East is East

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East is East

Jessica Preuß Nadja Bienge
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East is East

• content of the film
• The film East is East is about the Khan family
  and takes place in Salford, in the North of
  England.
• George Khan is a proud Pakistani. He is married
  to an English woman and together they have seven
  children. George tries to raise his children to
  be respectable Pakistanis, but the children were
  born and raised in England. So conflicts between
  George and the rest of his family are hardly to
  avoid.
• Meenah, the daughter loves playing football.
  Saleem, one of the sons, is at an art school but
  pretends to study engineering and Tariq his
  brother has the reputation of a real Casanova in
  Salford. The youngest son Sajid hasn't been
  circumcised although it is part of the Pakistani
  tradition
• East is East is a film which gives deep
  insights into different conflicts which might
  come up when two cultures clash within one family.

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teaching guide

• possible school subjects
• German, English, Religion, History
• grade
• 3rd class of secondary school onwards
• topics which could be dealt with in class
• culture clash within a family, conflicts of
  different generations,
• religious conflicts, emancipation, ethnical
  minorities in Britain,
• racism, East and West- England, how to deal with
  foreign
• cultures, East culture vs. English culture,
  elements of a comedy,
• language characteristics (English varieties) and
  so forth

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teaching guide for a school lesson

• structure of a school lesson
• 1. introducing some facts about Britain as a
  multi-racial society (background information)?
• 2. students get a work sheet which they have to
  answer while watching the film
• 3. results and discussion about the film (work
  sheet)?
• 4. talking about one of the topics mentioned above

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1. Britain as a multi-racial society (paper for
students)?

• post-war immigration into Britain
• most important change in British society change
  from Anglo-Saxon into multi-racial society
• before World War II the number of immigrants was
  small
• the Black population was as easily integrated as
  the Irish immigrants and the Jewish and European
  refugees (it could be discussed in class whether
  the integration was really successful or not)?
• after WW II a mass of coloured people immigrated
  to Britain
• different groups of immigrants Black immigrants
  (often descendants of former slaves) Indians
  Pakistanis Bangladeshis minor immigration groups

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Britain as a multi-racial society II (paper for
students)?

• different immigration groups
• West Indians
• 16th century Europeans conquered South and
  Central America
• the natives were suppressed
• African slaves were brought to the West Indies
• beginning of 19th century slavery was abolished
• many former slaves emigrated
• as many saw themselves as British (they had been
  educated by British teachers and knew the British
  culture well), they immigrated to Britain
• Asians from India
• 17th century Britain began trading with India
• India became a British colony in 1858

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Britain as a multi-racial society III (paper
for students)?

• many religious conflicts and civil war after
  Independence, so many Asians escaped to Britain
• African Indians
• Indians who went to Africa to work in British
  colonies
• when Africa colonies became independent, the
  Asians could choose their citizenship,
• Chinese
• first Chinese immigrants came to the UK in the
  early 19th century. The majority came from former
  British colonies. The British Chinese community
  is the oldest one in Europe.
• largest wave of Chinese immigrants in 1950s and
  1960s. Most of them were agricultural workers or
  were then employed in the Chinese run laundry
  business
• relatives of settled Chinese immigrated in the
  70s and were qualified for skilled jobs (post WW
  II Immigrants)?
• most significant migration from mainland China
  from 1980s onwards

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Britain as a multi-racial society IV (paper for
students)?

• reasons for immigration
• labour shortage in Britain (immigrant got badly
  paid jobs)?
• higher standard of living
• West Indians thought themselves as British with
  Britain as their mother country
• people who had served in the British army in WW
  II settled in Britain afterwards
• preferred areas of settlement
• possibility to get a job was important for the
  choice of settlement
• Pakistanis North of the country (shipbuilding
  vehicles and textiles industries)?
• Indians Midlands (public transport distributive
  trades)?
• West Indians South East, Greater London,
  Midlands (British rail, Underground, buses,
  hospitals, midwifery services)?

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note!

• It certainly would be better to let students find
  out about the background
• information on their own. So if there is more
  than one school lesson
• available students should get the option to do
  the research on their own on
• specific topics like reasons for immigration and
  so on. They should then
• share their knowledge by presenting their
  research results in class.
• It would also be possible to give students the
  information and to let them
• check on it or/and extend it.

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2. work sheet

• The action of the film takes place in Salford in
  the north of
• England in 1971. The parents own a fish and chips
  shop. The
• Khan children are caught between two cultures
  there is their
• fathers insistence on tradition, their mothers
  non-interference
• attitude and their own wish to be citizens of the
  modern world.
• Task While watching the film, make notes on the
  conflicts
• the children find themselves in
  tradition, culture,
• attitudes, interests, views, etc.
• Give information about the characters!

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the films characters

• characters
• George Khan father, 55, Pakistani immigrant
• Ella Khan mother, 46, Catholic English
• Nazir Khan son, age?, runs away after forced
  marriage to
• become a hairdresser, is probably gay
• Abdul Khan son, 23, dutiful son, sensible
• Tariq Khan son, 21, western haircut, enjoys
  English nightlife
• Maneer Khan son, 19, very religious, the others
  call him Gandhi
• Saleem Khan son, 18, studies art at college
• Meenah Khan daughter, 16, good at soccer
• Sajit Khan son, 12, lives in his parka

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3. discussion I

• the fathers attitude
• Does George feel ashamed of his English family
  and thus wants his sons to marry Pakistanis?
• Does George care about his childrens feelings
  (is it true that he isnt able to show his
  feelings like his wife Ella states in the film?)?
• Is the reputation of the family most important
  for George? (Does George care about the opinion
  of English people?)?
• Why are honour and respect so important for
  George?
• Is George religious?
• Does George want to control his family?
• Is the character created too serious for a
  comedy?

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3. discussion II

• the mothers attitude
• Does Elle wants the best for her children? (Why
  does she accepts the fathers behaviour?
• Does she really care about her childrens
  feelings?
• Why does Ella defends his husband even after he
  has beaten her?
• Does Ella try to protect her children?
• How does Ella deal with the Pakistani origin of
  her husband?
• the childrens attitude
• Do all children prefer the English way of life
• What part of their lives represent the English
  culture? Are their still elements of the
  Pakistani culture??

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discussion IIIEast culture vs. English culture

• What are the Pakistani elements in East is East?
• ? father forces his children to speak Urdu
• ? father tries to arrange marriages for his
  children
• ? father doesn't want his children to eat pork
• ? a small Pakistani community
• ? Meenah should wear a sari but prefers her
  school uniform
• ? father sees himself as the head of the family
• ? no emancipation of women (what about Ella? Does
  she take over the Pakistani way of live?)?
• ? oriental music
• In how far does the film discuss the problems of
  immigrants?

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discussion IIIEast culture vs. English culture

• What are the English elements in East is East?
• ? English mother
• ? English environment and neighbourhood
• ? the family owns a fish chips shop
  (traditional English food)?
• ? children eat sausages which is forbidden for
  Pakistani people
• ? boys go into a club
• ? Tariq has a relationship with an English girl
• ? Nazir emancipates himself and leaves the family
  (is gay)?
• ? Meenah wears an English school uniform

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Resumé

• Although East is East partly can bee seen as a
  comedy its content
• needs to be taken seriously. The film gives deep
  insights into the
• problems which might come up when two cultures
  clash within a family.
• This is shown very realistically and thus cannot
  be compared with
• Bollywood movies or films like Bend it like
  Beckham where there is
• always a solution or at least a happy ending. In
  contrast to My Son the
• Fanatic it is not the elder but the younger
  generation in East is East which
• tries to fit into the modern society. But there
  is no specific protagonist or
• only one problem which is dealt with. The film
  can be discussed from
• many perspectives and thus is very useful for
  teaching.

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web sites

• Wiki zum Film "East is East" im Jahrgang 11
• (This website is a collection of works on the
  film and thus needs to be read critically. Ayub
• Khan-Dins introduction into the screenplay may
  add important background information for a
• discussion about the film)?
• http//www.film-kultur.de/filme/east_is_east.html
  http//www.wiki.klemm-site.de/wiki/index.php/East_
  is_East
• kostenloser Download des Filmheftes
• http//www.filmeducation.org/filmlib/eastiseast.pd
  f
• Hamburger Bildungsserver Links zu Immigrants in
  Britain sowie zu Filmen
• (This file includes specific questions on the
  film East is East and thus might lead to further
  considerations)?
• http//www.wikipedia.org
• (Some general information about immigrants in
  Great Britain)?