Monday, September 8, 2008
The Namesake is hands down the best movie I've ever seen. Everything felt very accurate. I liked how the daughter and son reconciled their "cultural conflict" and found that they didn't have to understand people or be understood, it was important to love and accept and be loved and accepted. I liked how the parents quite obviously loved each other, but felt it was a silly American thing to say "I love you". I liked how the girl the son marries never reconciles her conflict, and feels torn between what she thinks she should do, and what she wants to do, and ends up being hostile and selfish, because of the conflict. I like how the son's first girlfriend is kind and loving as long as he lives on her terms, but feels alienated once he tries to do something she doesn't understand. I like how the librarian and daughter's husband accept everyone as they are. I like how the mother realizes that after all these years, America is her home too, and how the father keeps his own everywhere, because he's happy to be alive. For 2nd generation people, "home" will never be at any nation or physical place - it'll always just be where the people you love most are. Is this true for 1st generation and 3+ generation people too? I wonder...
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4 comments:
Very thoughtful observation llamajit.
I liked the movie too. It does do justice to the book except Kal penn who was very disappointing.
Apart from that...
There are lots of things I identify with Ashima - her experience in a new country away from her homeland. How she felt when her parents die so far away and how she grieves is very touching. How she wears a sari in the cold freezing weather not used to dressing right for the weather...I used to do the same...
It's a journey for Ashima who matures over time. She is conservative, closed minded, vulnerable in an unknown land but eventually makes it home..She becomes more open to other cultures over time and yet does not forget where she came from. She is childlike when she comes to US.. I found it quite funny that she marries a person based on his shoes. Later when she has kids she has to deal with a teenage son who is dating an american. She doesn't like it at first and opposes it but yet she embraces her daughter for marrying a non-Indian... However, I feel Ashima is very different from most Indians. She is an artist and moulds herself to her surrondings. She is not too conservative and does not get very upset with the cultural differences. She does not get upset with her son dating americans. She invites her son and his girlfriend over for lunch. She never tries to force her son to leave his gf which is very unlike most Indian immigrant conservative parents. She never tries to make her son feel guilty for leading his life his way and never questions him... She embraces it all...That's why I think she is different. She is more open-minded and artistic. She is quite strong once her husband dies and she feels alone yet takes strength from her kids and music at the end.
Most of the novels deal with the cultural conflict of the kids born to Indian immigrants and their story. I liked the vantage point of view of the parents and their conflicts and reconcilation and their journey in the movie.
Wow Timsy...Great observation and review from you and mrs francon. I haven't seen the movie but I have to see it now from what you guys are saying :).
Yes - thank you for the insightful post. I learned a lot from reading it. Your points are very true - and also a testament to how good a writer Jhumpa Lahari is. Though it was one story, all of the characters were so realistic and nuanced, she could have written a full story on any of them. Now I want to re-watch it with Sunshine :)
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