LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Student Film Presentation 2005

8 Nov. 2005

Film Highlight of part 1 of the Masterpiece Theatre production of White Teeth.

The film White Teeth, based on Zadie Smith's first novel published in 2000, is about fate, history, and relationships.  It fits very well into our discussion with its clash of cultures and the struggles between tradition and modernity.  It goes beyond the other immigrant novels in the class in that it shows the problems between generations and the experiences of the children of immigrants.

Archie and Samad become acquainted during their service in WWII with the British army.  Samad urges Archie to kill a Nazi prisoner, somehow taking an active role in his own destiny.  "Our children will be born from our actions," he says.

Samad re-enters Archie's life in the 1970's when Archie's marriage has ended and Samad is immigrating to Britain.  Samad is full of confidence about his new life and possibilities.  His impending marriage  to Alsana has been arranged by their families since 1946, even though she wasn't born until 1955.  Blood, family, tradition, and taking control of one's destiny are important to Samad.

Archie attempts suicide, fails, and takes that as a positive sign.  He happens upon an irreverent End of the World party where he encounters hippies, drugs, free love, and Clara, a young Jamaican.  Clara is the inspiration for the party's theme because her Jehovah's Witness mother, Hortense and her fellow witnesses are obsessed with not just the end of the world, but knowing exactly when it will happen and eagerly preparing for it.  Clara has rebelled against her mother's ideas, but just before the appointed apocalypse, Clara has a moment of fear and kisses Archie.  They're married shortly thereafter.  Archie's life is built on chances--often flipping a coin to decide important issues.

The first film clip is from 1984, when Samad has been forced to work as a waiter in his cousin's restaurant, his wife doesn't respect him, and he his having impure desires that conflict with his Muslim faith.  (This is in addition to his regular consumption of alcohol.)

Note Samad's "mantra," "To the pure, all things are pure."  What does that mean?  Does it make any sense?

Nature or nurture?  Is a person's family background or current culture more influential in their beliefs and behavior?   Can you separate belief and behavior?

What happens when the background and current culture aren't the same, as with Samad and his children?

Magid response to Samad's reminding him of his famous ancestor:

"What does it matter, when you're just a waiter?"

Does it matter and to whom?

The second clip comes after the PTA meeting, Harvest Festival, and the start of the affair with Miss Burt-Jones.  Samad has slipped from immoral desires to actions, and is agonizing over what to do next.  Religion and family are still central to his concerns, but conflict with his actions.

In the pub, notice Archie's solution to Samad's moral dilemna.

Would you say Samad is lost, not faithful?  Is he asserting his religion to preserve his culture, that which is familiar and comfortable to him?  Are his problems common ones that many people face, but he blames his new country?

What roles do your religion, culture, and personal experience play in your beliefs about fate? 

Note Shiva's statement, "It never works; too much history," illustrating colonialisms' pervasive power into personal lives.

Samad says he must be true to his family, his religion...and send his sons back to Bangladesh.   Is he being true to anything?

After the assassination of Indira Gandhi, Alsana says, "this isn't their country, but at least they won't die in the street like rats."