Everyone is devoted to something. Whether it be music, sport, family, religion..ect. We all find something to identify ourselves with. In doing so we create this connection between ourselves and whatever we hold dear. By doings so the actions and effects of these aspects of our lives impact us in a way that defines who we are. Upon losing these valued beliefs we loose part of ourselves, we have less to identify ourselves with. Religion is found and modified throughout everyones life. Events occur that change our perception of the world. We are unable to view it how it once was and sometimes in the worse cases are unable to live with the new realization. Becoming overwhelmed with the idea of the past and how things were can destroy us, make us believe that things should be different. No matter what happens in our lives we need to understand that things are constantly changing and that we need to accept the change, notice the bad and exploit the good.
In the movie Water, we see the freedom of a young girls life taken from her at age seven. No longer is there hope and promise in her life, but instead shame and poverty. All of this is a product of cultural influence, the destructive forces the societies ideals have on the individual. Once a person is cast out of society who would stay and live a life that was forced upon them. It was unknown if the girl held those Hindu beliefs but yet she had to live under those conditions due to lack of independence. She didn't know any better and was unable to seek a life that best suited her. Chuiya kept asking to return home, which is evidence that she did not hold the same ideals as the rest of the widows. How was she suppose to conform to a life that she herself was not devoted to? As a society, forcing ideals onto others should be what we are most ashamed of. Allowing people to live for what they are loyal to should be a driving effort in every community. I hope all of us try to provoke others to live based on their own beliefs, instead of ridiculing them for their differences.
3 comments:
I agree with you that it is difficult to see eye to eye with the particular practice that is depicted in "Water". I'm not sure, however, that one can say that any seven year old of any society has any choice in the kinds of practices and beliefs they are subjected to and, ultimately, take up in their own later lives. Even in America there are practices that, even in ultra-liberal families, are imposed on the young. But it seems odd to say that the child has a right to consent at all. The sense the word 'choice' here has when it comes to a child's upbringing is quite limited. The child is learning by watching and doing, sometimes liking what s/he is doing, sometimes not. Society at large regulates what's appropriate and what's not in a general sense as to what a child is supposed to do. A family, more specifically, within a respective society will regulate what is appropriate in their views - it's quite an organic process.
But despite this fact, can we say that Chuiya was 'forced' to conform to a life she was not in agreement with? When she wanted to go home, it was to a home that was within a Hindu context. While she didn't understand her present situation, I think it's to be taken for granted that she understood the very basics of Hindu life - it's the only one she knew - although the things that are required within that culture of women she was not so informed about.
This isn't to say, however, that I'm insensitive to what you mean by 'forced'. There is a sense where a child is literally forced to do something s/he doesn't want to do when being brought up. But I think 'forced' is a specific word for the more general understanding of 'raising' a child.
In this sense, I think the word 'forced' might be slightly misplaced at Chuiya's age. We see her copying and learning other Hindu rituals of washing and praying with eagerness, and the fact that we learn that her marriage was not an unpleasant experience for her - although I don't think she knew what was going on when she ate all the sweets. But I don't want to say the word 'forced' not because I think it isn't appropriate - if it were done in our society, the word 'forced' would be all too appropriate. The reason I don't want to say it is because its sense doesn't arise in the upbringing of a child in a culture with respect to the normal practices of that culture - and I already mentioned the sense that 'raising' a child has. Yet I won't say that there weren't other practices that were completely out of bounds with that society; but I think that was made clear in the movie.
On a similar note, and I'm think this is your point, if given a choice, I think women in Hindu culture would definitely change things that adversely affect them - and in fact they are. But I don't think they would readily give up the whole kit-and-caboodle.
By the way: Great quote!
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