Cinema, Transnationalism, And Colonial India: Entertaining The Raj (routledge Studies In South Asian History)

"Through the lens of cinema, this book explores the ways in which the United States, Britain and India impacted each other politically, culturally and ideologically. It argues that American films of the 1920s posited alternative notions of whiteness and the West to that of Britain, which stood for democracy and social mobility even at a time of virulent racism. The book examines the impact that the American cinema has on Indian filmmakers of the period, who were integrating its conventions with indigenous artistic traditions to articulate an Indian modernity. It considers the way American films in the 1920s presented an orientalist fantasy of Asia, which occluded the harsh realities of anti-Asian sentiment and legislation in the period as well as the exciting engagement of anti-imperial activists who sought to use the United States as the base of a transnational network. The book goes on to analyse the American 'empire films' of the 1930s, which adapted British narratives of empire to represent the United States as a new global paradigm. Presenting close readings of films, literature and art from the era, the book engages cinema studies with theories of post-colonialism and transnationalism, and provides a novel approach to the study of Indian cinema"-- Provided by publisher "Through the lens of cinema, this book explores the ways in which the United States, Britain and India impacted each other politically, culturally and ideologically. It argues that American films of the 1920s posited alternative notions of whiteness and the West to that of Britain, which stood for democracy and social mobility even at a time of virulent racism. The book examines the impact that the American cinema has on Indian filmmakers of the period, who were integrating its conventions with indigenous artistic traditions to articulate an Indian modernity. It considers the way American films in the 1920s presented an orientalist fantasy of Asia, which occluded the harsh realities of anti-Asian sentiment and legislation in the period as well as the exciting engagement of anti-imperial activists who sought to use the United States as the base of a transnational network. The book goes on to analyse the American 'empire films' of the 1930s, which adapted British narratives of empire to represent the United States as a new global paradigm. Presenting close readings of films, literature and art from the era, the book engages cinema studies with theories of post-colonialism and transnationalism, and provides a novel approach to the study of Indian cinema"--Fourni par l'éditeur Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 1 Historicizing entertainment 12 2 Modernity, identity, and the consequences of Americanism 24 Regulating cinema 24 Space and segregation 26 Misrepresentation and misunderstanding 32 Industry practices and political responses 40 3 The hybrid sensorium of Indian film 46 Cosmopolitan aesthetics 46 Comedy and modernity 51 Spiritual and material worlds 59 Nationalism and adventure 69 4 “No place for milksops”: narrating Indians in the United States 77 Empire, migration, and assimilation 77 The Indian in literature and film 80 America and empire 85 Cultivating solidarity 91 5 Empire films and the dissemination of Americanism in colonial India 102 Genre and geography 102 Cultural imperialism and a new Americanism 104 The individual as defender of imperial ideals 106 American trade and brotherhood 112 Mediation and modernization 119 Epilogue 127 Notes 130 Bibliography 152 Index 166 Entertaining the Raj