December 16: INTERMISSION. This is not the name of a film. If you need to go to
the toilet, get a snack, or get a drink before you continue reading, now is
the time. You have roughly fifteen minutes before the blog resumes.
I didn't watch any Bollywood movies today. It was a nice day so I decided to go outside like a person who is taking care of their health and well-being.
Like...I know he's almost as old as my parents, but damn Shah Rukh Khan is fine. I mean, look at this selfie he posted on Twitter!
The man clearly knows how to use his front-facing camera. He could get me to sign up for Western Union (if you've seen any recent Bollywood movies, you probably know what I'm talking about).
Point of contention:
All the leading women cast across from Shah Rukh Khan are at least ten years younger than him or more. Why can't women who are roughly the same age as the men be cast? Better yet, why not cast a younger man?
I know why neither of these things happen: ageism (discrimination based on perceived or actual age) and sexism. Older women "just aren't beautiful enough" to be leads, but they can be mothers or grandmothers. No one--ahem, men--wants to see older women in a lead role, right? Not enough eye candy, too old to sell to the audience. And yet we don't bat an eye when 50 year old men like Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan are cast as men half their age, those golden oldies. I could go on and on about the disparities, which have an equal presence in American, British, and other cinemas, but I'll hold off for now. There's not enough time before the end of the intermission to get much farther.
I didn't watch any Bollywood movies today. It was a nice day so I decided to go outside like a person who is taking care of their health and well-being.
Like...I know he's almost as old as my parents, but damn Shah Rukh Khan is fine. I mean, look at this selfie he posted on Twitter!
The man clearly knows how to use his front-facing camera. He could get me to sign up for Western Union (if you've seen any recent Bollywood movies, you probably know what I'm talking about).
Point of contention:
All the leading women cast across from Shah Rukh Khan are at least ten years younger than him or more. Why can't women who are roughly the same age as the men be cast? Better yet, why not cast a younger man?
I know why neither of these things happen: ageism (discrimination based on perceived or actual age) and sexism. Older women "just aren't beautiful enough" to be leads, but they can be mothers or grandmothers. No one--ahem, men--wants to see older women in a lead role, right? Not enough eye candy, too old to sell to the audience. And yet we don't bat an eye when 50 year old men like Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan are cast as men half their age, those golden oldies. I could go on and on about the disparities, which have an equal presence in American, British, and other cinemas, but I'll hold off for now. There's not enough time before the end of the intermission to get much farther.
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