While a lot of colonial discourse so far studied contained
overbearing undertones and associations of the Land as a Mother(land), a
dominant theme in this 'postcolonial' text is on fatherhood, its failure and
weakness. The colonial texts with their resonance with nationalistic struggle
and a resistance to foreign presence attribute a maternal identity to the Land;
what can be seen in a text like "Men in the Sun" is the
representation of fatherhood as a source of shelter, and stability and the
failure of that for the exilic figure comes through the failure of fatherhood
itself.
In the movie, a few depictions of paternalistic moments
stand out. When Saad, the friend, is urging Abu Qais and his wife to move to
Kuwait, Abu Qais is shown as holding the baby and engaging with it, while it
was not the case in the story. It is fatherhood itself, or at least the
yearning to fulfill the role, which dictates Abu Qais' movement from his land
to Kuwait. His own home and shelter are mirrored in his twelve trees he is
reluctant to leave behind. Its Abu Qais' search for fatherhood almost in that
journey that leads to his demise as a father.
Marwan's relationship with his father is an obvious pointer
to the theme. His father abandons his mother and family when Zakariya ceases to
support the family. This way Marwan never had a stable father figure to begin
with. After his father leaves, it is up to Marwan to don the cloak of
fatherhood, and he eventually fails in his struggle as well. Hence, the exilic
figure never knows a consistent relationship with fatherhood. In a way,
Marwan's father himself is looking for security and sustenance via his marriage
with Shafiqa, both things fatherhood claims to provide. Marwan finds in Abu
Qais a paternalistic figure, a relationship very aptly rendered in the movie.
During the journey, the two males are shown supporting and resting on each
other in a symbiotic manner. Though like the state of exile itself, this is not
the organic and real relationship of a father and son; that cannot be
substituted.
Assad also has a
troublesome relationship with the father figure. His father dies, binding Assad
into a union he hates. Abu Khuzairan is impotent having lost his manhood during
a nationalistic struggle. His failure stems not just from his inability to ever
assume the role of a father, but also from failing those men whose lives he had
taken on, much like a father. His sterility connects with the Land itself, barren
and empty instead of regenerative and life-giving.
No comments:
Post a Comment