Friday 1 April 2016

Critical note on Waiting for the Barbarian by John Maxwell Coetzee

Critical note on Waiting for the Barbarian by John Maxwell Coetzee


Nikunj Bhatti




Paper: 14 The African Literature

MA Sem: 4

Year: - 2015-16

Email id: nikunjbhatti332@gmail.com

Submitted: Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University







Ø Introduction

John Maxwell Coetzee is a novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.  He writes many novels. It was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial prize and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. It is first published in 1960. His first work of fiction was Dusklands written in 1974.The second one is Waiting for Barbarian in 1980. "Waiting for the Barbarians" is a novel published in 1980. “Waiting for the Barbarians” is about morality and it deals with human cruelty. The title is from a tone from the Greek post “Constantine P. Cavafy”. The story was about imaginary Empire.

Ø Main characters:


·        The Magistrate

The Magistrate is the story’s first-person narrator. He is an administrator of a territory belonging to an unnamed empire; he admits to his laziness, his fondness for young native girls, and his satisfaction with the old ways of imperialism, he still emerges as an admirable and sympathetic character. He searches for some significance in his own wasted life. The Magistrate represents all men and women who face not only their inherent weaknesses but the forces of totalitarianism.

·        Colonel Joll

Colonel Joll was an official in the mysterious Third Bureau and an arm of the Civil Guard. He was created to protect the empire, which is threatened by barbarians.

·        Unnamed girl

Barbarian girl blinded and crippled by the Third Bureau, she is left behind by her people and taken in by the Magistrate. A prostitute she lives and works in the inn, visited by the Magistrate. Two conscripts and a guide they travel with the Magistrate to return the girl to her people, they give testimony against him to the Third Bureau.

Ø Themes

·        An exploration of an idea of barbarism:

Coetzee uses his great skill to underline the irony in these final lines. The barbarians those menaces the towns are never seen, the “absurd prisoners” brought back by the Third Bureau are abject and ridiculous. We are never brought face to face with the enemy, who is able to evade the Empire‛s reach. The people‛s need for the barbarian is palpable.
When we see or read poem by Cavafy we come to know about the poem that the poem is explores the necessity of the “other” to the function and exercise of imperial power.
·        Theme of Violence

Coetzee represent both type of violence physical as well as mental. Waiting for the Barbarians marks a discernable change in Coetzee’s treatment of violence in the sense that unlike in Dusk lands here Coetzee redirects his attention from the perpetrators to the victims of tortures and to the witness of atrocities who don’t   suffer themselves but who are demoralized by the violence of others. the novel Coetzee shifts focus of his interest from the tortures to the consequences of their aggressiveness the impact violence has on the oppressed and on those who are not directly subjected to brutality but who are aware of oppression of others. Coetzee intentionally used the word violence because it has its own importance the crucial question is about the meaning of violence for an individual, that is how an individual person come to understand violence on one’s own terms.

·        Power

We can see the themes like Power in this novel because when we read the novel we get sympathy with the people who were barbarians according to other people who ruled over them the people were tortured and killed by the empire‛s people the third bureau were wants to ruled over the people and they wants to control The Magistrate has power over the soldiers and civilians, and the Colonel has power over the Magistrate, as with any hierarchy. In this story, power is authority.

·        Torture

Torture was used on the “barbarians and also on the Magistrate. But the Empire did not even know who was who where the frontier was concerned. Colonel Joll interrogated the old man and his grandson in the beginning of the book using torture.

Ø Symbolism

This novel is rich in symbol and meaning. Among them the movement of the seasons, the time of nature, set in pointed opposition to the time of human history. The novel begins in late summer, at a time of harvest and bounty and ends at the verge of winter, and the end of civilization as known by the town‛s inhabitants. Even in the very beginning the oblivion that threatens is introduced in a dream motif, which anticipates the novels final pages as well as the barbarian girl.

§  The empire: The empires represent power that doesn't require that those who serve it love others but merely perform duties.

§  Barbarians Tribes: According to rumours barbarian tribes have been arming and the empire would have to employ measures to prevent war.


§  Square: the square can be seen from the Magistrate‛s window. And he can see prisoners arriving from there.

§  Third Bureau: The third Bureau is described as an unsleeping guardian of the Empire being an investigative agency.




Ø “Waiting for the Barbarians” as an allegorical novel



It was intended as an allegorical attack on apartheid South Africa. Magistrate (narrator) – a kind of all an bureaucrat against  and Colonel Joll, A young barbarian woman. In Coetzee’s words Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel about “the impact of the torture chamber on the life of a man of conscience”. Protagonist protest social unjust to Empire, but he still looks at the barbarians as a dangerous tribe. The identity of barbarians  were regarded as only “others”. Magistrate relates that, There is no woman living along the frontier who has not dreamed of a dark Barbarian hand. No man has not frightened himself with visions of the barbarians carousing into his home breaking the plates, setting fire to the curtains, raping his daughters.

It is against the image of the dark barbarian that Eurocentric cultures have constructed their fragile sense of civilization and identity. The proponents are deserted in the desert. Revisiting of the novel today provides us an urgent need for political recovery of our common humanity. The novel is a kind of debate that the natives are human or animal being.

Ø Silence in “Waiting for the Barbarians”

This novel mainly based on ‘silence’ or ‘colonialism’  or ‘Neocolonialism’.
This novel’s roots is in the poem of ‘C. P. Cavafy’ wrote the same title with poem ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’ In which all people are ‘Waiting’ for the Barbarians’. But, after putting this kind of word writer and poet both of plays chess with readers.

Edward Said’s Concept of ‘Orientalism’ also helpful to understand the ‘Silence’ of this novel, like
Orient   ­->Native
Occident    ->Western


Ø Postcolonial Analysis of J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians

Coetzee is sensitive and faithful to the colonial history of his native country. This sensitivity has led Coetzee to talk about the universal struggle between the oppressed and oppressor as a main thematic perspective in his narratives. In postcolonial writing, he justifies the position of the other by revealing the damaged and deformed South African life under apartheid.

In order to prove its position as a superior and civilized nation and culture, Empire attempts to validate the existence of the native inhabitants of the area. In fact, since the barbarians are being awaited any time and everywhere in the town, in each reported attack or case of rape or plundering, they are immediately blamed for the illegal act- guilt, crime or burglary without, any evidence. When the magistrate is sent to prison, a soldier talks about them as: “Barbarians. They cut away part of the embankment over there and flooded the fields. No one saw them” (Emir)

The Magistrate’s relationship with the blind and lame barbarian girl can be understood and read as part of a colonial narrative of which sexual fantasies towards the other and fear from the other are part. The partly “filial” relationship between the Magistrate and the barbarian girl “becomes a metaphor for the relationship between colonizers and colonized under the Empire, and sometimes sexual connotations”

The Magistrate’s end, though ambiguous and unpromising, seems to be ethical in the sense that he is now on the right track of resistance and search for freedom. At the end of the novel and in its last chapter, the whole place turns into a mess as the colonizer loses control and the soldiers themselves turn into thieves. The Magistrate refuses to leave the place and decides to tell the truth. (Al-Badarneh)

Ø Conclusion

“Waiting for the Barbarians” can also be criticized as violence on women. The women were marginalised by tribe people and by power show the dark side of the time. So we can say that this novel is about human violence and the waiting which never ends.

v Works Cited


v  Al-Badarneh, A. F. Waiting for the Barbarians: The Magistrate’s Identity in a Colonial Context. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science , 5.
v  Emir, H. E. (n.d.). A Postcolonial Analysis of J.M. Coetzee’s Two Novels: Waiting for the Barbarians and Life and Times of Michael K. 2.



Cinema

Cinema


Nikunj Bhatti


Paper: 15 Mass Communication & Media Studies


MA Sem: 4


Year: - 2015-16


Email id: nikunjbhatti332@gmail.com


Submitted: Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University





v Abstract:

The cinema occupies a very important place in modern life. In every large city, there are several cinema houses, while even the smallest town can boast of one or two. Mobile cinema houses now reach even the remote villages. Young and old, men and women, all like to enjoy a picture. In big cities, thousands may be seen every evening going to enjoy a cinema show. There is another definition of cinema that it is a medium that does reflect the true mood of the society and also that changing reality. Films mean the particular movies that we see with all the elements they contain and cinema means the some of the means made possible only by film technology which distinguish cinema.

 Keywords: cinema, society

Ø What is a Cinema?

·        “A cinema is a theatre where films are shown to the public. A building consisting of several cinema halls is called a multiplex.”

·        Cinema is a reflection of society, both present and past.
·        Cinema is a form of communication.
·        Cinema powerful vehicle for culture, education, leisure and propaganda


Cinema is a good medium for entertainment. Cinema is no doubt one of the wonders of the present age. Cinema is a film i.e.… a story etc. recorded as set of moving pictures to be shown on screen of a theatre house and television. It is a channel of expression and communication. The cinemas one of the most important inventions of modern science.


          Cinema has been one of the greatest influences in our modern life, and it’s also a form of art, the seventh art along with photography, architecture, literature, play, painting and music. It’s the combination of technology, business, entertainment and aesthetics ,each and everything of these four has important role in present day world and it’s also visible in the variation of its forms, Film is technology, movie is the business and entertainment, and cinema is the aesthetics. (Istiak)

       Short History of Indian Cinema
In the Year 1913 Raja Harishchandra by Dadasaheb Phalke  was the first silent feature film made in India. Raja Harishchandra movie was inspired from the story of Mahabharata. The film had titles in Hindi and English, and was released on May 3, 1913 at the Coronation Cinema in Mumbai.



The first audience to experience a moving film did so in 1895. The film, by the Lumiere brothers was called “Workers leaving the Lumiere Factory (1895)”  Their film “Train Entering the Gare de Ciotat (1895)” caused people to faint with fear as the train loomed from the screen into the theatre auditorium. These films did not carry a story or narrative they merely showed a moving image on the screen.


The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931), was a major commercial success. 1930 Achhut Kaniya, meaning 'Untouchable Maiden'. Great Movie This introduced the famous actor, Ashok Kumar from Bhagalpur, Bengal, whose full name was Sanjay Ashok Kumar Ganguly. The leading female role, as the untouchable maiden, was played by Devika Rani, wife of the producer, Himanshu Rai, and joint owner with him of Bombay Talkies. The Indian Masala film—a slang used for commercial films with song, dance, romance etc., came up following the second world war. The partition of India following its independence divided the nation's assets and a number of studios went to the newly formed Pakistan. The strife of partition would become an enduring subject for film making during the decades that followed. The first use of animation in movie was 1899. By 1914, continuity in cinema was the established mode of commercial cinema.  Kisan Kanya was a 1937 Hindi feature film directed by Moti B. Gidvani. It is largely remembered by the Indian public on account of it being India's first indigenously made color film.


Ø Regional Cinema





»      Hindi cinema

The 1970s saw the advent of Masala movies in Bollywood. The audiences were captivated and mesmerized by the aura of actors like Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini, and many others. The most prominent and successful director, Manmohan Desai was considered by several people as the father of Masala movies. According to Manmohan Desai, “I want people to forget their misery. I want to take them into a dream world where there is no poverty, where there are no beggars, where fate is kind and god is busy looking after its flock.”

Sholay, the groundbreaking film directed by Ramesh Sippy, not only got international accolades but also made Amitabh Bachchan a ‘Superstar’. Several women directors like Meera Nair, Aparna Sen and others showcased their talents in the 1980s. How can we forget the extraordinary and splendid performance of Rekha in the film Umrao Jaan in 1981.


International visibility came to the industry with Raj Kapoor's Awara. Hindi cinema grew during the 1990s with the release of as many as 215 films. With Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Hindi cinema registered its commercial presence in the Western world.

»      Gujarati cinema

The film industry of Gujarat started its journey in 1932. Since then Gujarati films immensely contributed to Indian cinema. Gujarati cinema has gained popularity among the regional film industry in India. Gujarati cinema is always based on scripts from mythology to history and social to political. Since its origin Gujarati cinema has experimented with stories and issues from the Indian Society. The first Gujarati movie, Narasinh Mehta, was released in the year 1932 and was directed by Nanubhai Vakil.




  


»      Bhojpuri cinema

Bhojpuri cinema was struggling for its survival and was in a dying state. But the joint endeavor of the artists, directors and producers of Bhojpuri cinema revived the industry by making it profitable again. Bhojpuri cinema came into being in the year 1961 with release of first Bhojpuri film, Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo This film was produced by Biswanath Prasad Shahabadi.

The industry was revived and took off  again in 2001 with the “Silver Jubilee” hit “Saiyyan Hamar”, catapulting the hero of the film, Ravi Kissan, to superstardom.

»      Bengali cinema

The Bengali language cinematic tradition has had reputable filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen among its most acclaimed. Recent Bengali films that have captured national attention include Rituparno Ghosh's Choker Bali, starring Aishwarya Rai. Bengali filmmaking also includes Bangla science fiction films and films that focus on social issues. In 1993, the Bengali industry's net output was 57 films.
The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890, when the first “bioscopes” were shown in theaters in Kolkata. The ‘parallel cinema movement began in the Bengali film industry in the 1950.


Ø Types of cinema

·        Commercial Cinema:
The aims of Commercial Cinema to providing entertainment to the people.it include the ingredients of popular cinema star high budget, abundance of music, song and dance. It mostly resorts to phantasy to provide entertainment to people. For example, films like Sholay, Muqhddar Ka Sikandar etc,

·        Art Cinema:
The Art Cinema is more realistic and relevant in the needs of people and society. This form is not very popular. It is also called ‘parallel cinema’ ‘alternative cinema’ or ‘New main stream of commercial cinema’. Their dominant feature were their social concern, purposefulness, realism, narrative style, exclusion of unrelated songs, dances and fights and other familiar devices of commercial package.

·        Documentary Films:
Documentary is an idea or theme uses the realistic material in order to dramatize its idea, it tells its simple story in terms of beings and human interests. Sometimes can be exhibited in school, village and labour areas through mobile vans so that a number of children can take advantages of these this film.

v Impact of cinema
Indian Cinema is gratifying the changing reality. Society and Cinema are replicate of each other. We Indians are more affected by Television and Cinema. The children and youth who try to mimic what we see in the cinemas. 20th century has many scientific inventions to its credit; The Cinema occupies an important place among them. In our society there are many practices and traditions which are based on ignorance and which have withheld the progress of our society.

Ø Negative impact of cinema and Bollywood on society and Indian culture

·        Bollywood is promoting western life style
·        Youth follow it like it is some holy Gita, Quran, or Bible
·        Film industry affects the youth a lot now days movies are without stories, logics, completely vulgar showing unreal & impossible scenes (people are crazy behind these)
·        Youth – going to bar, drinking, smoking is cool those who do not do – not enjoying life
·        Traditionally dressed boys or girls – old models, villagers
·        Spoiling the youth life

-         Use of bad language
-         How to flirt with girl
·        Children’s are influenced by bad parts

Ø Positive impact of cinema and Bollywood on society and Indian culture

·        Raised the issue of Widow’s remarriage. Film Baabul
·        Find virtue of representing elders.
·        In some movies, women as strong –independent character, make decision for herself, in Mardani, Merry com, etc

·        Some movies gives knowledge
i.e. 3 idiots, Tare Zamen Par

We can say that every movie has good and bad things – depends on your mind how to take it positive side – moral message or discuss about some contemporary issue.

“A good film is higher than any education and a bad film is more injurious than poison.”

Ø ‘Cinema’ and ‘Censorship’ in India    

§  What is Censorship?

"An official who examines books, films etc. and bans anything considered offensive or a threat to security."

§  The Central Board of Film

       Certification, the regulatory film body of India, regularly orders directors to remove anything it deems offensive, including sex, nudity, violence or subjects considered politically subversive.


In 2002, the film ‘War and Peace’, depicting scenes of nuclear testing and the September 11, 2001 attacks, created by Anand Patwardhan, was asked to make 21 cuts before it was allowed to have the certificate for release.




Encourages Artists: It is a medium that encourages artists – such as performers, singer, dancers, script writer, camera-man, and director to show their talent at their best.

Refreshment: If we feel tired, we can go to a cinema house and see a 1lm. It will relieve our monotony and give us a lot of refreshment. The cinema affords us much relief of the anxieties of life.

Entertainment: It also has great entertainment value. Most of us lead a poor, dull, and humdrum life. We want some thrill and romance, and a means to escape from the hard realities of life. In this respect nothing provides us so many interesting and entertaining things as cinema does. Movies cater to the tastes of different men and women. A light-hearted person would like a comedy film. Some people have liking for action movies. Some like drama films while other have liking for devotional films.

Exposure to Excellent Art Work: Besides acting, it presents us excellent camera work, songs and dances, exciting and romantic love scenes, and heavenly natural scenery of distant places.

Educative value of Cinema: The educative value of cinema is no less. Almost every film tries to teach a moral lesson. In the end the villain is vanquished and the hero, despite enormous difficulties, ultimately winds.

v Film Criticism

Ø What is a Film Review?

The film review is a popular way for critics to assess a film’s overall quality and determine whether or not they think the film is worth recommending.

Film reviews are assessments of the aesthetic, entertainment, social and cultural merits and significance of a current film or video. Reviews tend to be short to medium length articles, often written by a single staff writer for a particular publication. In most cases, the chief aim of a review is to tell the reader whether the film is worth going to see. (Film Reviews and Film Criticism: An Introduction)





v Journalistic criticism

Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the medium. The vast majority of film critics on television and radio have all but disappeared over the last thirty years. Today arts criticism in general does not hold the same place it once held with the general public. Many critics analyze films by their inexhaustibility, or the ranges of their impacts, their appeals on to generations of fans beyond original release date.

v Academic Criticism

More often known as film theory or film studies, academic critique explores cinema beyond journalistic film review. These film critics try to examine why film works, how it works, what it means and what effects it has on people.

Ø Literature with Cinema

The Study of Literature casts light on the meaning in the film, and the study of the film can illuminate the full value of the Literature. According to Arnold Literature is a Mirror of Society that is deals with realistic image of society. Now literature tune into Films.

Literature
Cinema
The Guide
Guide
Hamlet



Haider
2 Statues
2 Statues
3 Idiots
Five Point Someone



INDIAN CINEMA has virtually become a parallel culture. Talk of India with a foreigner and debate virtually centers around Indian films
- Amitabh Bachhan


v Conclusion

Cinema is a good medium for entertainment. Cinema is no doubt one of the wonders of the present age. There is hardly a man who is not fond of the FILM. In the 20th century, Indian cinema, along with the Hollywood and Chinese film industries, became a global enterprise. Indian cinema has become a part and parcel of our daily life whether it is a regional or a Bollywood movie. It has a major role to play in our society. Though entertainment is the key word of Indian cinema it has far more responsibility as it impacts the mind of the audiences.



Ø Works Cited


·        Film Reviews and Film Criticism: An Introduction. Ed. Gary Handman. <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/filmstudies/filmreviewsintro.>.
·        Istiak, Mahmood. "Influence and Importance of Cinema on the Lifestyle of Educated Youth." Journal Of Humanities And Social Science 17.6 (2013): 7-80.