best/most politically correct movie

[ilekani]

Just by coincidence, in recent weeks I saw both Avan oru Sarithram and Komal Swaminathan's Anal Kaatru. Both of them are Gandhians debate Naxalites movies, no prizes for guessing who wins the debate but there are some good lines for both sides. The masses get one or two lines in Anal Kaatru, the women revolutionaries are pretty token in both.

Anyway, it got me daydreaming about politically correct movies. There was a low-budget movie called Ilakkanam a few years ago which boasted that it was purely in Tamil (no English or Sanskrit), about a Periyarite newspaper writer with feminist leanings (that he gets to teach feminism to his wife is another story). It was actually not bad, hero worshipping of course but interesting to watch.

[Avadi to America]

Amaithipadai !!!! :ashamed:

[HonestRaj]

Amaithipadai !!!! :ashamed:

:clap: :clap:

one scene want to remember..

SR giving speech about peN sudhandhiram & similar stuffs... in the background they will show the "kasturi episode"

[Plum]

aanest, nInga andha kasturi episode-ai maRakkaradhE illai. adikkadi quote pandringa . remba baadhikka pattirikkinga pOlirukke ;-)

[HonestRaj]

:P

next one:

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya

[venkkiram]

பாலம்

[app_engine]

My name is Khan

One Indian movie where there're no ultra-stereotypes or incorrect picturisations. Mostly close to reality (cinematic exaggerations are there but at very tolerable levels).

That doesn't mean the movie is extremely interesting (I felt a little too long and BGM was horrible and irritating) but very politically correct :-) A few of my A-A friends here have loved and appreciated the movie heartily!

[ilekani]

பாலம்

What is this about? I've never heard of it.

I don't think Amaithipadai really counts as politically correct, just having a corrupt policitian is not enough. Maman Magal would though, I think the self-respect marraige at the end is the only one i've seen on screen.

Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya -- my mind is boggling at the thought of a Gautam Menon movie being pc. I'm afraid to ask why.

[groucho070]

PC films? Take any MGR movies, anytime.

[NOV]

The only politically correct movie made in Tamil is Mozhi.

None before, none after.

[ilekani]

PC films? Take any MGR movies, anytime.

Actually, I would say MGR movies are fascist rather than pc -- the emphasis on taming women into patriarchal values, the exaggerated hero uplifting the cowering masses etc.

A pc movie like Avan oru Sariththiram has an element of hero worship as well, but it's a bit more explicitly inclusive of women, workers etc., talks about collective action, the role of the press etc. The disdain for religion as an opiate of the masses expressed in Anal Kattru is something I could not imagine in a MGR movie!

I was remiss in not mentioning Prabhakaran's movies, I've never seen Puratchikaran (though I want to), I saw the one with Khushboo as a battered wife and it was pretty bad though in an entertaining way, the epilogue was great though.

[Plum]

I am closer to NOV's defn of Politically Correct - as in what is obvious from his choice of movie to represent the concept - in that it seems like politically correct is being interpreted close to the rationalist thought as prevalent in TN - in its purest form,and in some cases the extreme form as represented by Paalam and the likes and not as represented by the parties that have been in power from that movement.

But that is just another bandwidth of the political spectrum, isnt it? For instance, it might be politically correct to ridicule, even abuse Hindu Gods in TN but in North India, that would be terribly politically incorrect, leading to violent consequences. Or, for that matter, religion in general - going by the definition we seem to have here, it is ok to ridicule or reject religion but how politically correct would that be in America?

[Plum]

To make my view clearer, if one took newspapers as a field of study for this aspect, one would call THE HINDU politically correct, despite the pro-China, pro-communist stance taken by the editorial team explicitly and otherwise - because of their tendency to circumvent controversy and the intent to avoid sensationalism and the determination to euphemise for certain insinuating terms.

[groucho070]

Actually, I would say MGR movies are fascist rather than pc -- the emphasis on taming women into patriarchal values, the exaggerated hero uplifting the cowering masses etc.Taming women ellam appo jagagamungga. What I thought of PC is what I'd call, "safe". No beating up the conventions, no stirring up the emotions, no battering of rules and regulations. MGR films operate within the cultural context of that time. Taming women, at the same time, mother worshipping. All within the acceptable norms of that time. Plus you don't see bloodshed. Villains do not die, most even apologise at the end. Except for three occasions, films with MGR as the lead, does not kill the hero. It's black and white. Safe. Therefore politically correct.

Films like Ratta Kaneer, on the other hand, sought to question values of the time, criticise certain accepted norms of that time, and portrayed characters that are dark, grey and dirty, usually avoided in those "black & white" films. Ratta Kanner is as unPC as it comes, for its time, and heck, even now to some quarters. Everything I said here, are all my humble opinions :D

[tvsankar]

KB in - Achamillai Achamillai.

inniki varaikum idhu dhanae nadakudhu.......

[NOV]

Politically correct means you don't offend any parties. what is this abusing believers, and calling it politically correct? :roll:

Any film that degrades women in any context (be it bar dances etc) is immediately politically incorrect. so goodbye to all MGR movies.

Only if the movie is not offensive to culture, religion, race, disability, occupation, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc etc, can it ever be considered to be politically correct.

I don't think there is any movie other than Mozhi that fits these criteria.

While taking on a subject of a woman with a disability, it did not focus on that. It was not even patronising, and thats why my conclusion.

[Plum]

NOV - I agree with your definition. I was just applying a different definition based on the movies suggested here - it seemed to me that a particular bandwidth of political spectrum was being called as politically correct here - that is to say, the definition seemed to be a mix of liberalist notions around the world, and in particular, the rational movement in TN. Again, nobody defined but the movies they quoted and the reasons pointed to that.

If you define politically incorrect as something that will raise a storm in its milieu, then abusing Hindu Gods is not a big deal in TN; nobody bothers much except a tiny sub-section, and there too, it is muted. This is not to say TN is full of non-believers - just that the tolerance levels for that particular stream of thought against religion are high even if a majority would subscribe to religion. In that sense, TN is evolved as Joe keeps pointing out. However, we seem to have new Gods now as similar thoughts against the new Gods of TN will evoke severe reprimand.

Religion holds sway, one way or the other. If you kill a religion, then you end up creating a new religion. Man just cant win, eh?

[NOV]

If you define politically incorrect as something that will raise a storm in its milieu, no, that is not correct at all.
women have been demeaned in every single movie, without a whimper from the masses.

[Vivasaayi]

politically correct movies means as of now pen singam.

few days back uliyin osai.

[Plum]

If you define politically incorrect as something that will raise a storm in its milieu, no, that is not correct at all.
women have been demeaned in every single movie, without a whimper from the masses.

True, NOV, which means that it is not politically incorrect to demean women in TN though a small minority like us may feel so :-)

[Plum]

Ok, let me make this clear. My definition of politically correct is as yours "inoffensive" - somewhat like THE HINDU which has strong opinions, nevertheless is inoffensive to all, most of the times.

But politically incorrect - that depends on tolerance levels for various streams of thought in that particular milieu. The whole reason to invent politically correct terms is to avoid offence to special interest groups. We all target the weak in our milieu and it goes unchallenged. So, you might violate the academic meaning of politically correct but still not politically incorrect because your milieu offers that protection.

[Plum]

politically correct movies means as of now pen singam.

few days back uliyin osai.

How about thottil kuzhandhai? :-)

[Sarna]

politically correct movies means as of now pen singam.

few days back uliyin osai.

mannin maindhan
kannamaa
wt else :think:

[Vivasaayi]

politically correct movies means as of now pen singam.

few days back uliyin osai.

How about thottil kuzhandhai? :-)

adhu eppo release aachu?yaaru periodla :)

[littlemaster1982]

politically correct movies means as of now pen singam.

few days back uliyin osai.

How about thottil kuzhandhai? :-)

adhu eppo release aachu?yaaru periodla :)

JJ's period when she introduced that scheme.

[Vivasaayi]

JJ's period when she introduced that scheme.


oohh...appo politically VERY VERY correct

[NOV]

True, NOV, which means that it is not politically incorrect to demean women in TN though a small minority like us may feel so :-)ippadi double negativeslaam pOtaa naama kuzhambiduvOmaa?

No!

There is no law that says that producers must make only politically correct movies. And its not that ppl will reject such kind of movies.

From Taming of Shrew and its various avathars such as Pattikaada Pattanamaa to Priyasakhi have enjoyed success. but that does NOT make them politically correct movies.

[Plum]

Ofcourse, it does not. I am not disagreeing at all, NOV.

My contention is being "politically correct" is different from "not being politically incorrect".

[Sarna]

Mozhi - oru kerchief'a eduththu kuduththa udana luvvvvvvvvvvvvvv's vandhidudhu :lol2: kerchief kadhal is politicaly correct :victory:

[rifath]

politically correct moviena enna?
:ashamed:
amaithipadai was nice
but VTvkum arasiyalukkum what sambandham :confused2: :confused2: :confused2:

[raajarasigan]

Pudhupettai - one of the most politically correct movies... :)

[raajarasigan]

JJ's period when she introduced that scheme.


oohh...appo politically VERY VERY correctallov master,.. indha padam enakku therinju early 90'sla vandhadhu... indha scheme 2001-2006 periodla pottadhu...

[NOV]

politically correct moviena enna?nothing to be ashamed of in not knowing something, instead of acting like a know-all. :)

Wiki says:
Political correctness (adjectivally, politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, disability, and age-related contexts.

[littlemaster1982]

JJ's period when she introduced that scheme.


oohh...appo politically VERY VERY correctallov master,.. indha padam enakku therinju early 90'sla vandhadhu... indha scheme 2001-2006 periodla pottadhu...

No, she brought this scheme in her first tenure as CM. Thirumba oru thadavai check pannunga :)

[ilekani]

Politically correct means you don't offend any parties.

No, that's not true. "Politically correct" is a teasing term coined by leftists to describe the more comical efforts of progressive people to act in line with leftist principles. It's ok to offend people if you offend them for the correct reasons. I assumed everyone was familiar with the term, but I gave a few examples of what I meant.

[ilekani]

women have been demeaned in every single movie.

That kind of glib assertion shirks the burden of making distinctions. I don't think women were demeaned in Sariyana Jodi for example -- which is actually a quite entertaining and well-constructed movie as well. I had never heard of it before I saw in on a bt site, and my reason for making this thread was to learn about other movies I might have missed.

[ilekani]

If you define politically incorrect as something that will raise a storm in its milieu

No not at all -- politically incorrect ideas structure societies, so it usually doesn't raise any kind of "storm", political correctness is self-conciously about the "correctness" of political line. I started out by discussing two movies (Anal Katru, Avar oru Sariththiram) that are explicitly about discussions between reformers of different stripes (Gandhians, Naxalites) on what the correct political line should be.

[ilekani]

MGR films operate within the cultural context of that time. Taming women, at the same time, mother worshipping. All within the acceptable norms of that time.

The subject of this thread isn't "acceptable norms", though, it's political *correctness*. Anyway, there were many movies of that era that were much better -- isn't it Penn that begins with Vyjanthimala whipping a man who is battering his wife? Yes, Penn is also half-baked in its way but far less nauseous than MGR movies.

It would be interesting to discuss the New Woman movies of that era, their cheerfulness is very appealing to me.

[groucho070]

It would be interesting to discuss the New Woman movies of that era, their cheerfulness is very appealing to me.Finally. It's like saying, let's discuss favourite crab dish and direct everyone to discuss only Black Pepper Crab :roll:

[NOV]

Politically correct means you don't offend any parties.
No, that's not true. :shock:
Maybe you meant that is not what you are seeking in this thread. :roll:


"Politically correct" is a teasing term coined by leftists to describe the more comical efforts of progressive people to act in line with leftist principles. It's ok to offend people if you offend them for the correct reasons. I assumed everyone was familiar with the term, but I gave a few examples of what I meant. I suppose this is something peculiar to India like "kerchief" and "my bad" - things that doesnt make sense outside the sub-continent. (probably outdated in rest of world.)

For the rest of the world, "politically correct" means exactly what I have said.

[groucho070]

For the rest of the world, "politically correct" means exactly what I have said. :rotfl: :clap:

[NOV]

yeah, I was not being politically correct when I said that.

Time for me to leave this thread. :wave:

[Scale]

Pudhupettai - one of the most politically correct movies... :)

Chinna thambi :wink:

[Scale]

Then all Shankar movies will find a place here.

[Plum]

It would be interesting to discuss the New Woman movies of that era, their cheerfulness is very appealing to me.Finally. It's like saying, let's discuss favourite crab dish and direct everyone to discuss only Black Pepper Crab :roll:

::exactly:

ilekani - ulgamellAm oru definition irukku (see NOV's references - not because references rule but thats the context in which I have heard this phrase used ALL the time)- nInga pidivaadham pidikkarInga

[Scale]

The only politically correct movie made in Tamil is Mozhi.

None before, none after.

:think:

[ilekani]

I suppose this is something peculiar to India like "kerchief" and "my bad" - things that doesnt make sense outside the sub-continent. (probably outdated in rest of world.)For the rest of the world, "politically correct" means exactly what I have said.

You are mistaken, "politically correct" was coined in the US in 70s leftist/identitarian movements to tease people who had taken "personal is political" to perhaps comical lengths. It's not about being "inoffensive" because obviously the privileged are often offended by the self-respect of the oppressed, and the Taming of the Shrew (as you said) is un-pc even if some people find its morals agreeable.

But I'm not really interested in debating etymology, I think I've done my best to clarify my intention and given many examples. I raised the question because I was interested in learning about movies I'd missed -- or I could watch Amma Ariyan (dir. John Abraham of Agraharathil Kazhuthai fame, and also about the Naxalites, but in Mallu).

(The Wikipedia link does go into the origins as I stated them, fwiw)

[ilekani]

nInga pidivaadham pidikkarInga

Well, I used the phrase"politicaly correct" to refer to a certain set of movies. It seems that there is disagreement on what the phrase means, I'm happy to change the thread title to a more suitable phrase. My aim is to direct attention to that set of movies, because they are rarer to find than "any MGR movies" and "Shankar movies".

So let's talk about Uppu or Agraharathil Kazhuthai or Maargam ... or the many movies that I've yet to hear about that I would be glad to discover...

[HonestRaj]

Politically correct means you don't offend any parties. what is this abusing believers, and calling it politically correct? :roll:

Any film that degrades women in any context (be it bar dances etc) is immediately politically incorrect. so goodbye to all MGR movies.

Only if the movie is not offensive to culture, religion, race, disability, occupation, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc etc, can it ever be considered to be politically correct.

I don't think there is any movie other than Mozhi that fits these criteria.



NOV - I agree with your definition.

Then this is the best example for politically correct film

வானத்தைப் போல

[Vivasaayi]

nInga pidivaadham pidikkarInga

Well, I used the phrase"politicaly correct" to refer to a certain set of movies. It seems that there is disagreement on what the phrase means, I'm happy to change the thread title to a more suitable phrase. My aim is to direct attention to that set of movies, because they are rarer to find than "any MGR movies" and "Shankar movies".

So let's talk about Uppu or Agraharathil Kazhuthai or Maargam ... or the many movies that I've yet to hear about that I would be glad to discover...

have u seen that movie?

[ilekani]

have u seen that movie?

Yes, though in a pretty poor print.

[Vivasaayi]

have u seen that movie?

Yes, though in a pretty poor print.

do you think thats a great movie?

it was like a student's attempt...ir u mean just about the political correctness?

[ilekani]

do you think thats a great movie?

it was like a student's attempt...ir u mean just about the political correctness?

I don't know about "great," but it was refreshing to see something so different in tone and form. It had a dream-like quality, I thought the direction was skillful, and even though the narrative is thin, it was paced well enough that I wasn't dying for it to be over.

If by "student's attempt", you mean that's the sort of self-consciously stylized movie that film students start out making, I can see what you mean but I can't say I've seen many of those types of movies in Tamil.

Anyway I just mentioned the movie because it came to mind, we could talk about Grahanam or Dweepa or documentaries like Ramaiahvin Kudisai or RP Amudhan's docs or.....

[Vivasaayi]

do you think thats a great movie?

it was like a student's attempt...ir u mean just about the political correctness?

I don't know about "great," but it was refreshing to see something so different in tone and form. It had a dream-like quality, I thought the direction was skillful, and even though the narrative is thin, it was paced well enough that I wasn't dying for it to be over.



I mean the acting,editing stuffs - very amateurish.

[ilekani]

[tscii:05c1ccb582]

I mean the acting,editing stuffs - very amateurish.

Well, here is a more admiring view from a cineaste (http://theseventhart.info/2009/07/18/flashback-64/): "It is so good to see an Indian film, after a long time, which respects the cinematic form and not just its scenario. Venkat Swaminathan’s script would have been just a hard hitting short story if not for what John Abraham does with it. Although Abraham’s style does become showy at places and the film feels like an uneven student film, the director’s conviction that form underscores and enhances content overwhelms. He draws inspiration from Eisenstein (montage is used regularly in the film), the neo-realists (location shoot and use of non-professionals) and, more extensively, Bresson (lot of detail is conveyed through off screen speech while the camera lingers on the characters’ actions). It is enough to witness just the opening few minutes of the film to see the formalist urge of the film."

And an interesting article on "angry young man" movies (http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/Tamil/text.html), both "usual suspects" and movies I'd never heard of, like Sivappu Malli and Saathikku oru Needhi. The latter was also written by Komal Swaminathan.

The challenge will be to find a pc movie not connected to mallus or KS.[/tscii:05c1ccb582]

[Vivasaayi]

ilekani,

I dont mind if it is a non professional actor or a professional...I only care about the acting delevered...it applies to other thing mentioned in that analysis.

May be a study material for a film insitute student.But for a common man - it is a shoddy movie.

[saradhaa_sn]

ஒரு கைதியின் டைரி

அச்சமில்லை அச்சமில்லை

என்னுயிர்த் தோழன்

முதல்வன்

மகா நடிகன்

[groucho070]

மகா நடிகன்[/color][/b] :shock: HR, your attention please.

[AravindMano]

Vivasayi - Please count me in. I never understood the greatness of the film. The premise and concept looked great, but the way it was done left too much to be desired. Acting was so poor.

[varunlss12]

iruvar and mudalvan.some portion in ayudha ezhuthu.

[mr_karthik]

pAlaivana rOjaakkaL

amaithi padai

makkaL Atchi

arasiyal

[HonestRaj]

மகா நடிகன்[/color][/b] :shock: HR, your attention please.

nalla padam thanE Grouch... all parties & all actors were under attack :lol: