Why so much importance on approval from the West? - Page 5

Originally posted by: LifeOLicious

Well we may be poor but our ego reaches the moon 😆 The way westerners/western countries are sometimes represented in Bollywood movies is not exactly positive! Wonder why the foreigners don't make a hue and cry about it 😛

Going back to the question...Hollywood is mainstream...and has the biggest market share because movies are made in English...hence people go ga ga. That's all.

The way Bollywood seems to be pandering to western ideals is ridiculous. A big part of Bollywoods charm has always been the Indian culture it's rooted in. The more western-friendly they become, the more they lose their charm. We're living in a post-colonial world but our minds still seem to be colonised, why else would we be endorsing skin whitening creams (most of which contain mercury which is lethal for the skin), and running after Hollywood like lost puppies desperate for a stamp of approval, to prove our worth. Why do you have to be appreciated, or endorsed by the west to prove that your worth a damn?

Originally posted by: Amara_B

The way Bollywood seems to be pandering to western ideals is ridiculous. A big part of Bollywoods charm has always been the Indian culture it's rooted in. The more western-friendly they become, the more they lose their charm. We're living in a post-colonial world but our minds still seem to be colonised, why else would we be endorsing skin whitening creams (most of which contain mercury which is lethal for the skin), and running after Hollywood like lost puppies desperate for a stamp of approval, to prove our worth. Why do you have to be appreciated, or endorsed by the west to prove that your worth a damn?

Looking at some of the recent big budget Bollywood films, such as RA One, Ek Deewana Tha, Roadside Romeo, they all seek to fulfill the western ideal of a 'good movie', and in the process ditch the culture that makes Bollywood appealing. It's embarrassing really. If I want to watch a superhero movie, or a Disney movie I will go to the originals, Bollywood should stick to it's own culture, and traditions, or it will loose the very core of it's appeal.

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

It was the quintessential Bollywood plot, it had everything that a typical Bollywood film has... what is the main gripe, poverty or the fact that it was made by a westerner?

Both. And especially the fact that superior Indian-made stories like TZP or Black get rejected just because they aren't selling out urban slums. Anything to say on that front?

Return to Hades:
Well then, is it merely a coincidence that only movies made on subjects like squalor and AIDS or prostitution sweep all the international awards? And Western producers/directors always choose India just to make short films/ documentaries on the aforementioned subjects? (que the recent docu on a brothel shot by Lucy Liu). The West has been looking at India through that "poverty-malaria-snakecharmer" archetype since Jim Corbett days. Let's not sugarcoat the bitter truth, kay? India does have poverty, and so does a gajillion other nations, first and third world. And more. But to say that only poverty highlights India's real side is like saying that Bronx represents the real US. Or the Mafiosi represents Italy. Or that movies made on Thailand should only show the seedy underworld of pimps, fake goods and drugs. Gravely and utterly ridiculous much?

Originally posted by: Angel-likeDevil

it is mainstream because people everywhere in the world enjoy it, what gives you the authorityto say that Hollywood shouldnt be mainstream while millions are considering it to be??

MY hand, my PC, my type, my authority. That's what.😆. My topic ain't on which industry is the most mainstream. It's about the relentless "trying to look good to the West". Heisenberg brought up that "mainstream" thing, so I replied to that. Now that (by your own admission) that statement is proved flawed, we can return to the main debate.

Originally posted by: sayali_babes

Return to Hades:
Well then, is it merely a coincidence that only movies made on subjects like squalor and AIDS or prostitution sweep all the international awards? And Western producers/directors always choose India just to make short films/ documentaries on the aforementioned subjects? (que the recent docu on a brothel shot by Lucy Liu). The West has been looking at India through that "poverty-malaria-snakecharmer" archetype since Jim Corbett days. Let's not sugarcoat the bitter truth, kay? India does have poverty, and so does a gajillion other nations, first and third world. And more. But to say that only poverty highlights India's real side is like saying that Bronx represents the real US. Or the Mafiosi represents Italy. Or that movies made on Thailand should only show the seedy underworld of pimps, fake goods and drugs. Gravely and utterly ridiculous much?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Darjeeling_Limited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Passage_to_India_%28film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_Exotic_Marigold_Hotel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eat_Pray_Love
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsourced_%28film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trishna_%282011_film%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_and_Prejudice

As for documentaries I'm yet to see any documentary on "happy" subjects. I don't think Super Size Me, Waiting for Superman, Food Inc, Bully say that that USA is an awesome nation.

Bride and Prejudice was directed by Gurindar Chaddha, an Indian. Eat, pray, love was stereotypical in a lot of ways. As was the BEMH. Passage to India was a historical. And the Darjeeling Express was a tribute of Wes Anderson to Satyajit Ray. Haven't heard of the other two.