Breaking Gender Stereotypes
I chose to answer number 6 in the book. A popular Bollywood movie I've watched called "Dangal" follows the life of the Olympic athlete, Geeta Phogat and her father. Before she was born, her father (who made it to national level wrestling but didn't have enough support to make it to the international level) hoped for a son who would fulfill his dream of getting India's first gold medal in wrestling. But instead he got 4 daughters. He gave up all hope of his dream because he agreed with the stereotype that girls shouldn't play sports and especially ones that have a more masculine atmosphere such as wrestling. It wasn't until he witnessed Geeta and her sister beat up two boys - both older and taller than them - that he realized wrestling was in their blood. So he starts training them to be professional wrestlers. This part was already breaking so many amazing boundaries because this was 1990s in India (when many people weren't used to females doing 'masculine' things).
In the beginning both Geeta and her sister were confused because all their lives they were only taught to cook, clean, and become good wives. Their mother was the most concerned for their future, she kept stressing the fact that no one will want to marry a hunk woman. But their father didn't fall into the stereotype and kept training them to the point where they tried to make unnecessary excuses to avoid training. They said they had lice in their hair because of the dirt they were playing in, this angered their father because he had given up so much of his time and went against so many of the villagers ideal standards without any support from anyone, even his own wife. So he cut their hair short. This devastated the girls as they were teased by the village and in school about their 'manly lives'. This part highlights how society wasn't willing to accept just one family that wasn't following the stereotypes which is really unpleasant. This got better though when they finally realized how much their father was working to help them have a more promising future and special lives. He fought through so many people and gave them the support he never had. The movie was very well done and broke many gender based boundaries, it is also based on true events which makes it even better. I highly recommend watching it as it is on Netflix. Its filled with action, and occasional comedic relief, and very little drama. I also didn't mention more than the first 30 minutes of the movie so there is still lots to watch it for :)
That sounds like it would be an amazing movie to see! It's not often you see a father encouraging his girls to pursue a masculine sport like wrestling, props to their father for standing up for his family when the people around them judged them for doing it. It's very refreshing to see movies that break the stereotypical roles men and women have to play, and I like that the father realized he shouldn't force his kids into them because they are their own people who have their very own special roles.
ReplyDeleteHi Veeksha, I loved watching the movie Dangal, and it made me realize that I could do so much in my life. After watching the movie in the theater, I felt so confident and inspired because I could somewhat relate to the girls. I didn't know about Geeta's story till I watched the movie, and it was a great relief from the previous movies that I watched, which were heavy on gender stereotypes. I actually unknowingly saw Babita Kumari Phogat at the airport once.
ReplyDeleteDangal is such an incredible movie -- and quite revolutionary for Bollywood. I remember watching it in the theater when it came out and feeling in awe of their story as village girls shattering gender stereotypes and showing other young girls the ropes with their success. To your point, I also remember the girls being looked down upon by almost everybody, though the market butcher was quite generous to give them chicken as their father would endorse his shop in the future when his daughters reached fame. Great job with reflecting on this movie Veeksha...it definitely connects well to the prompt.
ReplyDeleteI would love to watch this movie. It sounds so interesting! However even if the father went against so many stereotypes, what if they don’t succeed? The father put so much pressure, it might transfer as something else and be translated as something other than love. But again, this is only part of the movie like you said!
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