George Evans Blogs

Outside Film - East to East

The film East to East offers a glimpse into the world of a family of mixed ethnicity, struggling with concepts of cultural assimilation and integration. Set in England in the mid 1970’s, the plot focuses on the half English half Pakistani Kahn family. Led by George Kahn, a first generation immigrant directly from Pakistan, and Ella Kahn, his English wife, the family has its share of cultural complications. The majority of these complications stem from George Kahn’s insistence that his sons follow traditional Pakistani customs, including arranged marriages, strict adherence to religion, and their manner of dress, among other things.

This tension erupts when George’s eldest son, Nazir, bails out of his arranged marriage last minute, causing his father to disown him. Seemingly unphased, George promptly arranges marriages for his next two sons. After a hilarious final encounter when his sons finally meet their soon to be wives, and a scul
pture of female genitalia is accidentally thrust onto their soon to be mother-in-law, the weddings are called off. When Ella Kahn finally stands up to her husband and is brutally assaulted, the family abandons him –only to come back a few days later. It is unclear how things will proceed, and the tension in the family doesn’t seem to have dissipated. There are no clear answers as the film ends.

Rogers Brubaker defines assimilation as similarity, or the process of increasing similarity. This is the case in the Kahn family. All members other than George Kahn and Maneer Kahn seem to merely put up a façade, vaguely pretending to uphold Pakistani traditions and values, and only when directly confronted about it. Brian Barry defines one of the facets of identity as “identifying with blood ties,” and in this sense most of the family has lost much of its Pakistani identity. They don’t see themselves as Pakistani, having been born in England, adopted English customs and living day to day in England. Several of George’s children have “English” hobbies, that they pursue, either to fit in or as a natural result from living and growing up in England. Nazir, the eldest son for example runs out on his arranged marriage to work as a hairdresser and is apparently a homosexual. Tariq Kahn sneaks out at night to frequent the English nightlife scene where he goes by the name of Tony, has a western style of haircut, dates a white English girl and doesn’t consider himself Pakistani in the slightest. Saleem Kahn lies to his father, pretending he is studying engineering at University but really studying art, (an illusion facilitated by his mother). Meenah Kahn wears western style clothes, and likes soccer –against her father’s wishes.

In an apparent attempt at preserving their culture, two sons seem to have backlashed again their brother’s rebellion. Abdul and Maneer Kahn are both dutiful, religious, and do not seem bothered by their father’s attempted indoctrination of Pakistani culture on them. They seem to be the odd men out, lone preservers of Pakistani culture in a family more English than Pakistani.

The Kahn family’s overall rebuke of Pakistani culture is probably due to their father’s own heavy handed nature, as well as his inconsistency of his own beliefs. His wife for example is supposed to be a “model Muslim wife”, and yet despite this, he makes her work at his business on weekends, despite the teachings of the Koran. Further, George Kahn puts his pride before the happiness of his children, disowning them if they dare cross what he says, because he knows best. In a way this makes it easier for the children to indentify with English culture –even if they aren’t accepted fully, at least they aren’t subjected to the betrayal and brutality of Pakistani culture exemplified by their father.

In the film Pakistani males are all characterized as dutiful, clean cut, and square. They all seem to pack into their caravan whenever they have to go into the city and are generally not well liked by the native English population. The English in the film are characterized as an ideal for the Kahn family to live up to, a standard imposed and set by themselves in an effort to fit in. Amongst kids, there seems to be less of a separation in culture as Sajit Kahn and Ernest, his English neighbor get along quite well.

The Kahn family seems more English than Pakistani. Perhaps with a different mother, a less heavy handed father the brothers and sister that make up the family would have been drawn to their Pakistani side more, but as it stands they find themselves more English than anything else, even if they aren’t perceived solely as such.

Alice in Wonderland

I actually didn't go to the field trip, but I had seen this one independently before. Alice in Wonderland is a remake where a 19 year old Alice travels back to wonderland. It's this surrealist experience that toys with concepts of reality, and whether or not we are truly ourselves. In the end Alice proves herself to everyone, but most importantly herself.


My experiential Notes, on all of the short films in class.

Bunny: looks real. though a bit cartoonish with its style. the realism and aburdity of the situation is a little unsettling.

the music helps add to the absurdity.

it gets crazier and crazier, perhaps a death metaphor -go towards the light. i didn't take it as a death metaphor until the end, despite visual cues such as the picture of the old bunny and her husband as newly weds.

Northfork: The sounds remind me of a toybox. It really looks like the child's dreams. The snow and buffalo add to the dream like state, every thing looks surreal.

The second clip has sadder music. And reminds me of isolation and desolation due to the lone car in the vast wilderness, looking up to the tall mountains.

Paris Texas- Desolate, dry desert...western style music.

The eagle and guy walking in a suit make it look surreal. Is he hallucianting?

Why the hat? Why the water bottle?

The green is a stark contrast. The bright colors stand out. The man's lack of speaking makes it weird.

Bright colors and sand. A mix between the two scenes. Then back to the isolation.

The child and his father near the interstate...it is like a transition.

Bright colors, and pretty women. The color red. Red shirts on both people, red lipstick.

The colors shift from red to black.


Northfork - Full Movie

Honestly I didn't quite get this film. I thought it was very weird and I didn't understand that it was actually the world through a dying child's eyes until I had a conversation with a fellow classmate about it. It was pretentious in its imagery and story and I can't quite describe why. I hated this film more than all the rest combined. It didn't leave me with a good experience.