December 21, 2010
I have always wanted to examine how the Gita is portrayed in popular media. Today, we'll look at Hollywood, tomorrow in a slightly different context, we'll look at Bollywood.
"The Legend of Bagger Vance" was a very interesting movie that was released in 2000. Directed by Robert Redford, the movie had an impressive cast. Matt Damon was golf champion Rannolph Junah, Will Smith played the role of a mystical caddie named Bagger Vance, and Charlize Theron was cast in the female lead role. The movie was based on a book of the same name by Steven Pressfield.
Based on an analysis of 128 published reviews, the movie is rated 42% on Rotten Tomatoes while 64% of the audience who voted on the site, liked the movie.
A friend of mine, Vishwanath Murthy, brought the movie to my attention as it was said to be loosely based on the Bhagavad Gita with Rannulph Junah (RJuna - get it?) as the champion golfer who appears to be falling to pieces and his caddie, Bagger Vance (say it in an American twang and it sounds like Bhagavan) who talks RJuna into rediscovering his best golf swing and stroke. While the movie did well at the box office as a golf movie with a cliff hanger ending, it was also panned by some critics. The BBC reviewer called out the movie's 'pretentious piffle' and by Time magazine for its racist overtones in playing up the 'Magical African-American Friend' stereotype. It must have shocked critics that leading Hollywood stars like Robert Redford, Will Smith and Matt Damon were associated with this movie. Spike Lee, the director was among the movie's loudest critics,
Matt Damon who plays the role of Rannulph Junah discussed his role in an interview with Paul Fischer, said "the character had certain resonances with him. 'There's a certain amount of disillusionment which I think we all have, the older we get. We see how things kinda work, we all become a bit cynical probably. It's interesting in a sense that this is the guy [in Bagger Vance] who was like the golden child and he had everything, because he thought there were certain rules that applied, and every time he played by these rules, life was wonderful and he was always very successful. But the fact that there is a reality that is chaotic, that isn't governed by any rules, and he realises that, is enough to send him into a tailspin. He's a victim of his own success, in a sense that once he realises that life isn't all governed by a set of rules, he just completely abandons it.'" That reference is to a scene in the movie where Matt Damon refuses to tee off at the start of the climactic game.
Will Smith, who was Bagger Vance, the caddie, himself had this to say in another interview, "I loved what Bagger Vance turned out to be, simple concepts that are similar to the concepts I believe about life. I love the analogy to golf. I play golf a lot. The Hindu principles of life are not unlike how I approach situations. The bottom line is, once you get started after you hit that first ball, no matter where it goes, you have to hit it again." (emphasis in both quotes are mine)
I emailed Stephen Pressfield, the author of the book to get his thoughts. He confirmed that, "'Bagger Vance' is from 'Bhagavan' ... 'lord.' .... The golf course which is the field of conflict is Krewe Island, from the 'field of Kuru' in the Gita. The scene where Junah lays down his golf clubs and refuses to play in the match is, of course, the opening scene of the Gita."
Now, lets consider the allegation of racism. While I can see why critics would be sensitive, the allegation falls away if we remember that Krishna in Veda Vyaasa's telling is the dark-skinned lord of the Hindus. That is probably the reason why the caddie was cast as an African-American. No doubt, the caddie is a metaphor for Krishna who is the charioteer or the chauffeur to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war.
I personally liked the movie. It was very courageous of Steven Pressfield and Robert Redford to explore the teaching of the Gita in such a contemporary setting (a stickler would note that the movie appears to be set in the 1930's South Carolina according to the Wiki entry). For a student of the Gita, it is fantastic that such major stars are associated with this movie and it is set around an extremely popular game such as golf. It is a shame that not too much of the popular commentary explored the theme of the Gita as enunciated here. (Any high schoolers wanting to write a paper - here is your excuse to watch a movie for homework)
Do you know of any other contemporary plays, movies, novels that explore the teacher-taught setting in an interesting manner? Of course, it is easy to find the links into the popular martial arts movies such as the Karate Kid series. Any other, though?
Hari Om. Namaskaar until the next post.
I have always wanted to examine how the Gita is portrayed in popular media. Today, we'll look at Hollywood, tomorrow in a slightly different context, we'll look at Bollywood.
"The Legend of Bagger Vance" was a very interesting movie that was released in 2000. Directed by Robert Redford, the movie had an impressive cast. Matt Damon was golf champion Rannolph Junah, Will Smith played the role of a mystical caddie named Bagger Vance, and Charlize Theron was cast in the female lead role. The movie was based on a book of the same name by Steven Pressfield.
Based on an analysis of 128 published reviews, the movie is rated 42% on Rotten Tomatoes while 64% of the audience who voted on the site, liked the movie.
A friend of mine, Vishwanath Murthy, brought the movie to my attention as it was said to be loosely based on the Bhagavad Gita with Rannulph Junah (RJuna - get it?) as the champion golfer who appears to be falling to pieces and his caddie, Bagger Vance (say it in an American twang and it sounds like Bhagavan) who talks RJuna into rediscovering his best golf swing and stroke. While the movie did well at the box office as a golf movie with a cliff hanger ending, it was also panned by some critics. The BBC reviewer called out the movie's 'pretentious piffle' and by Time magazine for its racist overtones in playing up the 'Magical African-American Friend' stereotype. It must have shocked critics that leading Hollywood stars like Robert Redford, Will Smith and Matt Damon were associated with this movie. Spike Lee, the director was among the movie's loudest critics,
Matt Damon who plays the role of Rannulph Junah discussed his role in an interview with Paul Fischer, said "the character had certain resonances with him. 'There's a certain amount of disillusionment which I think we all have, the older we get. We see how things kinda work, we all become a bit cynical probably. It's interesting in a sense that this is the guy [in Bagger Vance] who was like the golden child and he had everything, because he thought there were certain rules that applied, and every time he played by these rules, life was wonderful and he was always very successful. But the fact that there is a reality that is chaotic, that isn't governed by any rules, and he realises that, is enough to send him into a tailspin. He's a victim of his own success, in a sense that once he realises that life isn't all governed by a set of rules, he just completely abandons it.'" That reference is to a scene in the movie where Matt Damon refuses to tee off at the start of the climactic game.
Will Smith, who was Bagger Vance, the caddie, himself had this to say in another interview, "I loved what Bagger Vance turned out to be, simple concepts that are similar to the concepts I believe about life. I love the analogy to golf. I play golf a lot. The Hindu principles of life are not unlike how I approach situations. The bottom line is, once you get started after you hit that first ball, no matter where it goes, you have to hit it again." (emphasis in both quotes are mine)
I emailed Stephen Pressfield, the author of the book to get his thoughts. He confirmed that, "'Bagger Vance' is from 'Bhagavan' ... 'lord.' .... The golf course which is the field of conflict is Krewe Island, from the 'field of Kuru' in the Gita. The scene where Junah lays down his golf clubs and refuses to play in the match is, of course, the opening scene of the Gita."
Now, lets consider the allegation of racism. While I can see why critics would be sensitive, the allegation falls away if we remember that Krishna in Veda Vyaasa's telling is the dark-skinned lord of the Hindus. That is probably the reason why the caddie was cast as an African-American. No doubt, the caddie is a metaphor for Krishna who is the charioteer or the chauffeur to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war.
I personally liked the movie. It was very courageous of Steven Pressfield and Robert Redford to explore the teaching of the Gita in such a contemporary setting (a stickler would note that the movie appears to be set in the 1930's South Carolina according to the Wiki entry). For a student of the Gita, it is fantastic that such major stars are associated with this movie and it is set around an extremely popular game such as golf. It is a shame that not too much of the popular commentary explored the theme of the Gita as enunciated here. (Any high schoolers wanting to write a paper - here is your excuse to watch a movie for homework)
Do you know of any other contemporary plays, movies, novels that explore the teacher-taught setting in an interesting manner? Of course, it is easy to find the links into the popular martial arts movies such as the Karate Kid series. Any other, though?
Hari Om. Namaskaar until the next post.
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