DVD Review: My Beautiful Laundrette
Monday afternoon my friend suggested I borrow his DVD copy of the film “My Beautiful Laundrette”. I was hesitant at first because I thought the film was going to be another classic white savior movie. I notice a theme in a lot of interracial films that the person of colour always needs empowerment from the white person. Some interracial films present the false notion that interracial relationships are fighting racism. However, some interracial relationships are based on racism because of the racist assumptions one race has about another.
Whiteness is depicted as better in many interracial movies and as superior to communities of colour. The subversive vein of racism is in order for people of colour to have better lives we need white partners.
The person of colour’s family life is often framed as originating from an oppressive culture and the European culture is presented as the only solution. White culture is depicted as open minded and perfect. “My Beautiful Laundrette”, challenges this racist notion that communities of colour are always oppressive. It is so wonderful to actually see the reverse in “My Beautiful Laundrette”.
In “My Beautiful Laundrette”, the South Asian families are actually just as prejudiced as the white British people. The Pakistani family in the film view lower class white people as inferior and lazy unwilling to work hard to move up the social ladder. I am happy to announce that “My Beautiful Laundrette” is definitely a forward thinking kind of movie.
The film is about a young Pakistani man Omar he lives with his father on welfare in 1980s London. The movie is set in Margaret Thatcher’s England where the racial tensions between the white British community and South Asians are intense. Omar dreams of a better life. his father is an alcoholic and his mother is deceased. Omar’s uncle Nasser introduces him to a new life and his ambition grows he wants the capitalist dream of material wealth. Omar believes money will give him happiness.
Omar first starts out washing cars but persuades his Uncle Nasser to let him run his own laundrette. One evening, Omar meets up with an old friend Johnny a young white British man. Johnny is unemployed, unhappy, and homeless. Johnny hangs out with a bunch of street punks that get involved in crimes, use drugs and are disillusioned about life in London. The young white men are upset that their lives aren’t better and make South Asians the targets and scapegoats for their own unhappiness.
The South Asian community in London are working hard and to rise up the social ladder in British society. The young street punks feel left behind and have a sense of entitlement due to the fact they are British.
Omar’s Uncle Salim he is the villain in the film he gets Omar involved in dirty deeds and is emotionally abusive to Omar. Omar persuades Johnny to help him fix up the Laundrette and gives Johnny a job. Johnny’s self esteem grows he now has a purpose in life and he is conflicted about hanging out with his punk friends that are miserable, racist, and anti social. Omar and Johnny’s feelings for each other grow and they fall in love.
The aspect of the movie I loved the most is the gay romance is not viewed as a social problem. It is still so rare to see a movie about a South Asian gay man that is the star of the film and being gay is not a source of conflict. “My Beautiful Laundrette” just presents male homosexuality as a part of life. Omar just happens to be gay he doesn’t make a big deal about it and neither should the audience. Gordon Warnecke gives a confident and strong performance as the protagonist Omar. Daniel Day Lewis shines as Omar’s lover Johnny.
The gay romance is tame by twenty first century standards there are a few romantic kisses to illustrate Omar and Johnny are lovers. I love the fact that Omar and Johnny have intimacy to their relationship. Far too often gay movies either conceal the gay romance or are too explicit that it destroys a film. “My Beautiful Laundrette” has a balance that is so charming and cute. Omar and Johnny have a sweet tenderness to their relationship you can tell they are in love just by the way they gently hug or look intensely at each other.
I believe “My Beautiful Laundrette” is indeed superior to other so called big budget gay films that have been released in the last few years. My perspective is if “My Beautiful Laundrette” was made in North America the whole movie would of been worse to treat homosexuality as a social issue. It is simply incredible that “My Beautiful Laundrette” was released in 1985 because the movie is so current and so real.
The main themes about the movie deal with cultural clashes between the South Asian immigrants and white Anglo Saxon population, identity politics, and also class. Class is a main theme in the movie. Omar begins to rise in the class system and starts to become a bit arrogant as well.
Meanwhile, Uncle Nasser is having an affair with a white woman Rachel and his daughter Tania and his wife know about this. Tania is depressed she doesn’t want to live in a patriarchal family and she wishes she had more to do with her life.My only criticism of the film is, I think the Tania character should have more screen time.
The issue of sexism and misogyny was explored to a certain extent. I wanted to know more why Tania was so unhappy? I wished her character was more developed. I feel Tania is just a plot device in the film but maybe this was in the intention of the screenwriter.
Tania confronts Rachel at the opening of the Laundrette and Rachel dumps uncle Nasser. I think Tania is a catalyst for change in the film. Johnny’s friends attack him in the third act of the movie because they feel he is betraying them by trying to become a productive citizen. Uncle Salim is also attacked by the street punks. Tania leaves her family and moves on with her life she wants Johnny to go with her. Johnny refuses Tania’s advances and says he loves Omar and he will not leave him.
Uncle Nasser confronts his fears that his ephemeral relationship with Rachel was doomed because he is so unhappy with his marriage. Omar’s father wants Omar to attend college. Omar and Johnny make it out in the end and remain a couple. I absolutely love this fact that neither Omar or Johnny died.
I cringe every single time a gay movie is released and one of the protagonists has to die. Of course, in real life relationships don’t always work and this has to be explored on film. However, in cinema there is a predilection that gay romances are doomed because the subliminal message is gay romance is inferior to heterosexual love. I recommend “My Beautiful Laundrette” to anyone willing to give a movie a chance that deals with gay love in a funny, clever, intelligent, and serious manner.
Lucy Liu Love Interest On ABC “Cashmere Mafia” Is White. Is This Progress Or Promoting Racism On Television?
Lucy Liu is the lead in the new ABC show “Cashmere Mafia” and the premiere will be on Sunday at 10 pm. According to media reports Lucy’s character Mia Mason is going to be a softer more vulnerable character compared to the other roles Lucy Liu has had. The public have complained that sometimes Lucy Liu has been stereotyped in movies as the dragon lady or the overtly sexual Asian woman.
On ABC’s “Cashmere Mafia” Lucy’s character Mia Mason is going to be the level headed one out of the four friends and she’s going to be more laid back. I am excited about the program because an Asian American actress is the main star once again on a mainstream network television program and it is about time.
Lucy Liu is an international superstar she has been in hit movies such as the “Charlie’s Angels” series, “Shanghai Moon”, “Payback”, and “Kill Bill”. My personal opinion is that Lucy Liu has more range then the movies she has been in recently. I think television could be a good opportunity for Lucy to demonstrate her acting talent. A lot of people forget Lucy Liu saved Ally McBeal she made the show so much more exciting and interesting.
On the blogs there has been a lot of discussion about the fact on the show “Cashmere Mafia” Lucy Liu’s character Mia Mason’s love interest is a white man. I do have a question why does the lead have a western surname instead of an Asian surname? Is this realistic? Wouldn’t it make more sense to give Lucy Liu’s character Mia Mason an Asian last name? Perhaps the writers of the show are going to avoid the issue of race with Lucy’s character and want her to assimilate as much as possible? I have thought about this for a while. I am wondering why isn’t an Asian American male actor Lucy’s love interest? Am I being too sensitive or too critical here? I wonder?
My perspective is ABC obviously wants “Cashmere Mafia” to reach the largest demographics as possible. Television executives want a new television program to appeal to a general audience. We always see Asian American women paired with white men in pop culture we don’t even question it? Hollywood promotes the image that interracial romance ares perfect, fights against racism, and is the ultimate ideal for women of colour.I also notice we rarely see men of colour with women of other races. Whenever a man of colour is on a television show he is consistently paired with a woman of the same race. So why is there this invisible code and double standard?
Almost a decade ago back in 1999 there was an explosive controversy about interracial relationships on the NBC television show ER. Eric La Salle an African American actor was very vocal about the fact he felt NBC was promoting racist stereotypes against heterosexual black love. On ER La Salle’s character was paired with a white woman and their relationship was depicted as being loving and perfect. However, La Salle’s relationships with black women was presented as negative and fractured. It was a powerful statement Eric La Salle made in the media because he was challenging the racist representations and imagery about black heterosexual love.
La Salle was correct in his analysis that NBC was being racist trying to present interracial love as the solution and the final answer. La Salle received a lot of hate mail but eventually ER discontinued the interracial relationship. La Salle had the courage to speak up about the mixed messages NBC was promoting. Just because someone is in an interracial relationship doesn’t mean the issue of racism is over. Some people enter into interracial relationships based on racist assumptions about another race. On the ABC television show “Cashmere Mafia” the classic racist message ABC is promoting is that white American men are better then Asian American men just because of their skin colour.
We don’t even wonder if the constant pairing of Asian American women with white men in pop culture is damaging or promoting racist and sexist stereotypes? Is Hollywood trying to say Asian American men aren’t good enough? When are Asian American males ever depicted as being suitable partners?
Since white Americans are the majority in the United States television still has to orientate to the interests of whites. ABC television is a business and the ideology is they have to create shows so that white people will watch the programs. The more whites that watch Cashmere Mafia the more potential advertising revenue ABC can generate. Perhaps ABC believes pairing Lucy Liu with a white man is considered more palatable for a mainstream audience? However, “Cashmere Mafia” takes place in New York City. Everyone knows New York City is very racially diverse.
Is ABC trying to say they couldn’t find any attractive and talented American American male actors such as Parry Shen, John Cho, or Russell Wong as potential love interests? What is the message ABC is sending? Was ABC afraid to pair Lucy with an Asian American male actor? Did ABC think people would cringe seeing heterosexual love between Asian people? Is there a silent fear here? Why is the heterosexual romance between people of colour never presented as loving, beautiful, and sensual?
The cultural signifers is that Asian American women are rejecting Asian American men. Asian American men are emasculated and treated as unworthy of the love of Asian women. Asian American women are always paired with white men or with black men. Is this right or promoting racism? What about Asian American men? Doesn’t anyone care? I wonder what Asian heterosexual American men think about this? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could see Lucy Liu with an Asian American man as her love interest ? Even on Ally McBeal Lucy Liu’s love interest was a white man.
The North American pop culture consistently promotes the racist representations that Asian American male sexuality is inferior to white and black male sexuality. Asian American men are rarely portrayed as sexually attractive and as masculine strong men. Asian American males are often depicted from one extreme as marital arts experts such as Jackie Chan.
The other stereotype is the sexuality of men of colour is presented as inferior to white men. For example, the Hiro and Ando characters on the NBC show Heroes are presented as nerds and effeminate. Some people may say Hiro and Ando are supposed to be the comedians on the program. However, I see this is an excuse for tacky screenwriters that don’t want to present men of colour as complex three dimensional people. Hiro and Ando are presented as the other.
Why are Asian Americans depicted as foreigners on television? Hiro cannot speak English but Ando can speak English with a thick Japanese accent. Why are the Asian American men presented as different from all the other cast members? Also, often when interracial romance is explored between men of colour and white women it is often viewed in a negative light. On the NBC show Heroes the DL character of course is a criminal and his white wife Nikki was a former stripper.
I notice there is no balance. Where are the representations of regular Asian American men? You know the nice, attractive, guys that are our coworkers and our friends. We know there are attractive Asian American male actors out there so why do we hardly see them on television and in films?
There is also the issue of white male dominance in the media. White men are always presented as being suitable partners for women of all races. However, black men, Hispanic men, Asian men, and Native American men are viewed as the other. People can say that “oh this is just a television show no big deal.” Television is a powerful medium that shapes, forms, and creates messages through images. For some people television is actually a learning tool. Television in some ways is an educator it teaches people which kinds of relationships are palatable. Television can also be deleterious it can promote racism that grows and thrives like a cancer. People need to discern and read between the lines and obtain critical media literacy. I believe the subversive message Hollywood is sending is a negative one.
The racist message Hollywood is sending is that whiteness is better and that the only men good enough for women of colour are white heterosexual men. I think this is incredibly racist and offensive on many levels. We hardly ever get to see an Asian American male actor as “the main guy”. We don’t think of Asian American men as the guys women desire, fantasize about, and want as boyfriends or husbands.
However, I think it is a very big deal I call it the Halle Berry effect. Has anyone noticed that the minute an actress of colour gains some popularity she is quickly paired with white men on television and in the movies? Look at Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, and Lucy Liu the minute these actresses of colour crossed over into the mainstream, men of colour were no longer acceptable as love interests. Don’t worry Beyonce Knowles will be paired with white male actors very shortly in the next few years.
On the television show “Ugly Betty” also on ABC all the women of colour are paired with white males. It is also interesting Salma Hayek a Latina woman is the executive producer of the show. My question is why is there no diversity? Is Hollywood trying to say heterosexual men of colour aren’t good enough for women of their own races? Or is Hollywood simply fostering the pernicious racist and sexist images?
I think there is a white male fantasy in Hollywood that women of colour need to be saved by white men. The cultural production of television shows consistently promotes this distorted fantasy. I also believe some heterosexual women of colour believe this fantasy and don’t have a problem with it. There is a dangerous precedent about this racist imagery because it treats heterosexual men of colour as inferior due to race. The fantasy is crafted and drafted by white male screenwriters, paid for by white male producers, and green lighted by white male studio executives. The other stereotype that is presented in pop culture is that in order for women of colour to “advance in Hollywood” they need to have a white male love interest.
Now I am not saying interracial romance between white men and women of colour should not occur in television and film. All I am suggesting is why isn’t there more diversity? Why aren’t men of colour on television presented as loving, nurturing, sexually attractive men? When was the last time you saw an Asian American actress in a high profile role on television besides ABC Lost with an Asian American man? I think people need to pay attention to the social constructions of race, gender, and sexuality, when watching television.
We need to be cognizant of the fact that Asian American men are being treated very unfairly in pop culture. I not suggesting “Cashmere Mafia” won’t do well I am sure it will. However, I just think it is kind of derivative that Hollywood is still promoting and fostering the same deleterious, pernicious ,and racist representations and stereotypes.
Scenes from Gabrielle Union’s Controversial New Dramatic Film Neo Ned. Why hasn’t Neo Ned been released yet?
Neo Ned is a controversial indie drama, starring Gabrielle Union and Jeremy Renner. Neo Ned has won a lot of indie festival prizes, and praise by movie critics. Yet after two long years still no distribution. Is there any hope for a release for Neo Ned? Why can’t the producers of this movie get this film into the art house theatres? I think the people behind this movie must be seeking a theatrical release still? I believe Neo Ned is the best performance of Gabrielle Union’s career, this film should be her breakthrough.
Yes the N word is used in Neo Ned, however, the movie is clearly about fighting racism and prejudice. The movie appears to be too intelligent and controversial for Hollywood. Here is a role complex, dramatic role for a black actress and Hollywood refuses to release Neo Ned due to the Hitler factor. Gabrielle’s character Rachel is clearly “pretending” to be Hitler she is a victim of sexual abuse. Why can’t people expand their thinking a bit and think outside of the box?
I mean why wait two long years? If the producers behind Neo Ned wanted a DVD release couldn’t they have gotten one by now? I think the people behind Neo Ned still want a theatrical release. Its so sad that a movie that is so controversial and so thought provoking cannot get even an art house theatre release? Neo Ned uses strong language but it really challenges the viewer to think.
Neo Ned is Gabrielle Union’s best performance. Gabrielle really shines in this clip her acting is incredible. It was so nice to see Gabrielle try something different and do a drama instead of a romantic comedy. I really wish Gabrielle would get more film roles like this instead of the saccharine roles she gets like her new Christmas film coming out in a few months. Neo Ned should of been Gabrielle’s breakthrough. No the movie is not another Monster’s Ball contrary to what some people are saying. Why can’t Gabrielle get more challenging films like Neo Ned? Gabrielle tends to be typecast in those stereotypical black romantic comedies. Gabrielle obviously needs to work but why is Hollywood so myopic about the young black woman’s experience? Why can’t black actresses be challenged with tougher more complex roles?
Neo Ned is even better than monster’s Ball. Watch this clip and you will see why Neo Ned should be released. I mean the plot is a bit out there about a black woman that thinks the soul of Hitler is trapped in her body and she falls in love with a white male Neo Nazi guy. However, “Neo Ned” is an independent film and although the language is strong the performances of Union and Renner make this movie special.
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