Film about an Indian family in Mississippi several years after being pushed away from their home country of Uganda by Idi Amin.
Film explores several themes heavily, most prominently though are the explorations of:
Inter-ethnic Stereotypes
Inter-ethnic Sociopolitical conflict
Colorism
Intersections between groups
Hybridity
Home
Place and Identity
Connections in and between histories
being immigrant, alien, and/or native
Post-colonial vs. post-slavery
Reconciliation
Expectations
Mina not just wanting to do what her parents want. The one guy who she just goes out with because her parents expect her to, leaves him for Demetrius. That one conversation where all other other moms gossip about where she tells them she doesn’t have to love the one guy and she can do what she wants.
Okelo “Africa is for African’s, Black Africans”
Whenever they are in Uganda the music is Ugandan in style. When the scenes take place in Mississippi then the music changes over to blues.
At the Indian wedding there were kids playing “Cowboys and Indians”
that one comment about sending them back to the reservation, old guy in the gas station said that.
When Demetrius is approached by Mina’s family and the one guy says “United we stand, divided we fall” “we are all colored” conversation
Britain brought Indians over into Africa to build Railroads, connection to Donald Duk and the Chinese laborers who worked on the Railroads in the United States.
Demetrius’s family feels a connection to Mina in that she is Indian but never been to India and that they are African American but never been to Africa.
“Racism is tradition nowadays”
Dreams serving as an avenue into parts of your past you may have forgotten.
As soon as they stole of of “their” girls it became a problem. Before that it was all “United we stand, divided we fall” “we are all colored”.
During this Demetrius and Mina are taken in by police even though they were burst in on. Skin color played a role in that entire altercation.
Demetrius was told to know his place and stay in it.
Demetrius’s business relied on Indian motel owners and that event with Mina soiled the relationship.
Demetrius loses all of his business and has to look in other cities for new work.
That one white guy “I worked hard, I want you to work hard too”
Demetrius confronts Jay. Talks of how they are just a few shades away. How Jay got here and was treated as lower so aspired for some form of whiteness to be more equal.
Jay see’s himself as Ugandan first and Indian second. Other Indians treated him as a traitor.
Jay says the reason he left was one thing. Skin color, because it all came down to skin color. Skin color is the very thing Jay was using against Demetrius.
Post-Colonial and Post-Slavery similarities were never noticed by me before, really interested in reading more into this.
Jay said people stick to own people
Jay not wanted in Uganda, not wanted in America either, nowhere where he belongs. takes entire movie to figure out home is where the heart is, doesn’t need Uganda or America, but need whatever you make your own home, wherever your heart resides.
Anil was told he was too american for worrying too much over material things and thinking of money too much.
When Jay goes back to Uganda he discovers Okelo disappeared and then was found dead many years ago.
Film ends with Jay realizing home is here the heart is, and for him that is with Kinnu.
