"The Upside-downess of the World as it Unfolds" and "Chutney Popcorn"

In connection with The Upside-downess of the World as it Unfolds, tonight I viewed a film called Chutney Popcorn directed by Nisha Ganatra about a lesbian couple, one partner being Indian and the other Caucasian, caught between the cultural and social ties of acceptance. In short, the film centers around two couples: Sarita (Indian) and Mitch (Caucasian) and Reena (Indian) and Lisa (Caucasian). When Sarita discovers that she is incapable of having a baby, Reena, her sister, offers to be a surrogate mother. As the film progresses, both relationships are challenged and put to the test as to whether or not they will survive the pregnancy.

What strikes me as interesting are the similarities that run between both texts:

Both Indian mothers do not accept their daughters as lesbians. Mootoo’s text completely rejects the relationship between the straight mother and the lesbian daughter; the narrator comments “when my mother found out (a story in itself) that I preferred the company of women, she said that I had put a knife in her heart…” (113). In the film, the mother initially ignores Lisa, Reena’s partner, but later, after the pregnancy, accepts Lisa into her family. It was hard for me to believe that Reena’s mother all of a sudden became fond of Lisa just because of a newborn; Mootoo’s perspective on the matter seems more realistic.

Both protagonists also share the pressures of appearing to be a culturally “authentic” Indian. The narrator comments on the pressures of upholding her assumed appearance by saying that, “Instead of disappointing people before I even got a chance to make any friends, I went out and bought that [Indian] cookbook, which has just about saved my face more than a few times. The film portrays Sarita as being the “authentic” Indian whereas Reena identifies more with the American lesbian community. After Sarita cooks an authentic Indian meal, Reena feels culturally threatened. The next day Reena attempts to cook a similar meal to prove to her partner and herself that she is Indian. This raises and interesting question because in the text the narrator feels threatened by the Other whereas in the film, Reena feels threatened by her sister and mother. Perhaps one can only feels culturally secured within oneself by ignoring exterior pressures.

Meghan and Virginia in the text decide to identify with the “old” Indian self, the elaborately and brightly dressed Indian. For me it seemed as if this lesbian couples decides to go over the top in order to show that they know what they are portraying or talking about. It would be silly if they were caught not knowing something they were trying to represent or understand. Mootoo’s lesbian couple exploits the Indian culture as does the film. In the film Reena works as a henna artist. Interestingly enough all her clients are white. Her mother later makes a comment about how saris are now in fashion. It is possible to look at these images as one culture not wanting to accept its own, or even finding interest in another. The narrator wears casual wear and Meghan and Virginia dress in authentic Indian garb. Reena, unlike her sister and mother, ride a motorcycle and is dressed in jeans and a leather jacket.

There are many more connections to be made between the short story and the film. I thought it would be fun to share this with the class. One last point: in order to portray this cultural struggle, I thought it was interesting how both Mootoo and Ganatra used lesbian relationships to show how, like the understanding of culture, there is no one identification of the self, especially that of race.