Exploring issues of identity and belonging in the films of Mira Nair : Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to study the themes of identity and belonging in the films ofMira Nair. Three films form the basis of this study namely Salaam Bombay!,Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding. The approach is thematic, i.e using thefilm to explore different socio-political themes of identity rather than looking at themethodology she uses as a filmmaker.The analysis of each of the three films looks at a particular form of identity namelynational, cultural or personal identity, and makes reference to Nair's own commentson the films as well as academic articles on the films, her work and issues such asidentity, nostalgia, home, belonging, marginalization, immigrants, street children andthe like, in order to interrogate Nair's exploration of the particular ideas within thesefilms.It examines the films as if it were a work of literature, and looks at how it deals withthese issues within a filmic context. What symbols does she use to show us we aredealing with cultural identity? Which character is symbolic of the modernistmovement? Finally it examines the potential effect of these films on the society fromwhich they derive, and comes to some conclusions about the effect these films mayhave in challenging, shaping and/or influencing ideas about nostalgia, home, identity,and so on. The discussions of the films show that she has been superbly able toexploit all the advantages of her chosen medium to bring her remarkable visualinventiveness and artistry into play in order to communicate this to an internationalaudience and to make them think about the issues at hand. The filmmaker is finallyestablished not only as simply a creator of film, but ultimately as a thinker and poet.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University