Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) are set in starkly contrasting contexts but, through similar values explored in both, we can see how concerns of the human condition are universal. Both texts explore the racial prejudice, negative stereotyping and reluctance to move forward as fundamental elements of the human condition. Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) criticises the racial prejudice and negative stereotypes of 1960s American society. The 1960s society stereotyped black Americans as aggressive and uneducated. Society’s negative attitude towards black Americans is revealed through Hilary’s close up in the art gallery scene which shows her shock
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Following the September 11, American society associated Arabs and Muslims with violence and terrorism. Society’s discrimination of Muslims is introduced in “Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard; I am a lover of America,” which shows that Changez acknowledges the Muslim terrorist stereotype. The intertextual reference to a man who lies about his identity to achieve a fantasy of the materialistic American dream in, “...a magnificent property that made me think of The Great Gatsby,” suggests Changez and Jim, who are outsiders, must change their identity to be accepted by America. This exposes the unjustified discrimination and marginalisation of Muslims in America. Whereas John is able to overcome the African American stereotypes, Changez isolates himself from American society, symbolised by Changez’s beard; It was…a sign of my protest on my part, a symbol of my identity…”. This alludes to Allah, who wished for his followers to retain beards. Moreover, Changez’s detainment at the airport, based on his appearance, is a metaphor for his isolation from society as he is pulled away from the rest of the Americans with a western appearance. Ultimately, Hamid draws attention to the negative stereotypes of Muslims, which birthed the cultural conflict between the Islamic East …show more content…
America’s forefathers were committed to progress and had a “never look back” mentality. However, the September 11 catastrophe resulted in insecurity and lack of confidence in America. Erica serves as a microcosm for American society and her nostalgia and obsession with Chris overrides her ability to handle reality and she becomes mentally unstable, foreshadowed in, “I would observe that she was utterly detached, lost in a world of her own...she was struggling against a current that pulled her within herself.” This contrasts with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, where John stands up to the dominant values of the older generation when he states, “you need to get off my back”, urging the older generation to overcome their nostalgia and accept emerging social conventions. Similarly, Hamid encourages America’s need to accept its downfall and move forward. Hamid explores nostalgia further in the metaphor, “some of my relatives held onto imagined memories the way homeless people hold onto lottery tickets. Nostalgia was their crack cocaine, if you will…” to exemplify the danger of it by likening it to an addictive and harmful drug further. Hamid warns the dangers of an anachronistic attitude which results in the downfall of
Following the September 11, American society associated Arabs and Muslims with violence and terrorism. Society’s discrimination of Muslims is introduced in “Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard; I am a lover of America,” which shows that Changez acknowledges the Muslim terrorist stereotype. The intertextual reference to a man who lies about his identity to achieve a fantasy of the materialistic American dream in, “...a magnificent property that made me think of The Great Gatsby,” suggests Changez and Jim, who are outsiders, must change their identity to be accepted by America. This exposes the unjustified discrimination and marginalisation of Muslims in America. Whereas John is able to overcome the African American stereotypes, Changez isolates himself from American society, symbolised by Changez’s beard; It was…a sign of my protest on my part, a symbol of my identity…”. This alludes to Allah, who wished for his followers to retain beards. Moreover, Changez’s detainment at the airport, based on his appearance, is a metaphor for his isolation from society as he is pulled away from the rest of the Americans with a western appearance. Ultimately, Hamid draws attention to the negative stereotypes of Muslims, which birthed the cultural conflict between the Islamic East …show more content…
America’s forefathers were committed to progress and had a “never look back” mentality. However, the September 11 catastrophe resulted in insecurity and lack of confidence in America. Erica serves as a microcosm for American society and her nostalgia and obsession with Chris overrides her ability to handle reality and she becomes mentally unstable, foreshadowed in, “I would observe that she was utterly detached, lost in a world of her own...she was struggling against a current that pulled her within herself.” This contrasts with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, where John stands up to the dominant values of the older generation when he states, “you need to get off my back”, urging the older generation to overcome their nostalgia and accept emerging social conventions. Similarly, Hamid encourages America’s need to accept its downfall and move forward. Hamid explores nostalgia further in the metaphor, “some of my relatives held onto imagined memories the way homeless people hold onto lottery tickets. Nostalgia was their crack cocaine, if you will…” to exemplify the danger of it by likening it to an addictive and harmful drug further. Hamid warns the dangers of an anachronistic attitude which results in the downfall of