Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice: A Transnational Journey Through Time and Space

International Journal of English Studies (IJES)Elena Oliete

2012, International Journal of English Studies

At the beginning of the 21st century, the processes of globalization have propelled intense cultural contacts between formerly cohesive communities resulting in both homogenizing and hybridizing socio-cultural changes (Robertson, 1995: 27); these changes, however, go hand in hand with a “global fear” of a potentially threatening “other”, which fuel people to take defensive actions that re-create “protective” prejudices and boundaries (Bauman, 2006: 97). As culturally hybrid products, transnational films not only transcend the limits of cinematic genres but cultural boundaries based on prejudice and uneven power relations. Chadha’s transnational movie Bride and Prejudice (2004) includes elements of Hollywood, Bollywood and British cinematic traditions to create a hybrid transnational film that metaphorically represents the re-emergence of past prejudices in contemporary encounters of Eastern and Western cultures. Following a cultural studies methodological approach, this article intends to analyze the competing meanings and interpretations the film offers when set against its globalized cultural background.