, Hollywood now made a film based on it that' starring Julia Roberts. Now one has to be persecuted by the pushy advertisement of both novelistic and cinematic versions of this cultural imperialist journey.If you are as annoyed by the whole eat-pray-love phenomenon as I am, check out this great post that analyzes the imperialist ethos of this book/movie.
I can't resist adding a great quote from this talented blogger:
There is a vampiric assumption among white class-privileged U.S. people that the rest of the world is, variously: our backyard; our playground and war (battle) ground; our swimming pool; our diamond mine; our lumberyard; our petrol refueling station; our garbage dump; our marketplace and mall; our international cafe and restaurant; our summer home and winter resort; our sea-shell collection site; our South Pacific and Caribbean get-away paradise; out dating hot spot; our sex club and brothel; our predatory child-, transgender-, and woman-rape is-not-a-crisis centers; and our wage and sex slave trafficking post--actually there are hundreds of international stop-and-shop "trading" locations.Read more at the link above.
14 comments:
why you think lie to me is sexist....sorry my english is not good
Because it reinforces the gender stereotype of men acting on science and knowledge and women acting based on "intuition" and feelings. Also, it shows a male character who's authoritative and in charge and a female side-kick who is blundering and useless without him. Of course, she is also super skinny even though she eats junk food in every frame.
thank you thank you
I'd never heard of it before. The closest thing I've come across is "Eats, shoots and leaves" -- a book about punctuation.
Sounds like I'm lucky.
Javier Bardem. WHY OH WHY?
Ol.
"Eat, pray and love"
Clarrisa, I agree. The world's one big consumerist playground for American media & culture: foods, religions and customs open for a more selective "globalized" consumptions. I agree it's a "cultural imperialist" journey but one in which the viewing public, probably media studies elitists and late-captitalists are all complicit. But globally the American pattern can make its competitors abroad (in Europe & Asia) disintegrate from within in a sort of devious reduplication with disastrous results for their own native cultural integrity.
It'd be interesting to contrast this Westernized ("imperialist") model to a Bollywood cinema industry that's oftentimes portrayed as more attuned to traditional Indian values of religion & local custom and can therefore be seen as a challenge to American domination. Which is a false view, of course.
As Faiza Hirji says in her online paper entitled "When Local Meets Lucre: Commerce, Culture and Imperialism in Bollywood Cinema" (http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/fa05/graduatefa05/gmj-fa05gradref-hirji.htm), "Bollywood films not only ape selected Hollywood tendencies in terms of production, writing and marketing, they also reproduce patterns of cultural domination, primarily marketing Hindi-language films to a diverse community whose languages include Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil, among others. It becomes difficult to reconcile this image of a monolithic entertainment industry with the notion of an indigenous culture that successfully demonstrates resistance in the face of hegemonic oppression."
I mention this as an example of the pernicious way American cultural imperialism has the potential, through its late-capital globalized outreach, to make even competing cinema industries literally turn themselves out, pandering to foreign models (by which they profit, of course) and making real traditions and practices and undercutting its potential to act as a true resistance.
"Eat, pray and love"
Clarrisa, I agree. The world's one big consumerist playground: foods, religions and customs open for a more selective "globalized" consumptions. I agree it's a "cultural imperialist" journey but one in which the viewing public, probably media studies elitists and late-captitalists are all complicit. But globally the American pattern can make its competitors abroad (in Europe & Asia) disintegrate from within in a sort of devious reduplication with disastrous results for their own native cultural integrity.
It'd be interesting to contrast this Westernized ("imperialist") model to a Bollywood cinema industry that's oftentimes portrayed as more attuned to traditional Indian values of religion & local custom and can therefore be seen as a challenge to American domination. Which is a false view, of course.
As Faiza Hirji says in her online paper entitled "When Local Meets Lucre: Commerce, Culture and Imperialism in Bollywood Cinema" (http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/fa05/graduatefa05/gmj-fa05gradref-hirji.htm), "Bollywood films not only ape selected Hollywood tendencies in terms of production, writing and marketing, they also reproduce patterns of cultural domination, primarily marketing Hindi-language films to a diverse community whose languages include Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil, among others. It becomes difficult to reconcile this image of a monolithic entertainment industry with the notion of an indigenous culture that successfully demonstrates resistance in the face of hegemonic oppression."
I mention this as an example of the pernicious way American cultural imperialism has the potential, through its late-capital globalized outreach, to make even competing cinema industries literally turn themselves out, pandering to foreign models (by which they profit, of course) and making real traditions and practices and undercutting its potential to act as a true resistance.
This ethos not only extends to the rest of the world, but here in the U.S. as well. Witness upper-class appropriation of Native American and Mexican (i.e. Dia de los Muertos) spiritual traditions, ironic hiptser adaptation of working-class dress and mannerisms, inner-city gentrification schemes that render participation in city life for long-time lower-income inhabitants untenable, etc. To add insult to injury, this sort of venality is often visited by people who perceive themselves as being progressive, often obscuring any cultural inroads or actual achievements real progressives may make.
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.
I agree with what you've said, the quote, all of it.
It makes me sad, the popularity of the vapid drivel.
GAG standard orientalist fare combined with vapid American tourism. I cannot believe that woman got a book deal out of her "life journey" based on stereotypes. I'll eat in Italy, get spiritual in India and find love in Bali. How original. Indonesia food is quite tasty as is Indian and the Balinese spiritual traditions are quite unique as a sort of inholding of Hindiusm. I remember the woman at sundowm making offerings at these lovely raised alters on poles near the water and outside their homes. I could go on but why? People will eat it up with Julia Roberts taking them on a "profound" and "meaningful" experience from the comfort of their A/C theater seats in 90 minutes.
I just want to applaud feMOMhist's comments. Mind reader, you are. :-)
I agree! feMOMhist: you rock!!
Here is feMOMhist's blog, everybody:
http://femomhist.blogspot.com/
thanks
and Clarissa I added you yesterday to my blog roll !
Post a Comment