Indiana Daily Student
ARTS
Monday, April 16, 2018 idsnews.com
Editors Christine Fernando and Clark Gudas arts@idsnews.com
9
TY VINSON | IDS
American filmmaker Mira Nair jokes about how similar Indiana and India sound. Nair, director of “The Namesake” and “Queen of Katwe,” spoke on Thursday, April 12, as the last guest to appear for India Remixed.
Mira Nair talks telling stories with film at IU Cinema By Chris Forrester chforres@iu.edu | @_Chrisforrester
As India-born filmmaker Mira Nair took the stage to give a lecture at the IU Cinema on Thursday evening, she joked that she and her friends had long confused the state’s name with that of their country. Nair’s lecture was part of the cinema’s Mira Nair: Living Between Worlds film series, a part of IU’s larger India Remixed: Global Arts and Humanities Festival. Nair shared memories, life experiences and behindthe-scenes tidbits about her filmmaking with attendees of her lecture. The talk was filled with wisdom and humorous moments. Nair said growing up, she
was always called the crazy girl. In some regards, she said, she’s still maintained that. “In my work as a filmmaker, if we ever deserve the title of artists, then we must always welcome madness as a vital guest,” she said.
“It’s a privilege, and must be recognized as such. Sometimes, inspiration comes from loss, from grief.” Mira Nair, filmmaker
Nair said she grew up and entered the art world fueled by a youthful hopefulness. “I was brought up with the foolish confidence that
absolutely anything is positive,” she said. “I do not believe in words so much, but in action.” Nair began making films as a documentarian. Her first film, “Jama Masjid Street Journal,” was released in 1979. Since then, she’s directed over 20 feature films, including well-known hits like 2006’s “The Namesake” and 2002’s “Monsoon Wedding.” She said one of the first images that inspired her to become a storyteller was a young boy with no legs clinging to the side of a taxi. His body was carried along by a wheeled platform on which he sat, and when he let go, he twirled around in the street, propelled by the momentum from the taxi. “I thought to myself, how
can one have so little, and love life so much,” she said. Nair said working in documentary film has taught her to understand and not interfere with life. She said she learned to observe and represent things, and not to manipulate. “When you do that, it really, firstly, teaches you what people are,” Nair said. “And it teaches me, in particular, a real sense of humility.” Nair broke out with her 1988 film “Salaam Bombay!”, which was nominated for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards. The film was the first Indian film to win the Camera d’or at the Cannes International Film Festival. Inspiration comes in many forms and from many places, Nair said.
“It is a privilege, and must be recognized as such,” she said. “Sometimes, inspiration comes from loss, from grief.” She said her film “The Namesake” was inspired by loss. She called it her most personal film yet.
“I haven’t come across something like India Remixed for a long time. The Indian rightwing government should take a tip or two.” Mira Nair, filmmaker
She said after the loss of a close family member, the novel from which the film
was adapted became her solace. Nair said she connected with its themes of living between worlds. “’The Namesake’ was many of my worlds, the Kolkata that I left behind as a teenager, the Cambridge where I went to college and the New York where I now live,” she said. Nair said she considered herself someone who’s lived between worlds. As a product of that, she said she’s experienced and fallen in love with numerous cultures worldwide. She thanked IU for celebrating hers. “I haven’t come across something like India Remixed for a long time,” she said. “The Indian right-wing government should take a tip or two.”
KINSEY COLUMN
Kinsey Confidential answers a question about erotic dreams and sexuality I'm a 21-year-old woman. Until recently, I had never had a sex dream. Then I had my first one, but it was about a woman. I have a boyfriend who I've been with for over a year, and I have never had any sexual encounters with another woman. Since this dream, I've begun to question my sexuality. Could such dreams mean that I'm lesbian? Dreams don't necessarily reflect your waking life. People have all kinds of dreams — even all kinds of sexy dreams. Sometimes dreams may reflect something a person wants to do in their waking life — like have sex with a certain person of the same or
other gender, kiss someone, try S&M, have oral sex, experiment with sex toys, have an affair or get married. Other times, dreams don't reflect a person's desires at all. We can't control our dreams, and they don't necessarily reflect what you want or feel in a literal sense. Maybe it just means that you want closeness with your friend, or you enjoy spending time with her, or maybe it has nothing to do with her at all. It could be that your body was feeling aroused at the time — men and women both show genital arousal at regular intervals during sleep. Maybe it was just coincidence that as your body was peaking sexually during the night, the
image it latched on to was your friend. As for your dreams and questioning your sexual orientation, I can certainly understand your curiosity but would urge you to consider how you feel. Are you sexually attracted to women in waking life? Can you imagine dating a woman, or creating a romantic partnership with a woman? If yes to any of these, perhaps you are indeed "into" women in some way and may one day identify as bisexual or lesbian. This is not to say that you need a label — many people just take what attractions and interests come their way without identifying themselves one way or the
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other. Research frequently finds people's sexual attractions, behaviors and identities don't always line up neatly. If you're not interested in women in waking life, then perhaps you're a straight woman who sometimes dreams about women. Many women dream about women, and many men dream about men, even though they identify as heterosexual. In addition, many people who identify as gay dream about people of another gender. Dreams don't have to change who you are and what kind of partner you want while you're awake. It's something we don't talk much about, probably because our culture
tiptoes around talking about sex — but many people have sexual dreams about people they don't want to have sex with in waking life. Similarly, sometimes you might have a dream about having sex with a man — maybe a professor, someone you work with, a guy in one of your classes or even a family member. It doesn't mean you want to have sex with that person, either. Dreams are just dreams. If you're interested in learning more about dreams, a great academic book is "Working with Dreams in Psychotherapy," by Clara Hill. She's a professor of psychology and takes the perspective that dreams may have personal
CLASSES
meanings for us, but that the dreamer himself or herself best understands them — and what you see in your dreams isn't necessarily a literal translation of your wishes. Even though the book sounds like it's only meant for psychologists, it's a good read for laypeople too! Kinsey Confidential is part of a joint partnership between the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington (IU SPH) and The Kinsey Institute. The column is written by Dr. Debby Herbenick, professor in the IU SPH. Read past Q&A or submit your own question at KinseyConfidential.org. Follow us on Twitter @KinseyCon.
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