Oppenheimer Film Discussion for Philosophy and Film
Incredible India
1.
2. Largest and most populous Democracy in the
World
12th Largest Economy in nominal dollars
Population: 1.15 billion, 1.7% growth rate
70% Rural with severe cases of Urban
Agglomeration
3. Society: Family and Customs
Regional Diversity
Languages
Religion
Festivals
Cuisine
Performing Arts
Sports
Literature
Indian Film Industry
4. Strict social hierarchy
Patriarchy
Caste system
Integration of religion
Traditional Indian Families:
Large joint families
Mostly rural
Modern Nuclear Families
5. Respect for Elders
Respect one another
Being Helpful
Treat guests as Gods
6.
7. 1576 mother tongues!!!
29 languages > 1 million speakers
60 languages > 100,000 speakers
122 languages > 10,000 speakers
Two major groups:
◦ Indo-European or Indo-Aryan languages
◦ Dravidian Languages
Northern Indian:
Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Bengali and
Oriya
Southern Indian: Tamil ,Kannada, Malayalam, and
Telugu
8. Major Religions:
Hinduism – 80.4%
Islam – 13.4%
Buddhism
Jainism
Sikhism
Christianity
Plays a central and definitive role in the lives
of most people
9. National Holidays:
Independence Day – 15th August
Republic Day – 26th January
Gandhi Jayanti – 2nd October
Harvest Festivals:
Sankranti
Pongal
Onam
Religious Festivals:
Diwali
Ganesh Chaturthi
Holi
Navratri
Rakshabandhan
Dussehra
Durga Puja
Buddh Purnima
Christmas
Eid and Ramadan
10. Combination of Middle East, Central Asia and Mediterranean
Major types of cuisine:
North Indian: Mughlai, Punjabi, Kashmiri
Western Cuisine: Gujarati, Maharashtrian, Rajasthani, Goan
Eastern Cuisine: Bengali
Southern Cuisine
North Eastern
11. Theater:
Kutiyattam – oldest
Folk Theater
Puppet Theater
Modern Theater
Dance:
Folk: Bhangra, Dandiya, Garba, Ghoomar
Classical: Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Oddisi
Music:
Hindustani and Carnatic
Folk Music:
Bauls, Bhangra, Bhavageete, Dandiya, Lavani
Popular (Filmi) music
Qawwali, Rabindra Sangeet, Rajasthani
Modern Music:
Indi-pop music, Rock and Metal music, Dance Music
12. Cricket – Most Popular
Indian Cricket Team (BCCI)
Indian Cricket League (ICL)
Field Hockey – National Sport
Indian Hockey Team
Premier Hockey League (PHL)
Football (Soccer) – Popular in the East
13. Classical Literature:
Sanskrit
Tamil Sangam
Pali Canon
Epics: Mahabharata and Ramayana
Regional literature – as many languages
Contemporary Indian writers:
◦ Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Shashi Tharoor, Vikram
Chandra, Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri
14. Bollywood – Mumbai based film industry
Tollywood – Kolkata based film industry
Kollywood?
Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil,
Telugu
15. quot;It is poverty porn at its worst. The Mumbai marauders are supposed to
have done their deed to hurt India, to challenge its success, to expose
its soft underbelly. But this movie has done the job better”
Is it truth alone triumphs or lies alone triumph?
Curiosity about India’s success and growing gap between the extremes
If those involved in the movie would offer their profits from the film to
that movement, they would elevate themselves from exploiters to
benefactors.
◦ V.S. Naipaul (India: A Wounded Civilization)
◦ Vikas Swarup (Q & A)
◦ Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger)