Beyond Identities – Divines and the Mask We Live In

Beyond Identities – Divines and the Mask We Live In
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Beyond Identities – Divines and the Mask We Live In
Identity is not an emerging social concern in American society. It has roots in history verifiable by several events like Great Migration, intermarriages and other social, political, and economic activities. Literature covers this major social and cultural problem as an interesting theme, particularly in stories and movies. This paper is based on the movies Divines by Benyamina and The Mask We Live In that demonstrate dominant social injustice issues, class discrimination, gender bias, and racial prejudice (Vogt, 2016; Newsom, 2015). The respective readings to compare with the chosen movies include “Divine Girlhood” by Naomi Vogt and “Gender Race and Media Presentation” by Guido Rings (Rings, 2011; Vogt, 2016). Both movies place identity unified by themes of migration, border-crossing, mobility, sexuality, protest culture and environmental justice.
Divines take its viewers to overshadowed slums and ghettos of Paris by the roaring progress of the city. Dounia and Memona represent the culture of poor American-born babies of immigrants from Asian countries (Benyamina, 2015). Their vitality, dreams, and energy are presented to contribute to French criminal roots. Besides, through the character of Rabecca and the romance partners of the girls who are eye candy balls, the director represents an upside-down concept of gender bias and dominance in society. The theme of nationality, mobility, and race is present in the origin of the characters Dounia and Memouna. Both the girls have a Muslim name, colour, and features with Muslim backgrounds and parents living in Paris after immigration from their own countries. In its core, the story seems to paint the anticipation of culture amalgam in the future by the addition of border-crossing into the country. Involving the girls in criminal scenes due to extreme poverty and their vitality to run illegal operations successfully is an irony of race and nation (Pabst, 2008). Furthermore, feminism with a refined concept is a deliberate and dominant attempt by the director of the movie, when he captures it through the entire cast of women and men tied into relationships and mutual responsibilities. The character of Dounia and other Muslim girls in school also invites to comprehend the degree of social injustice to protest cultures while showing the prevailing racism and class difference in society. Dounia feels her poverty unbearable through a series of influential events. Her fellow Myriam served as a bar hostess, his impression on developing her role as a drug seller (Vogt, 2016). Myriam is forced to go through shameful job interviews, making the protagonist blast with conceit, who says goodbye to school forever. The plight of poor girls questions human rights organizations of the world. The slumdogs present a consequence of the unsuccessful approach of human rights authorities. The movie is also a note on how media buries females' definitions of the values of beauty, gender, and sexuality. However, their restricted vitality ...