make actors look like they were African in race too. But yep in modern times they have lots of actual 'white people' in there and now I know how! Check out the clip! I like Shubash Ghai's films by the way so I am in no way critiquing the film itself here and you will see the guy covering the story has the same intent cause he does say the film put together looks exciting!

This is just a back door look at how 'the white people' come into the films...amusing really...Of course Katrina Kaif herself is half white so...dunno pretty soon the white people might be the goodies and the stars?! Course that is a whole other post about the changing ideal of beauty as a whole in India and the film industry there. But this is just an amusing video clip I stumbled onto from MSN on Slate V and they said you were free to blog it so I thought I'd share it here! So enjoy the clip and if you feel like it drop me a line and let me know what you think of it too ...just for so...To me it is interesting how in the end the guy muses about how this is a kinda reverse outsourcing in a way!

Notice in the story they keep going the 'Westerners' but to me that is just cause they dont want to bring race into it cause let's face it...it is the 'white people' they mean ...and when people say 'westerners' do they mean people living in the Western hemisphere of the earth? What do they mean by that? I mean isn't Australia the Eastern hemisphere? So really they mean race but they don't say it?

Of course I'm sure tourist seeing this may not wish to be extras again but remember this is just one guy's perspective and story and to each his own so...of course in India like any places with extreme poverty where people have to fight for survival you have to be careful if you come from a place where such a fight is not as intense due to more resources per person! White people or not...but oh yea then I forgot white people = westerners! :)

By the way Sameer Kumar looks exactly like a co-worker of mine that is Trinidadian of Indian ancestry! I can't wait to tell him one of these days! :)

Early Close of My Advent Calendar...by My Definition at Least!

This is just a post to let all my readers know that I closed off my Advent Calendar earlier than planned...well by my definition of it at least...cause I had defined it as ending after the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' which would have been on Tue 6 Jan 09. However let's face it in the modern world when people hit New Year's day it's all bout the resolutions for many and really Christmas and Advent ends once people go fully back out to work. And like this year cause Mon is the first Monday in January and clearing New Year's day and the day after (usually a recovery day for some)everyone is going to hit the pavement hard stomping off to conquer the world supposedly? So for all intents and purposes I need to come to the reality that Christmas is through...but on Universal Collective Prayer I will continue to speak about the 'Three Wise Men' and trumpet them off on Tue 6 Jan 09 especially since Epiphany celebrations still today is a big event in many cultures and celebrated worldwide in Christianity.

Also I am ending it early cause on a personal level I was all tired out...and really on New Year's Day I was re-borned so was tough for me too to go back! :) However the Three Wise Men followed me into this life and so I will have a longer departure time with them and only say goodbye to them on the 6th of Jan! :)

Best Wishes and hope you all had a lovely Christmas/Advent season and look forward to celebrating it again with you next year and to other festivals and seasons as they come along in this 'Great Big Blue Marble' called Planet Earth!:)

And I leave you with a You Tube clip I've shared in the past that was the introduction to a children's TV show when I was growing up that was aimed at kid's understanding cultures globally. I remember it being on Saturdays here in Trinidad. It was an American TV show but showcased kids from all over the world. You can read more about the show on wikipedia at this link.And I share it in the hope that in this New Year, 2009, me and readers from all over the world will get closer...and perhaps I will even start to hear more from them on here too...comments welcomed! :)

Advent Calendar:HAPPY NEW YEAR!-Nostradamus Predicts a Golden Age!

Today I am talking about re-birth and how this morning I was visualizing the blooming of white roses like how in films they make things move quickly so the roses go from buds to fully grown in seconds and to this visualization I was hearing the sound of Cat Steven's Morning has Broken...well I thought what would be an appropriate film to show for these feelings on this blog and I decided to dabble a bit into TV again although this is a very famous TV special and so kinda warrants it spilling over as film in a way...

You see everyone bad mouth's Nostradamus' predictions or always sees them as bad or like gloom and doom...the Third World War and all but I saw this docudrama when I was a child... they were really big back then...the TV moguls loved to churn them out. And especially when I was growing up in the height of 'the Cold War' American talk of World War three and nuclear holocausts were always abound! And this docudrama-Nostradamus-The Man Who Saw Tomorrow with Orson Welles (who I always mixed up with Alfred Hitchcock the director and with George Orwell the authour btw:)) will always be a classic.

But I am showing the very last clip for it because I want you to see how it all fits in with my morning's visualization and how it could be what instilled that idea in me as a child of the dawning of a NEW GOLDEN AGE!And how it dawns after we sort out all the hurt and conflict...in this portrayal it happens after pain and war...but perhaps if we could resolve it peacefully by talking to one another trashing it out...? Arab-Israeli talks anyone?

MAYBE THIS YEAR WILL BE THAT DAWN?...HAPPY NEW YEAR!