Gandhi, 1982, by Richard Attenborough

Résumé du document

As you might know, India became a British colony in 1857. The histories of Gandhi and India are linked together since he fought for the independence of India. Therefore we decided to study the film Gandhi, produced by Richard Attenborough. He is a talented actor, director and producer who was born in 1923. Gandhi was his dream project, although two previous attempts at filming had failed. He achieved his goal producing it as it was finally premiered in 1982.
We chose to study how Indian decolonization is depicted in the film Gandhi.

Gandhi is a sort of biography of Mahatma Gandhi, from the lawyer to the famous leader of the independence of India against the British Empire through his philosophy of non-violent protest and civil disobedience. The film begins with Gandhi's murder in 1948, and his funeral. Then the story flashes back 55 years to a life-changing event in South Africa in 1893 which leads him to fight against discrimination in this country.

Extraits

[...] Firstly, during the Indian Congress Party of Southern Africa, British troops beat up Gandhi and those who wanted to set fire on their passes. Then the brutal mass murder of peaceful Indian protestors known as the Armitsar Massacre is another example of the British's violence. Similarly, the non-violent demonstration at Dharasana Salt Works which ended with the beating up of hundreds of Indians by a few British soldiers highlights that Attenborough decided to depict the British as if they were evil. Gandhi, a realistic movie ? [...]

[...] Therefore we decided to study the film Gandhi, produced by Richard Attenborough. He is a talented actor, director and producer who was born in 1923. Gandhi was his dream project, although two previous attempts at filming had failed. He achieved his goal producing it as it was finally premiered in 1982. We chose to study how Indian decolonization is depicted in the film Gandhi. Summary Gandhi is a sort of biography of Mahatma Gandhi, from the lawyer to the famous leader of the independence of India against the British Empire through his philosophy of non-violent protest and civil disobedience. [...]

[...] Moreover at the conference between British officials and Gandhi, Jinnah and Nehru, Gandhi's speech is a key part of the film. The British are wearing uniforms whereas Gandhi is dressed in traditional clothes. The Indian officials seem to be embarrassed whereas the British are amused. It underlines that the British don't take the Indians seriously, and it reflects the superiority of the British officials on the Indians. III] Perspective How the Indians are depicted by Attenborough The film director usually represents the Indians as a large group, generally faceless. [...]

[...] Last but not least, were learnt that he was a very human and humble man, although he possessed such a power on Indians. References Richard Attenborough, Gandhi (1982). H. M. Geduld, Celluloid Mahatma (1983). Humanist J. Simon, Political Antithesi (1983). [...]

[...] Gandhi declares a hunger strike, saying he will not eat until the fighting stops. His hunger strike make Indians (both Muslims and Hindus) stop fighting against each other, but Gandhi's dream of unity can't be possible. So it is decided that there will be two independent countries: India for Hindus, and Pakistan divided into two parts (Eastern and Western parts) for Muslims. Gandhi disagrees with this idea all the more so as millions of people are forced to move and that many of them died on the road. [...]