Having studied
British Asian identity in our media
collective identity unit, I was intrigued to learn about the various
media theories; questions raised about identity and issues relating to representation. Said’s Orientalisim states that
those who are not white are always represented as the ‘other’. Inspired by this, I chose to resolve my interpretation of British Asian Identity through creating a trailer that would both assimilate and reject traditional media stereotypes and opinions on representation-(British Asian identity).
Use of conventions:-
Although I set out to produce an action thriller genre-(features include: very fast paced clips that can also be acclaimed by the non-diegetic sound plus the deep male voice over Props:- Gun, Bomb blast, leather jacket, black gloves) due to lack of resources and a low budget I was unable to do this so I decided to produce a melodrama blurred with tragedy and a hint of action-(for example, my protagonist wears a leather jacket, there are guns, running, law enforcement and male voice over).
The conventions of melodrama/tragedy features ‘flawed characters’ who often make tragic mistakes. As Bernard F Dick states in his book Anatomy of Film (2002) “... in melodrama the characters represent the extreme of good and evil, chance seems more important than casualty, and the action turns violent or grotesque for the atrical or shock effect”. These characteristics are depicted in my protagonists;
• ‘Flawed characters’:- Zara Khan is driven by childhood trauma and has been brainwashed by Muslim extremists (hence she is flawed as she is following a false interpretation of the Islamic faith).
• The character Hasan Ali is good as he is working alongside the police to combat terrorism.
• The character who plays the extremist is ‘extreme evil’ as she plots a bomb blast to destroy innocent lives.
Furthermore in my production I wanted to
represent British Asians not JUST Asians! I wanted to explore what it means to be both; my production piece aimed to depict the perspectives of two British Asians on what they believed to be their identity. The male character considered himself as a British Asian Muslim and the female character considered herself as just an Asian Muslim (her views begin to be challenged as the digesis develops). As suggested by ‘Gokulsing’ in ‘Indian popular cinema-a narrative of cultural change’ (1998) states about ‘Baji on the Beach’ “The film explores the theme of what is central in living in Britain and as the characters reveal, it is not being western or Asian but being both that matters.”
Having an
all star Asian cast, and also being aware of the significant impact that Bollywood movies have on
‘diasporic Asians’ and most
‘British Asian film makers’ as the movies are watched widely in Asian households as part of their entertainment and seen as objects that connect them to their homeland. I decided to use two Bollywood films based on the topic of terrorism as my inspiration for my media poster.
Poster one: Fanaa, the characters are very much in love due their closeness, it is giving us intimate detail of their relationship. Also the close shot in Fanna’s poster- (which is the head and shoulder shot that reveals the particular emotions of love). French filmmaker Goddard always claimed “that the close up was invented for tragedy, the long shot for comedy.” The outcome of Fanna can be related to this as the story begins with love but ends in tragedy, pain and betrayal. The director through his poster is making us aware of a love story that is filled with pain and melodrama.
Furthermore the Female Protagonist looks away as she is blind in the film and also in the digesis blind/ unaware to his involvement in terrorism. My female protagonist looks away as a sense of rejection to her lover- you can tell he is her lover from again their closeness. Also to show some sort of tragedy with does actaully exisist in the film.
The title ‘Fanaa’ has two meanings to it; in Sufism (branch of Islam) is means you are totally devoted to God and in terms of love between a couple it also means you are totally devoted to them. The title of ‘Fanaa’-Inspired me to come up with a title for my trailer that was ambiguous too. For example ‘Jihad’ has two interpretations, it means struggle to be a better Muslim, better husband/ wife, lover and better person etc or most commonly interpreted as war. It is often linked as a justification to terrorism.
Development of conventions:-I wanted to rework the conflict of British Asian representation/ identity, but not necessarily resolve them. I was influenced byPeter Kominsky’s Britz; from a viewer’s point of view this film does not necessary resolve conflict in the film but throws open and allows the audience to interpret who they feel is good or bad and whether legislations and laws are making citizens safer or putting them in peril. This film complements the famous quotation “one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.”
Kominsky with Actor Riz Ahmed
Similarly my film portrays the experiences of two British Asians whose views are opposing. Like Nasima in Britz (being victimised brutally after 9/11) my female character Zara also provides a very human face to the suicide bomber, although lost and brainwashed by ‘extreme jihadist ideology’ due to her vulnerability and childhood trauma (victim of racism and Islamaphobia) she is constantly struggling with her British Asian identity and the audience are left in suspense as to what she is capable of doing.
Asim Siddqui states in the Guardian newspaper, “there have been protests against the drama from unlikely bedfellows: those who feel it sanitises suicide bombing and legitimises ‘Muslim grievances’, and Muslim community elders frustrated at the further negative stereotyping of their community. The manner in which the drama shows the counterproductive nature of ill-thought through MI5 and the police operations...” Although I upheld the dominant and established values in my melodrama, but then challenged them by having the main protagonist in my trailer the option to chose to either go ahead with the plot to kill thousands of innocent people or work alongside her lover to eradicate stereotypes of Muslim Asians in Britain and Islamaphobia.
Some theorists argue, ‘
as producers, we can use
representation to our advantage; some do so positively whilst others use it as a way to
reinforce negative stereotypes and create prejudice tension’.
Richard Dyer (1993) in ‘The matter of images’ states: “How we are seen determines in part how we are treated; how we are treat others is based on how we see them; such as seeing comes from representations.In a globalised media subject, particularly after 9/11, the issue of ‘Diaspora culture’ and communities is not a subsidiary interest but one that is essential to western geo-politics, as well as the media and cultural economy”.I wanted to challenge the negative stereotypes often linked to British Asians Muslim especially British Asian men who tend to be represented as Islamic terrorists so I decided to represent them in a good light where my main male protagonist works alongside the police in order to stop any forthcoming attacks and help prevent terrorism. I wanted to demonstrate why and what would lead someone to become a terrorist. I wanted the non-Muslim audience to understand something of what it feels to be a second generation Muslim in Britain today
Challenges of Conventions:-In media terms ‘subversion refers to changing the meaning of a sign or convention in a way that goes against the way it is traditionally accepted either by the meaning or use’. Therefore challenging media conventions is to break rules that are traditionally accepted.
• In terms of my production; it is an open ended narrative unlike a Hollywood narrative, where the ending always has a closure-my film will leave the viewers with several questions about the outcome of the climax and the fate and future of the main protagonist.
• Marketing strategies: title is controversial; assumes violence straight away through its ambiguous title and through Malcolm X’s tag line “By any means necessary,” that is often interpreted by people as a promotion of violence.
• Also I challenged the stereotype in my mise-en-scene by dressing my female protagonist in westernised clothing and defying the common belief and media stereotype that “the hijab is an icon of Islam and associated with terrorism”.
