Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 18:45:43 EDT
Subject: East is east


Greetings all:
has anyone out there seen the film "east is east?" Its a British film set in the 70's. It is the story of a mixed race family (she is English, he is pakistani) and the struggles of the children who are "in-between." What I found repulsive was the demonizing of the pakistani husband. He was a polygamist-wife-beater-nationalist-patriarchal etc...
I couldn't help think of that spivakism : "white men saving brown women from brown men." The spivakism doesn't directly apply since the producer is Asian (I believe) and the focal point of the film is the young sons but still....it felt as if a kind of "feminism lite" was the cover for the easy stereotyping of the muslim asian. In other words the progressive anti-patriarchalism sereved as a screen for a very non-progressive, simplistic, easily digestible, ugly carricature.

And

Has anyone ever been to the annual Association of Caribbean studies conference? This year its in Guadelouope and I'm wondering if I should bend over backwards to go. If anyone has been could you contact me off-list.

Best

Joe Clarke


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