Vidya Balan at the 66th Cannes Film Festival

Happy Mother’s Day

rajkumaris:

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HINDI-LANGUAGE FILM INDUSTRY

please keep in mind that all of these titles are available for purchase on sites like amazon.com, and that if you enjoy a film, you should buy it! I had to leave out a number of films because they aren’t available online with English subtitles, but they can most likely be found in a store or rental site/place.
I do not subscribe to the belief that you need to be “eased into” a new medium or industry of film. Bollywood is not a genre and you’ll find films with widely varying styles and subject matters under the cut, from mainstream song-and-dance romantic comedies to arthouse and parallel works. this post is an attempt to shine light on films that can serve as excellent introductions to one of the most successful and fascinating film industries in the world. it is not meant to showcase The Best in Hindi Cinema. if you’d like to know more about the industry, or ask for more recommendations, feel free to message me!

all films here have English subtitles and are listed by year of release; please tell me if there are any defunct links so I can replace them accordingly. new films and links will be added as I watch/find them.

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visually stunning ambience of raavan

maroutian:

Why I Am a Male Feminist

The word turns off a lot of men (insert snarky comment about man-hating feminazis here) — and women. But here’s why black men should …be embracing the “f” word.

Like most guys, I had bought into the stereotype that all feminists were white, lesbian, unattractive male bashers who hated all men. But after reading the work of these black feminists, I realized that this was far from the truth. After digging into their work, I came to really respect the intelligence, courage and honesty of these women.

Feminists did not hate men. In fact, they loved men. But just as my father had silenced my mother during their arguments to avoid hearing her gripes, men silenced feminists by belittling them in order to dodge hearing the truth about who we are.

I learned that feminists offered an important critique about a male-dominated society that routinely, and globally, treated women like second-class citizens. They spoke the truth, and even though I was a man, their truth spoke to me. Through feminism, I developed a language that helped me better articulate things that I had experienced growing up as a male.

Feminist writings about patriarchy, racism, capitalism and structural sexism resonated with me because I had witnessed firsthand the kind of male dominance they challenged. I saw it as a child in my home and perpetuated it as an adult. Their analysis of male culture and male behavior helped me put my father’s patriarchy into a much larger social context, and also helped me understand myself better.

I decided that I loved feminists and embraced feminism. Not only does feminism give woman a voice, but it also clears the way for men to free themselves from the stranglehold of traditional masculinity. When we hurt the women in our lives, we hurt ourselves, and we hurt our community, too.

~ Byron Hurt
Read his entire post: http://www.theroot.com/views/why-i-am-male-feminist?page=0%2C0

Photo by Ellis Binks