In recent years, with the gradual popularity of Indian movies in mainland China, India seems to have become popular for a while, especially its negative content, such as caste system, sex discrimination, frequent rape, etc., in China Its popularity is so high that it was almost stamped with the words "hell on earth". What followed was an inexplicable sense of superiority: Indians have not solved these problems until now.
But is that true?
borrowed a movie today to talk about this topic. The movie
is "Article 15", which was quite popular some time ago. It is adapted from a real incident that happened in India in May 2014. Two girls were both hanged on a tree after being raped somewhere in Uttar Pradesh.
Subsequently, the newly appointed senior superintendent Ayan intervened in the investigation, and he discovered that this was a very bad murder.
Ayusman (starring in "The Tuner") plays Ayan
. The girls are all untouchables. After they failed to increase the daily salary of three rupees, they moved to another place to work. This move excited the high-caste factory manager An Zhu, he teamed up with two police officers to retaliate against the girls. Two were raped and killed, and the other was missing for many days. The detailed plot of
will not be repeated one by one, because the theme is already very clear: Criticizing the caste system-this kind of outdated creed that has existed for thousands of years.
As we all know, in addition to the four major castes in Hinduism, there are also the lowest untouchables (they were not even included in the caste category). They are the most miserable people in the entire system, doing the dirtiest work in the eyes of Indians, such as digging dung. , Clean up the sewers, and the leather industry that the victim girl in the film is engaged in (because it will be exposed to animal blood).
The core doctrine of Hinduism is “cleanliness”. The cleaner the lifestyle, the higher the caste, and vice versa. This is not only a lifestyle, but also a belief. People with high castes must keep their distance from caste groups lower than themselves, and the untouchables at the bottom must consciously stay away from people of all other castes, otherwise pollution will occur and the destruction of faith will occur. In the film
, there have been many vivid descriptions of this harsh caste isolation.
On the way to take office, Ayan passed by a low-caste village and wanted to buy a bottle of water to drink, but was stopped by his subordinates because they couldn't let the shadow of untouchables fall on him.
In the case of Ayan, the untouchables who came to report the case could only drink water with their hands because they did not dare to use Ayan's cup.
As you can imagine, after thousands of years of precipitation in this isolation, the untouchables are almost no longer humans, but equivalent to pollutants. This is definitely a tyrannical trampling on human rights.
So far, the film does not actually present anything new, or the content that can be known by hearsay, and I have to sigh more and more: Indians are so stupid that they maintain such an unreasonable system.
In fact, the caste system is very complicated, and Indians are by no means fools.
India’s efforts to eliminate the caste system and the progress it has made
After India’s independence, Ambedkar, known as the father of the constitution, (he was born of untouchables), has legislated to abolish the caste system, such as Article 15 for anyone Don’t be discriminated against because of caste, religion, place of birth, which is the source of the film’s title.
and you can also see in the film, not everyone discriminates against untouchables, such as Ayan and his wife are very enlightened.
The government has also been actively promoting the rights and interests of low-caste groups, such as giving them educational quotas. The female doctor in charge of the autopsy in the film, and the policeman Chataf who followed Ayan have benefited from this and were able to get employment in decent positions. .
After independence, India adopted a Western-style democratic system. With the support of the Constitution, the untouchables also have their own parties and have their own voice channels. In the film, Santiprasad is a politician elected by the untouchables. All this shows that India has made efforts to eliminate the caste system and made progress. They are not content with the status quo. Since
has improved, why are there so many conflicts between high castes and untouchables?
In fact, there are not only many. Since the independence of India, crimes against untouchables have even continued to increase. According to statistics from the National Criminal Records Bureau of India: from 38,670 in 2015 to 40,801 in 2016.
because before this, the untouchables and the high casteThe relationship is very peaceful, the most famous is the Jajmani system, that is, the master-servant relationship. Although the untouchables are squeezed, they can rely on serving the fixed high-caste masters and obtain a stable life. Both parties are in a satisfactory state. There are naturally fewer conflicts.
But after India's independence, this peaceful relationship was broken. The self-awareness of
untouchables is awakened. They are not satisfied with their status and begin to frequently challenge the existing boundaries. The most typical example is to propose a salary increase to the high caste with inherent service, just like the girl in the film. Breaking the traditional Jajmanian system and looking for new employers often angers high castes and violent incidents follow.
think about it! Three rupees is about three cents of RMB. According to the film, it is enough to buy a few mouthfuls of mineral water. Which boss would commit a murder for such a salary increase? In the final analysis, it is the traditional concept of the high caste thought represented by Anzhu that is responsible for the belief that untouchable girls provoked and insulted themselves. Incidents like
have erupted continuously since India's independence. In 1968, Tamil Nadu requested a salary increase because of untouchables. High-caste landlords and rich peasants even instigated 200 armed mobs to attack and burn untouchables’ homes, and put 43 women and children in a house and burned to death. .
Therefore, although it is unbelievable, the tragedy in the film is a symbol of backwardness and indeed a sign of progress. It is the awakening of untouchable consciousness that has led to the increase in such violent cases, especially the introduction of Western-style democracy. Untouchables can often Public opinion and the political level are fighting against high castes, so that the contradictions between castes have intensified and resentment has continued to deepen.
Therefore, in the process of trying to eliminate the caste system, the actual result obtained by the Indians is: the relationship between castes has become worse.
Why is the caste system so difficult to eradicate?
Because it has existed for thousands of years and is still linked to personal beliefs, it can be said that it is deeply rooted in the thinking of Indians. From the abolition of legal provisions on paper to the real value of people, during this period It's a gap! The most embarrassing thing is that the oppressed and discriminated party can easily be awakened, but the party with vested interests can hardly let go of the rights.
To use a possibly inappropriate analogy, look at China. How many years have it advocated equality between men and women, and is it really equal now? Has been criticizing regional discrimination, but what is the current situation? There is certainly progress, but it is really early to eradicate! At the same time, democracy is one of the few weapons in the hands of untouchables that can be used to resist the hegemony of high castes, and it often fails because of the private interests of politicians. Shanti Prasad, the local leader of the untouchables in the film, is a typical representative. He came to power in the name of untouchables, but he did not profit for the untouchables, but only cared about his own political future.
He can deliberately intensify the contradiction between the untouchables and the high caste in order to win votes. Just like in the film, when the case broke out, Shanti Prasad shouted slogans excitedly. He didn’t really care about the fate of the girls. Purely feel that he can use this to launch an offensive against the high caste parties, and at the same time, he can also group with high caste politicians for personal gain, and even personally suppress the untouchables when conditions are negotiated.
Thousands of untouchables have become pawns for a few untouchables politicians to gain a political future. It is precisely because of this that many untouchables simply choose radical and violent resistance, such as Nishad in the film.
But Nishad's actions can always be non-mainstream, and will never evolve into a vast transformation. Why? Still because of the caste system.
Many outsiders think that since the brahmin of the highest caste only accounts for 5% of the population, the remaining 95% of the population, no matter what caste, is discriminated against and oppressed. As long as they unite, won’t they succeed?
In fact, the caste system is not only a system, but also a belief: the cleaner the person, the higher the caste, and the closer to God. For Indians, rather than overthrowing the caste system, they are more inclined to prove that their caste is higher than others, and there is an unwritten unwritten rule in the caste system-Sanskrit, which is by imitating the life of a high caste Ways, behaviors, promotion of their own economic strength, and certain religious rituals, low-caste groups can raise their caste status. Although this is often not recognized by high castes, they themselves insist that they have deviated from their original caste status. Over time, gradually It evolved into a new sub-caste and became an established fact.
Over thousands of years, India has differentiated into many sub-castes, They are obviously in the same caste, but they have to distinguish each other high and low, and look down on each other. Even if they are untouchables, they have to be divided into three, six or nine classes, just like Ayan asked Chataf if he is a untouchable. His answer is: Yes, but our status is much higher than them. How can
be twisted into a rope in such a situation? Nishad was doomed to fail from the beginning.
At the same time, because the government has given some welfare benefits to low-caste groups, it has also attracted dissatisfaction from some castes in the middle position, because they do not have the status of high-caste Brahman, nor can they enjoy welfare as weak people like low-caste. Just like the Jats mentioned in the film, they are still protesting their application for being classified as a backward caste, much like the middle class in "Starting Line" who cannot be squeezed into the upper class and has to fake the quota for the poor.
In short, the chaos is like a mess.
So, don't simply judge India's backwardness, saying that they are stupid, they have been working hard and have been making progress, but the caste system is really too complicated. The most important thing is that India does not have 90% of the Han population like China, the ethnic groups are scattered, and there is no unified script like Chinese. There are many languages. Hinduism is one of their few glues. Without it, India may fall apart, and therefore No politician has the guts to touch the foundation of Hinduism. The quality of this film
personally feel that the filming is very general. As far as the theme is concerned, it is uncreative, which will only increase people’s stereotypes of India, while the truly meaningful details have been passed by, if not specifically. Knowing the caste system, the existence of these details even seems inexplicable. The protagonist of
, Ayan, is a fictional character. His character is a Brahmin who returned from studying in Europe. Is this setting good? As the senior journalist and author Dilip Mandal commented, “Dalits (untouchables) have used their sweat and blood to fight the caste system for so many years, but they have no role in the film. On the contrary, The protagonist is a Brahman. This can’t help but reminds me of movies that portray white men as'saviors'.”
And I think the setting of “study back from Europe” is more poisonous, reminiscent of the British rationalization of the colonization of India. : Because Britain represents a higher civilization, colonizing India actually saved it. In short, Ayan's feeling of being above-ground is particularly disgusting to me.
Of course, what I can’t understand the most is why I chose to adapt this rape case? There are many similar cases, and out of the concept of "cleanliness", high castes are taboo even the shadows of low castes. It is unlikely that such physical contact and body fluid exchanges will occur. Most of the time, killing or burning low castes will be the end. This case is actually a special case, which is why when someone says that the superintendent is "acting (that girl)", he will be so angry that he will kill, because for the high caste, it is a shameful behavior, but the film is like him Psychologically, there is no explanation.
Therefore, I chose the rape case and imitated the black bus gang rape case-Andu and others raped the girls in the car, which is more like a hot act, which is not only uncomfortable, but also confuses the theme of the film because it seems It is also expounding the topic of women's rights, but this piece is also fragmented and meaningless.
From the perspective of criminal suspense genres alone, "Article 15" is also very poorly done. The suspense is basically absent. You almost guessed from the beginning that the missing girl was in hiding, and there was no process of shedding her cocoon, just Making a dull running account around the appearance of the caste system, the final ending is more like forcing positive energy, personally feel far inferior to "Suicide Live Broadcast" produced by Uncle Mi.
Some people may say, at least people dare to shoot, but what I want to say is, forget it! It's better not to shoot if the shooting is so general, it's useless except to add chaos. But when I saw that the investor in the film had Netflix, I didn't want to say anything. Westerners always like to criticize countries that are self-righteous.
