"Water" - Born in India, Widow Hard to Be

Vita 2022-03-22 09:03:01

In Zhou Xingchi's movie "Ji Gong", there are three people who bear the fate of the "ninth generation". Only by relying on Ji Gong's solution can they be detached. The wicked, the good or the involuntarily surrender from the bottom of their hearts to change the number of days. In this "Moon River", the little girl shoulders the role of Jigong. Her innocence and curiosity are a thorn in the eyes of an old woman who has been abiding by women's ethics for many years. It is an insurmountable desire to practice self-denial, but unfortunately she does not have a golden body. After all, we can only watch her being entrusted to another stronger shoulder. Fortunately, the ending is not only a redemption that relies on men's blessings, but also a shake of women's deep-rooted concept of obedience for thousands of years.

The opposition between the "chrysanthemum and the sword" in the minds of the Japanese people makes people wonder, and the Indian religious culture is also full of contradictions: the sexual worship handed down for thousands of years has made reproduction occupy the mainstream, but women are strictly regulated on how much they wear and how much they expose. Sleeping is no exception (Song Dynasty paid attention to women's sleeping and dressing, probably because Wu Zetian was scared to pee); Hinduism believes that restraint of emotions and asceticism is a very important cultivation method, which can make people reach the state of Brahma and self. To get rid of the suffering of reincarnation, but they chose "Saintess" from poor girls as sex slaves for monks or elders (like a joke from a Hong Kong and Taiwan three-level movie); "Dancer of God" Hygilas was People worship, but the function is nothing more than a dance to help people have more children and more blessings. Whether it is to worship God or use God can be imagined...

The family portraits of the family were removed from the wall and replaced with pictures of Gandhi, which symbolized the transformation of Narayan's thinking and the awakening of the sense of rebellion against the noble family.

Under the cultural rendering of the contradictions of religion itself, the impact of old and new ideas has brought a clear spring, and the male protagonist Narayan has become the leader and victim. He is eager to follow Gandhi, and to extract the essence of India's national status and traditional culture. However, his naivety makes his actions stay in the fantasy of passion. He chose to walk away when he encountered a crisis of family beliefs. This not only The mere suspicion and rebellion against the status of family and religion also proves the desperation and evasion of the new school's inability to compete with the old forces.

In the film, Brahma, who has been preaching to the widows by the river, said the most useful sentence in the film, "We will hide those laws that are not good for us." The disadvantages of excessive religious power have led to incomplete implementation of laws and policies. The film does not even appear as a symbol of the judiciary. The colony of "father does not support stepmother does not love" relies on religious customs that have remained unchanged for thousands of years. It is no exaggeration to describe a society without human rights as chaos - young children are not protected, elders are not respected, young people are suppressed, middle-aged are blindly obeyed, and the entire social discourse power is controlled by a few messengers called "gods" , but it is a kind of irony that the talents cultivated by the colonial countries have helped the country to make progress.

Gandhi led the Indian people out of the shadow of colonialism, but failed to save the low status of Indian women and the backward reality of the caste system. His enlightenment came from macro-level international public opinion and intellectuals who advocated revolution in advanced ideology across the country. His mission was to fight against powerful countries, spread fraternity, and reduce violence, but this did not work for cold violence in society. In a country accustomed to the law of the jungle, living in poverty in the majority, and religious belief as the mainstream, such a great man deserves to be raised to a certain height for the people to admire.

The little girl in the film has a simple and bright smile, which is reminiscent of the old women in the widow's home recalling the scene when they got married, eating delicious snacks and wearing gorgeous saris. The happiness of this day is enough to support them for a lifetime. She is the same age as the little girl in the widow's house, and no one can guess whether her expression will be so happy in the next second.

Today, I saw a 12-year-old girl in Norway used the method of marrying a 27-year-old man to call for attention and boycott of child marriage. The difference in education is evident.

The film expounds the injustices suffered by widows in India from the perspective of four women, a little girl, a young woman, a middle-aged woman, and an old fat woman. These four women also represent the four stages of an Indian woman's life, the innocence of childhood. And ignorance, yearning for life and love in youth, firmness and decisiveness in faith in old age, loneliness, selfishness and stubbornness in old age. The film tells the world how a woman in India was devastated through the plight of four women: they were deprived of the right to be happy when they were young, they were deprived of the right to choose when they were young, and they were deprived of the right to know the truth when they were older. , and when they grow old, they only pass on the misfortune of this life as their responsibility. For the last time, they themselves deprived themselves and others of the right to be reborn.

Yingying lights decorate the river at night like a dream, but under this beautiful illusion, everyone knows that what floats on the boat is a flesh transaction, and everyone is defending the upper-level lies and humiliating the lower-level under the environment of self-deception. suffering. The river is innocent, it can never wash away this heavy sin, but it has been forcibly given a lot of sustenance

The title of the film is "Water". As soon as the little girl appeared on the scene, she went with the flow and lived by the river. This side of the river is the residence of poor people, and the other side of the river is the residence of Brahmin nobles. A river that is regarded as holy water by ordinary people and believers is pinned by people to wash away their sins. In the film, the old grandma who always wanted to eat sweets also hopes to wash away sins by bathing in holy water and seek a better afterlife. The funny thing is that people Believing that you are guilty, but only relying on holy water to cleanse yourself, rather than not committing crimes, this kind of behavior can also unite the minds of hundreds of millions of people and thousands of years of civilization. Is it not a kind of false belief and false believers? .

People were bathing by the river, and widows accidentally touched them, and they felt that they were dirty and needed to be washed again; the bride-to-be was preparing some kind of ceremony in the river, and passing widows were reprimanded for being careful not to let their shadows touch them. Brides; commoners do not allow widows to eat fried things; and nobles can prove their charity by giving money to these widows. The details of the low status of widows in the film are horrifying, and in addition to traditional repression, the issue of education is also key. General illiteracy is nothing more than that. Religion especially deprives women of the opportunity and power to receive education. In the early 20th century, India also had a common discriminatory view against women in society, that is, educated women would become widows, and only dishonest women would go. Reading, singing and dancing (the dancers who danced for gods and high-tech monks in temples lay guns again). In "India's Daughter", a lawyer with a high education in the modern society would actually say something like "there is no place for women in our culture", belittling women and at the same time hating their ability to learn , the right to think, such backward, prejudiced thinking is still not in the minority.

The words of the little girl show that uneducated women are half-accepting the ideas instilled by elders or powerful people. Although they are dubious, half of their rebellion is because they are too immature, and they are more curious and questioning about the world than thinking.

The little girl's problem is not only to challenge the authority of the male-dominated world, but also to challenge the bottom line of women: admitting their own suffering.

The male protagonist got true love from the side of the river, and proved hypocrisy from the other side of the river. A river that is not wide witnesses everything but is silent. Narayan has not only lived through the river, but also through a difficult period of growth.

The little girl retrieved holy water for the dying old man, and there were people praying not far away. They prayed in the same river but ignored each other's existence. In the darkness, they were just unrelated shadows. Repeating meaningless actions to pray to the gods, but refusing to strive for a little redemption in the heart, is a typical example of a false believer.

How ridiculous is it to pray for the next life, what about being born a man? Can you stand above the female body? Helping men devalue their own identity is also the Achilles heel of Indian women's inability to save themselves.

The other side of the river in the present life can be seen, and what they want to see is the afterlife of the river on the other side. The river is ruthless, looking forward to nothing.

The dialogue between the couple is also a dialogue between old and new ideas, a dialogue between men and women in the enlightenment of China and India, and a peaceful discussion of the beauty of culture, the confusion of tradition, the solidity of religion, and the purity of love. However, they eventually became victims of feudal society.

She asked Brahma what to do if her conscience and belief conflicted. Brahman cannot answer, he represents the guardian of the male-dominated society and religious system, and maintains the peace of conscience by turning a blind eye and not hearing. Behind the middle-aged woman is the fading train. The train is carrying the hope and future of India, and all this is getting farther and farther away from her. Her life has been dedicated to the gods. It is not simple. Sins can be changed. She looked back at the village where she had lived and suffered all her life. There were doubts and sympathy in her eyes, and her life was clearer but more painful. However, this was still her home, and it was still the home of many widows.

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Extended Reading
  • Jana 2022-03-21 09:03:29

    It's on the movie channel, just in time for the second half. Have a chance to make up for it

  • Lucile 2022-03-23 09:03:32

    The tragic life of a widow

Water quotes

  • [from trailer]

    Chuyia's Father: [to young Chuyia] Child. Do you remember getting married? Your husband is dead. You're a widow now.

  • [from trailer]

    Narayana: All the old traditions are dying out.

    Kalyani: But what is good should not die out.

    Narayana: And who will decide what is good and what is not?

    Kalyani: You!