Indian Culture For Sale

Living in LA, it's really important to know about other cultures, my roommate is half Indian and I showed him this video!!
Nice job Tania! :)

CONGRATULATIONS SPIRAL9!
You have made the AF MAGAZINE TOP TEN LIST: JULY 2008!
We love what you are doing!
(See: www.theartistsforum.org for details .)

Was that Julie getting threaded?! Too funny!

Not all white people are fascinated with Indian Culture. I wasn't referring to ALL. Some people are completely ignorant to Indian culture. I've noticed a trend of tons of Indian inspired fashion throughout the west...I was just drawing particular attention to aspects where some people don't know what they are wearing.

I never assumed threading is just a south asian thing. However I do see a lot of the south asian community doing it. I made a clear reference to that in the piece if watched carefully.

All reporting embrace perspectives. There is no one right way. Next time be open to seeing things from different view points! The way I see things maybe entirely different from you!

FYI: 93 of the comments are all positive feedback. If it was so bad I don't think I would have such great responses!

Thanks!

I hope this doesn't get air time.

Firstly, you start off with a blatant stereotype of "white" people claiming they're all interested in Indian clothing. Secondly, you make the assumption in your reporting and editing choices that make Caucasians sound like they are completely clueless about Indian clothing. Sure, cut in a person who says the clothes look like pajamas--that'll get people talking, right? Lastly, threading isn't just done by the South Asian community, many other types of people do it too.

Next time you make a pod, make sure you, and your producers know who you may offend with your bias reporting.

-L

Hi Tania!

This was a savory taste of why Indian culture maintains the intrigue that makes it a part of many peoples lifestyles. You also look so HOT in that sari.

Keep making brilliant pods!

great pod - thanks for the enlightenment. it's good for us all to share cultures. it's actually beneficiall that the "omh" symbol is so popular. maybe americans will start chanting it more!

SNARLEY, add.

Call me,lol j/k ;p

So you know the origin of everything you wear? Cant people just like something?

I am glad to know that the bunch of us Americans who truly appreciate and embrace your culture are accepted. I never really thought that wouldn't be before, though. I did not know much about the fashion because that is not the part of your culture I have been drawn to. It was interesting to see how a Sari is put on, though.

Whiteliner, what are you, like 13 years old?
You're the one who's on the wrong site because we're student executive producers working with Current TV to make pods. And we made this one. I think you're the one wasting your life here on Current.com. And if you want to have a conversation about why my video sucks, email me here at my personal email address and we'll talk: julieuclacollegecurrent@gmail.com.

In the meantime, here's where you should be spending your time, kid. No joke. You will find plenty of people to sympathize with your real concerns there:
http://www.foxnews.com/index.html

In my opinon I think that is was a waste of time. Do you honestly people care about indian culture outside of indians. I think that you need to gain an education and do something useful with your life besides posting useless stuff on indians just because your indian. Maybe I should do a video on the white culture. People don't care about other peoples cultures. They care about important stuff like gas prices, and the war in Iraq. GET OFF THIS SITE!

Thanks to Spiral9, elise, and Julie...good show... It is always good to expose others to any one of the diverse cultures existent in our forever evolving society. It helps others to understand the differences therein...and gives Peace a better chance...

I, also, love the music, the fashion sense, and the food... all exotic...

This video is amazing. It really shows the Indian culture and how popular it's becoming. I didn't even know that skin color can affect how much threading hurts!

interesting and charming - well done!

I appreciated your tone in this pod- the whole thing was well done. Even though I cringed when the shopper described the "pajamas", your response was great- just an appreciative correction. People like you will continue to create a world where diversity is understood without defensiveness or tension. Beautiful, thanks.

charming, entertaining, enlightening and very very fun.

hungry for a samosa or a dosa right now!

Very cool. The music was great. And it was interesting to go into all of the different shops. Enjoed the sari-wrapping. Loved Julie's laugh during the threading. Now I know what the very-western nail spa down the block from me advertises when they say they offer threading...

I think a nice addition would to have added the origins of some of the concepts -- even just a sentence or two: What does the bindi represent? What is the origin of henna designs? Why do East Asian women wear so many brilliant bangles and what were they made of in the olden days.... Same with the sari fabric.

I loved this doc. Great work. It should definitely go on TV. It has lit a fire in my brain --- gonna go explore some things on wikipedia now.....

LOL @ humdrum -- thanks for all the luv!

(disclaimer: I am not kissing ass, just stating facts)

I got into Indian culture around the time I started getting into contemporary Indian/ Pakistani music (years ago), which is some of my favorite music ever.

Just thinking about spicy Indian food makes my mouth water and contract - my favorite type of food by far, and the only type where I prefer strictly vegetarian dishes over anything with meat.

Buddhism/ meditation = wow.

Speaking as a history buff/ nerd, India's history is some of the richest/ most interesting/ most ancient in the world, by far.

Aesthetically speaking, from the point of view of a visual artist, Indian culture produces/ has produced some of the most @#$%ing beautiful stuff in the world.

One of my Top 5 Countries to Visit Before I'm 40.

I hadn't really thought of just how much I enjoyed things Indian before about 6 months ago...and again with this pod.
Great job.
I am hungry.

Thanks everyone for your continued love for this pod :) I really appreciate it!!!

Good job spiral.

It's still sad to see that people are giving up their own culture in their respective countries!

A schmuck here thinks America is the world:
http://current.com/items/88974205_portuguese_defunct_because_of_google

I suppose I'm considered white, although I'd really not identify with that, and I love Indian culture. There are some of us that really research and learn about the history and spirituality of South Asian cultures. They just seem like the most grounded and beautiful. The energy and presence of Indian teachings and aesthetics in my life has really balanced me out. I didn't choose to be white. I don't think of myself as any particular ethnicity or nationality.

This needs to be on TV.

I liked the vocabulary and cultural lesson and overall jovial way you brought up an interesting issue. So much of our mainstream culture is adopted from others, but rarely do we take the time to examine what this means.

Nice video. It's very interesting.

loved this. lots of energy, and so much going on. your mom and aunt were great. plus, i got to see some of the most beautiful pajamas i've ever seen. i mean salwar kamis.

u look sexy honey..........and nice voice u should try to sing some time........the picture of uors with salwer cumiz is ........ i dont know any good word in english for that........but i can say "mashaallah"......hope u dont mind on my comment...........now about the video....people always try to understand other culture which are diffrent than the one they have ........ but south asian people allways use their culture to make money.....and they try to sell their belives in good way and bad ways....the biggest example is indian restaurents where all people are not treated evenly...there is one price for desi people and a much higher price for other people.and thats true in every other southasian place like a sary place or a jewelary place......and i worked with south asian people and i can tell how diffrent people are treated diffrently....so try to show that side of us(southasians as u said) in uor next video.....

Excellent start for your first documentary film. Culture is the essence of every human society. You depicted many aspects of our culture in Indian sub-continent. Good Job, Tania!

hmmm....cuz indian people are so exotic....by the UCLA is having it own indian culture show....yall can then see why indian culture is so interesting

Originally, before they used bindhis, the red spot between the eyebrows was worn only by those whose kundalini is awakened and the third-eye or agni chakra is open and active.

The shalwar and kamis are also known as Punjabis.

The ring in the nose is worn by virgins - on their wedding nights, the husband breaks the ring after they have had sex for the first time, after which the women wear a nose "pin".

Bangles are worn by little girls as well as teenagers and women. They are very popular. Some are made of glass.

Few white women know how to drape a sari properly - they often have their heels and ankles exposed which is a no-no. In general, they don't really carry off wearing a sari very well.

First of all, Indian people are mad cool and the culture is deep as with many ancient cultures. And for the people who do not like their culture commodified; understand that that is the first step to actually learning about most cultures in the US. Like this pod right here. It is better than it being totally destroyed and never being known. But enough of that.

Julie, I have seen people do this and it looks painful. And you had me laughing when you mentioned about where else that they might do threading.

Spiral. Broadcast journalism or whatever this is called. Is. Your. Calling. You're perfect for the cam and mic. Keep doing this here. Oh! and your mom had me laughing when you asked " why in the middle?" She looked at you like, are you seroius? Because it will look dumb at the top right of your head, duh. lol

Great Production people.

the Great thinks is to show your india Traditions.

other cultures = awesome

Hey Spiral-
This was awesome... Very nice work! Such a cool and funny look at the culture... South Asia is amazing...
Love that last shot :-)

that original girl was *very* quite nice enough to like. I liked the story too so I gave it thumbs. Thank you much Julie! I really appreciated that! ...and her =)~ lol

Nice report. It's great to live in this country where many cultures mix together.

I loved this piece. I took several courses on Asian and Indian Art and Religion(s) in college in the 90's, and fell in love with the aesthetics. Those aesthetics are still an inspiration in the painting I do, and (some of) the clothing I choose to wear. I'm an American of Swedish descent, and hope that nobody would ever find my appreciation and affection for their culture offensive in any way. It would make me sad if it did. How better to build a bridge between cultures but by a respectful appreciation of their beauty and differences?

Very inspirational, you did a really really good job and I wish the best in your projects! I share the same intrests as you, I'm a communications major as well. NIce to meet someone you can actually relate to!

propers.

I enjoyed the video. It is very informative. Excellent work! Fatema

SWEEET! well done! that was put together very well! i def learned a lot from that pod. i think i am like 20% smarter than what i was before i watched! HA! I liked the threaded part! "found the cameo!" good stuff.

That was an awesome piece. its great to know that other cultures are being embraced now instead of being shunned away in the corner like we were taught to do once we started elementary school in this country. Kudos to you Tania for never giving up on your culture and showing how other races are embracing it as well.

Excellent job -- congratulations to all involved! It's a fascinating subject and Spiral9 you did a great job hosting!

Great job Julie and Tania! The threaded part shredded!

[note: i think this video should be renamed - it's more an 'intro to indian life and cultural exchange in southern california' than an investigation into commodification.]

cute that the white lady didn't know what a salwar kamis is called! (however, don't forget that the word pajama came from britain's exposure to south and west asian culture -- the persian pants that Alladin wears in the Disney movie!)

nice to know that indian / south asian culture is alive and well in southern california. :-)

P.S. guy explaining the word "ohm" is hot!

great pod . now i'm hungry . i'm gonna be callin up my girl Amishi and beg her to cook for me tonight .

Awesome, great little intro into Indian Culture!

great pod...loved the music..and i liked that it wasn't trying to look down on non-south asians for adapting certain aspects of the culture into their own lives. real real cool. and i love getting my eyebrows threaded, but they're so expensive.

this reminds me of being in new york in 85-87

First and foremost, I'd like to say congrats to spiral9 on such an informative pod. The elements came together well and I'm glad the threading scene was included! I think my favorite part of your pod was when you and your aunt demonstrated how to wear a sari. I've always wanted to know about that! Bravo to your mother! She's such a starlet!
This pod was such a pleasure to help out with because it's a topic that is of interest to me. I thrive on learning about other cultures besides my own. I think there is a fine line between wearing something just because you think it's cool and wearing something because you have researched the cultural significance of it. I think this pod did a good job on touching on these two aspects.
I'd like to say bravo to all the people who were involved with this pod. Job well done!

This is one of my favorite films I have seen on Current! It's good to know that more people are becoming more curious about South Asian culture and embracing the beauty and uniqueness of it all. Hopefully in the long run it will contribute to bringing an overall understanding to cultures all over the world.

Warm congratulations to your very excellent film. I loved the threading scene it was quite sassy.

Very cool...the music was a great complement for an intriguing look into a real and unexplored trend. Keep it coming.

Salaam Tania,

Congrats on producing a good video. I like how you showed us the appeal of the Desi culture and how whites and non South Asians have adopted many of the cultural aspects. I like how you did the in-person interviews and gave people the chance to explain their feelings and position on the matter.

Great pod thanks for the link Julie.

I really enjoy learning about the cultural exchange going on in this country. Acceptance and understanding has to start somewhere and I feel overtime those who truly wish to embrace another culture will educate themselves. My pops was a goofy white dude with a perm and a pair of bellbottom jeans but he did his homework and won of love of someone outside his own culture. So like I said I enjoy seeing things like this, it makes me think of the love my parents shared.

I was especially happy to see Indians embracing the awesomeness which is Glen Danzig and the Misfits! Now that’s what you call bartering,

A very cute look into Indian culture and those who love it, whatever their reasons :)

All covered up and most everything left to the imagination.
Now, THAT's sexy!
A very entertaining pod about a culture that deserves more tolerance and understanding.

Great job...Julie.....Elise....Spiral9..the old saying.......United we Stand....Divided we Fall....could not be truer....we must embrace all people of Earth....break down barriers.......language, racism, FEAR......things like this video do that......I wish someone in India would film the slums of Calcutta......India is a magnetic force on Earth where some of the greatest thoughts of the Universe were received....American Indians picked them up too...Not all of yall, but some were not too nice to either....is it fear, ignorance, or jealousy.....I believe it is because some of yall never caught Love.....It's like a disease...only different....camera is so much stronger than the gun.....one preserves..the other destroys.....yall should have figured out where destruction gets you....if not look around.......please quit placing labels and colors on people....white....black.....have any of you ever seen either......take and start callin yurselves.....off-white.....sounds good......if not ....what about jaded and shaded.......Golden Ruler.......Will..........Will....Not....Will.........Not...............

I loved this from start to finish. Now I get to impress my Indian girlfriend by knowing what threading is. Thanks Julie_Soller and Spiral9!

yo...this video was good! it had good insight into the culture. it's helped this east asian brotha understand a little more of the culture and peeps up here in seattle, especially since the company i work for has a lot of indian employees. kudos for the documentary :)

"THIS IS 'OM' IT'S PARTY FOR THE TRANCE, OKAY?"

Great topic, and the video is engaging. Tanya is an excellent host into this world. I wanna see more!

Thanks everyone for the great comments! It was me getting threaded and boy was that crazy painful! This was a lot of fun to shoot, a wild ride to edit, and I am very proud of our production team. Thanks to all the people who appeared in this and helped us out.

Ommmmmmm

Very well done!!!

I agree with you completely that more people should be made aware of what exactly this South Asian art & fashion represent, because only then can it truly be appreciated for its cultural value.

From a western perspective, I can also appreciate and understand the fascination with Indian culture, because Indian women always seem to maintain such a regal and elegant apperance while still managing to be sexy and beautiful at the same time.

In a modern American society filled with all sorts of lewd and questionable images of men & women being exploited by the media, it is encouraging to know that some of us can still reflect values rooted in such rich spiritual culture.

hey tania! great pod, I really liked when you put the sari and talked about how hard it was to walk. I had to do something similar for a cambodian wedding, except with a sarong around my lower body and jeez, that folding and wrapping is ridiculous!

The video is very informative. I was born and raised in Bangladesh (a South East Asian country). And I had no clue that threading originated in South East Asia.
Also I think this video really bring up the fact that we have a really rich and colourful culture.
By the way, food is a BIG part of South East Asian culture. I am not sure if it is popular in LA, but here Indian cuisine taste heavenly! lol! In fact, there are street vendors all over NY making a fortune by selling indian style "chicken o/ rice" and "shish kabab".
Keep up the good work! LOVED THE VIDEO & your mum of course :)

omg tropa apu this was a great video to put on. i think this was a great video to put to show people. Because alot of people we see love the indian culture and dresses but we never knew WHY they did. and now we know thanks to you!!

You did a really great job with this brief documentary! It was fascinating to watch. You were so lively, energetic, and truly interested in the topic. Those are obviously great qualities to have when filming a documentary as it catches the viewer's attention and makes them more intrigued by what you are saying about the topic of concern.
I thought the topic itself was compelling . I love learning about cultures and how their clothing, actions, and lifestyle in general often reflect the history of their culture. It's always good to present different viewpoints as you did as it allows the viewer to better understand the various attitudes towards the subject in question. I think its good when individuals wear clothing from different cultures even if they aren't aware about the history of why something is worn a certain way as it may spark a sense of curiousness and motivate them to learn more about the piece. This may even compel them to learn about other topics within the culture as well. Even if it doesn't, however, at least it tends to make people more accepting of individuals who may have a different background from them or just in general live their life differently. The more people learn about different cultures the better.
Again, excellent job with this video.

I really enjoyed this. There is a tension between white people learning about and appreciating other cultures and imperialist/cultural appropriation/"Orientalism" that another poster commented on.

The odd thing to me is that it is usually white people in that latter group who are complaining about white people appropriating other cultures and being "imperialist" or "racist". Check out this forum discussion (most of the posters are actually white): http://community.livejournal.com/feminist/3124932.html

The only thing that angers me is when white people talk for others and say, "They just don't realize that white people are oppressing them. They have been brainwashed." Nothing is more dangerous (and ironic) than these accusations of false consciousness that Indians don't "really" like white people enjoying their culture, they just think they do.

I guess that is a bit of tangent, but I saw people posting on it and just wanted to add one more metalayer to the discussion.

Keep up the good work!

nice work! the funniest thing is - i literally showed my coworkers how to wear a sari today (i gave one as a gift to a coworker & i was asked to show her how to put it on!) -- i'm gonna share this!

Excellent video. Very educational, enlightening and Well done...Keep 'em coming.

well done tania! keep me posted on your work

thanks guys! I Love the comments...keep em coming :) What I feel very proud of is sparking discussion and thought on Indian culture in the west!

The comments mean more then you know!

This documentary is a great creation for the Indian culture. It is very informative for people from both South Asian & West. I am glad to see young people from South Asia are getting powerful to tell their culture to the west; and the contents were amazingly articulated. I am proud for Tropa who created this documentary.

Nice job. Good breakdown of things from indian culture thats becoming popular in western culture

Wow people are really sensitive these days when you say "white" it was a joke people lighten up...

This was a very informative piece! White people saying pajamas, shows the ignorance about indian culture along with their fascination with it,interesting contrast.

I personally love to see people accepting other cultures... Finding beauty and appreciation in a culture that you observe from a distance, but what's even more beautiful is when someone explores the roots and origins of the culture which interest them. I am a lover of the Indian culture, thanks to the purest "love" I know. At one point I had never tried Indian food, all I ever heard was that it was spicey... : ) And IT IS!!! But I had the fortune of being taught about the origin of preparing Indian food, what goes into it... Indian clothing, in its simplicity, it is still very intricate. The texture of the fabrics. Some of the most beauty expressions. I think this piece opens the door to an exploration of a culture so rich in beauty and purpose...

Very well done...it's true, Americans should do more research into the things that they wear on their bodies...reminds me of tribal and Chinese character tattoos...great topic, my love. =)

P.S. I LOOOOVE YOUR MOM!

Come on guys! The responses on here are getting pretty racist. What does "WHITE" people have to do with spiral9's cultural show? It was informative and well put together. It was something that her and her crew did for educational purposes at least. Wake Up! This is not "WHITE" America anymore! It is a diversed nation with many cultures to exam and learn from. Open minded people can learn from one another and not be ashamed, nor should be criticized for wanting to adapt to something other then themselves.

hahah reminds me of my mom. and the threading was hilarious, the fact she let you tape them remove her mustache lol

but you cant pick and choose between a culture to "white wash" it and make it your own instead of someones indigenous food, clothing, dance, music, lifestyle... etc.

its not a trend that is to be imitated and "fusion'd" up.

it's not flattery when you're picking apart only the glorified aspects of it without also acknowledging and taking the other parts: the mentality, the social issues [and our humyn responsibility to resolve them], etc.

you cant "imitate" something as a means of appropriation. its offensive. fucking offensive.

I guess it's true immitation is the highest form of flattery...

I didn't know about this trend thanks for puttin' a brother up on game...

Poor white people so culturaly deprived.. ;)

The basis of "White" people "adopting" Indian culture is rooted in orientalism. For those that don't know, the term is used to to describe deprecatory views of the East by the West, shaped by the 18th and 19th century attitudes of the era of European imperialism . These "White" people interpretation of Eastern cultures and peoples in a [now]ignorant and prejudice way [prejudice over racist, depending on your definitions]. The marketing of the East into this "mystic" land has definately opened the doors of exploration thanks to the beatniks, hippies, and Beatles in the 60's; however, it has also led to the commodification of a culture. Most natives of the South Asian diaspora accept these explorations with open arms, but also fail to see the root of it as well as the effects AND affects. They embrace White exploration with a positive attitude, partly due to that outlook of open mindedness being prevalent naturally in our culture,as well as simple minded ignorance with no blame on their part. This has open the flood gates to Post-Colonial imperialism, globalization, and the New World Order and the great Unholy Trinity [world bank, IMF, & the world trade org.] to take advantage of the East. Embracing cultures is not based on someone wearing dangly earings, silk for "belly dancing" (wrong culture there buddy!), and those PoCo writings by authors like Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie, or books on mystical voyages such as the latest Eat, Pray, Love. This embrace is almost turning something of culture into something kitschy and trendy. Something of momentary pleasing... commodification. Embracing and accepting cultures should come from something deeper than barely grazing tidbits. The acceptance of White people embracing the East is definately through steps, and through just showing interest but I think it's also our job to educate others. Embracing each others cultures is also about knowledge, and why chose to only learn 1/2 of something. We as the South Asian diaspora need to educate. That White womyn in the movie should have been told what an "outfit" was, etc. Partly, is also their job. Us as "brown folk" also tend to do the same with other cultures. It's a two way road. For us to learn about, for example, Chinese culture, we can't go around thinking that eating Panda Express, Pei Wei, PF Changs, mom and pop places and wearing a Kimono style shirt are the same as embracing culture.. and that questions like "Do you speak Chinese?" aren't ignorant or necessarily slightly offensive. I think as world citizens, it's our job to educate and be educated. But I guess it goes back to: try teaching the world that.

The deconstruction of this could go on and on...

I felt this clip was great, but it was more informative on culture rather than the debate I thought it would be. I would like to see more on that aspect.

"My very White friend. ..."

Classic!

Your mom's a star. I'm coming by for roti and dahl.

Keep it up.

;)

I LOVE THIS POD!!! yeah...white folks tend to appropriate third world culture. i see it all the time with indigenous cultures, being indigenous and all. i hate when they call us exotic! basically, i don't like when people of color culture is commodified and basically colonized by white folks. for me it tends to ad insult to injury...

This was really well done! I love how you went to all those places and interviewed people. I don't think I even realized how much Indian culture is all around me, as I've taken it for granted. It's good to see the origins of everything. And I loved your ending - perfect touch!

And way to go Julie for being such a good sport! I would have been screaming in that chair! haha

Nice peek into a culture we don't know that much about. Put this on TV!!

That was very educational! I often wonder about Indian culture. It is great that we all can blend in the melting pot. Commercializing a culture is no different then the Italians bringing old traditions like pasta dishes or Irish bringing Cornbeef and Cabbage. Latins bring salsa and Africans bring different dress codes. That is what makes America such a great country to live in. Your free to be you and learn what it is to be someone else.