Fire by Deepa Mehta
In Deepa Mehta’s film, Fire, symbolism is used to show the struggle between tradition and new ideas. This struggle, which Radha defeats with her choice for lesbianism, is symbolical paralleled by the reoccurring scenes of her as a child. The film is a tale of two vital, beautiful women breaking their cultural obstacles and being reborn through the passion they express for each other. Their relationship is forbidden, but it is by giving into their feelings that they find the strength to defy their husbands and turn their backs on tradition.Tradition is one of the dominant themes in the film and is represented by Biji, the mother of the family. This is a good symbolic figure for tradition because her old age represents the ageing of the ideals her generation strictly lives by. With her age she has lost her voice and must ring a small bell in order to display anger or discomfort. This represents the dieing off of old customs and the strength of tradition’s voice fading out. This allows for a rise of new ideas because the old ways are losing their power and leavening room for a new voice. Sita, who becomes Radha’s lover, represents this new voice through youth and resistance to oppression. She is symbolic of the fight again
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Sita Radhas, Radha Sita, Deepa Mehtas, Radhas Sitas, radhas inner, radhas inner child, inner child, little girl, ringing background, movie radha, true self, beautiful grown woman, evolution radhas, social norms, sita wakes, voice sita, radha beautiful grown,
Approximate Word count = 1131
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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