Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 I wish to offer my own humble opinion concerning the Tina Turner controversy. My first point is that I believe that much can be gained from a movie about Kali which is seen by many people in the West. Kali is vastly misunderstood in the West. I have seen her described as a "female Satan" or a "bloody-thirsty ogre" or "goddess of death and destruction." Some Westerners believe that the only Indians who worship Kali are fanatic Thugees who perform ritual human sacrifice. It is very much to our advantage to see that these misunderstandings be corrected. The danger of course exists of the people in Hollywood making mistakes in their movie. This is inevitable. The solution is not to petition them to stop filming the movie, as some have suggested. The solution is to offer our help. Let some Hindu scholars very knowledgable about Kali offer to review the scripts to make sure that they are accurate, and to attend the filming to make sure that she is portrayed in a dignified and appropriate manner. People in Hollywood are good people and if they offend anyone it is from ignorance rather than from ill will. They will be grateful for any education that we can provide. Concerning the question of whether Ms. Turner is appropriate for the role, let me ask all of you one question: Is Kali an Indian woman? I say, no, she is a representation of all the universe, including not only Indians but Europeans and Africans and Chinese and Martians and Klingons and everyone else in the universe. Thus the race of the woman chosen to portray Kali is irrelevant. Some have complained that the sorts of songs and costumes that Ms. Turner has used in her performances in the past make her unsuitable. I say that this is irrelevant. Any person can grow and change and learn. Every person should have the opportunity to do so. It is possible that she might give a bad performance, but it is also possible that she might be very good at this. It seems unwise to me to say that she will inevitably fail, therefore she should not be given the chance. The people in Hollywood have apparently already decided that the film will be made, and that Ms. Turner will portray Kali. We cannot change that. We can however, offer our help in ensuring that the film has a positive effect and not a negative one. Jai Mahakali! Sister Usha ===== Sister Usha Devi Founder, Divinely Female and worshipper of the Sacred Flame that shines inside every woman Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. http://antispam./tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 Thanks. Much of your write up makes sense, except for the fact that nobody objected to the concept of an African American playing the role of Kali. Nobody objected to a non-Indian playing that role either. A look at earlier messages will clarify. Rgds , Sister Usha Devi <sisterusha> wrote: > I wish to offer my own humble opinion concerning the > Tina Turner controversy. > My first point is that I believe that much can be > gained from a movie about Kali which is seen by many > people in the West. Kali is vastly misunderstood in > the West. I have seen her described as a "female > Satan" or a "bloody-thirsty ogre" or "goddess of death > and destruction." Some Westerners believe that the > only Indians who worship Kali are fanatic Thugees who > perform ritual human sacrifice. It is very much to our > advantage to see that these misunderstandings be > corrected. > The danger of course exists of the people in > Hollywood making mistakes in their movie. This is > inevitable. The solution is not to petition them to > stop filming the movie, as some have suggested. The > solution is to offer our help. Let some Hindu scholars > very knowledgable about Kali offer to review the > scripts to make sure that they are accurate, and to > attend the filming to make sure that she is portrayed > in a dignified and appropriate manner. People in > Hollywood are good people and if they offend anyone it > is from ignorance rather than from ill will. They will > be grateful for any education that we can provide. > Concerning the question of whether Ms. Turner is > appropriate for the role, let me ask all of you one > question: Is Kali an Indian woman? I say, no, she is a > representation of all the universe, including not only > Indians but Europeans and Africans and Chinese and > Martians and Klingons and everyone else in the > universe. Thus the race of the woman chosen to portray > Kali is irrelevant. > Some have complained that the sorts of songs and > costumes that Ms. Turner has used in her performances > in the past make her unsuitable. I say that this is > irrelevant. Any person can grow and change and learn. > Every person should have the opportunity to do so. It > is possible that she might give a bad performance, but > it is also possible that she might be very good at > this. It seems unwise to me to say that she will > inevitably fail, therefore she should not be given the > chance. > The people in Hollywood have apparently already > decided that the film will be made, and that Ms. > Turner will portray Kali. We cannot change that. We > can however, offer our help in ensuring that the film > has a positive effect and not a negative one. > Jai Mahakali! > > Sister Usha > > ===== > Sister Usha Devi > Founder, Divinely Female and worshipper of the Sacred Flame that shines inside every woman > > > > Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. > http://antispam./tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 Early news clips about the movie said Tina was playing Kali, but the most recent info says she will portray "Shakti." Kali is explicitly described as BLACK. Shakti has less explicitly a specific color of complexion. (I always think of Shakti as RED, and teamed with Shiva as WHITE or ASHEN GREY.) -- Len/ Kalipadma On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 16:50:36 -0800 (PST) Sister Usha Devi <sisterusha writes: > I wish to offer my own humble opinion concerning the > Tina Turner controversy. > My first point is that I believe that much can be > gained from a movie about Kali which is seen by many > people in the West. Kali is vastly misunderstood in > the West. I have seen her described as a "female > Satan" or a "bloody-thirsty ogre" or "goddess of death > and destruction." Some Westerners believe that the > only Indians who worship Kali are fanatic Thugees who > perform ritual human sacrifice. It is very much to our > advantage to see that these misunderstandings be > corrected. > The danger of course exists of the people in > Hollywood making mistakes in their movie. This is > inevitable. The solution is not to petition them to > stop filming the movie, as some have suggested. The > solution is to offer our help. Let some Hindu scholars > very knowledgable about Kali offer to review the > scripts to make sure that they are accurate, and to > attend the filming to make sure that she is portrayed > in a dignified and appropriate manner. People in > Hollywood are good people and if they offend anyone it > is from ignorance rather than from ill will. They will > be grateful for any education that we can provide. > Concerning the question of whether Ms. Turner is > appropriate for the role, let me ask all of you one > question: Is Kali an Indian woman? I say, no, she is a > representation of all the universe, including not only > Indians but Europeans and Africans and Chinese and > Martians and Klingons and everyone else in the > universe. Thus the race of the woman chosen to portray > Kali is irrelevant. > Some have complained that the sorts of songs and > costumes that Ms. Turner has used in her performances > in the past make her unsuitable. I say that this is > irrelevant. Any person can grow and change and learn. > Every person should have the opportunity to do so. It > is possible that she might give a bad performance, but > it is also possible that she might be very good at > this. It seems unwise to me to say that she will > inevitably fail, therefore she should not be given the > chance. > The people in Hollywood have apparently already > decided that the film will be made, and that Ms. > Turner will portray Kali. We cannot change that. We > can however, offer our help in ensuring that the film > has a positive effect and not a negative one. > Jai Mahakali! > > Sister Usha > > ===== > Sister Usha Devi > Founder, Divinely Female and worshipper of the Sacred Flame that > shines inside every woman > > > > Mail SpamGuard - Read only the mail you want. > http://antispam./tools > > > > Links > > > > > > ______________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 > Thanks. Much of your write up makes sense, Thank you. >except for the fact that > nobody objected to the concept of an African American playing the > role of Kali. Nobody objected to a non-Indian playing that role > either. Yes, several people did make this objection on this list and on a few other lists where I have seen this subject discussed. Sister Usha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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