Krishna and Universal Studios - I am not sure if I agree - interesting reading

November 3, 2002

Namaste. As the following news article shows, Krishna is

being defamed by Universal Studios. Please send out emails

of protest to the following:

1: Universal Studios (CLICK to use their feedback form)

2: smay@clear.net.nz Thank you for your sincere cooperation.

Krishna Defamed by Universal Studios

Producers of the popular TV show, Xena: Warrior Princess have

cast Krishna as a fictional supporting player in an upcoming action

episode. The program, produced by Universal Studios, has Xena

seeking the help of the god Krishna to rescue Gabrielle and Eli from

the clutches of the King of the Demons.

Hindus and Vaishnavas have voiced concern and are planning a

variety of protests at the fictionalization of Krishna, and you can do

your part right from your computer, as described at the end of this

article. Xena: Warrior Princess is an action series shot in New

Zealand. The heoine Xena is a Greek goddess type character who

engages in regular battles with both fictional gods and mortals. Her

closest associates are all female warrior types. In this show Krishna

helps her achieve her goals.

It is an outrage that the producers of Xena and Universal Studios

feel that they can treat the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

Lord Krishna as a fictional character or puppet, who dances

according to the fantasies of their writers. To create lilas by putting

words into Krishnas mouth and have him participate in fictional

pastimes is offensive to all sincere devotees. It makes him appear as

a mere literary or fictional character, and makes light of his supreme

position.

Even if Krishna appears in a good or favorable role, supporting the

story s heroine, it is still offensive to invent a story line for the

Supreme Lord and then plug Him into it. Krishna is real. Krishnas

pastimes are real. It is insensitive and offensive to use him for cheap

entertainment purposes. To give an idea of what can be expected

from the show, consider the following: the program regularly features

fictional accounts of the heroine fighting, doing battle with and

conquering Greek gods and goddesses,etc. To treat Krishna in a

similar manner, i.e. to create fictional roles for Him, is disrespectful

not only to Krishna and His worshippers, but to the Vedic scriptures

and Vedic culture, as it cheapens them. It undermines their

transcendental position and cheapens their authenticity by making

them appear as mere legends or epic stories rather than the absolute

truth.

Devotees are also alarmed by the fact that the show openly

promotes homosexuality. Lucy Lawless (who plays the role of

Xena) recently stated in an interview with The Advocate (the worlds

largest homosexual publication) that as Xena, she is proud to be a

lesbian icon. A regular theme in the show is Xena rescuing her

beloved from dangerous situations. And this certainly appears to be

the theme in the upcoming episode featuring Lord Krishna. Thus,

there is genuine concern that having a fictionalized Krishna help Xena

save her girlfriend will be seen as a promotion or endorsement of the

homosexual lifestyle by Lord Krishna, who helps them become

reunited.

Many people are also rightly concerned that the shows recent focus

on Indian themesas well as the fact that Xena and Gabrielle have

been cloaking themselves in Indian mysticism--is a cheap attempt to

cash in on the growing interest in yoga and Indian spirituality. And that

having Krishna assist Xena in reuniting with her lover is an attempt to

make people think that the Vedic scriptures condone lesbianism and

homosexuality

Concern has also been voiced that the producers see India as a "land

of many gods" --fictional in their minds, of course-- and that they have

the right to create fictional story lines around such gods, just as they

have done with the Greek gods. Please take a stand so that Krishna

is not demeaned by materialistic entertainers. You can help if you act

fast.

Please petition Universal Studios to NOT show this episode,

let them know that hundreds of millions of Krishna worshippers will be

offended if they do.

Some possible points to make:

1. Krishna is real! Krishna is the Supreme Lord, not a fictional, literary

character who can be played with for mundane entertainment.

2. Krishna worshippers will be deeply offended if the producers run

this show. (Would they feature an encounter of Xena with Jesus,

Mohammed, or Allah? No, because they know there would be violent

protests!)

3. Many devotees will boycott products produced by the advertisers if

the show proceeds.

4. Universal Studios will be perceived as bigoted and anti-Hindu, anti-

Vaishnava if they proceed with the show.

5. Hindus and Vaishnava do not endorse the lesbian lifestyle and will

be deeply offended if a fictionalized Krishna acts as part of an

endeavor to bring Xena back together with her beloved.

Fax and e-mail addresses are given below: (Faxes seem to

have more impact.)

Send faxes to: Universal Studios (818)866-1402

Pacific Renaissance Pictures 011 649 834-7275 (this is a New

Zealand number; the show is produced and shot there).

Send e-mails to:

1: Universal Studios (CLICK to use their feedback form)

2: smay@clear.net.nz Thank you for your sincere cooperation.

November 3, 2002

have you seen the show ?

this happened a while ago,where you been ?

Look before you go and get all excited over something

as inconsequential as Xena, have you thought that maybe

the show was doing an homage ?

Xena warrior princess was all about alternative mythology,

it wasn't supposed to be accurate,that was the point of the show, they mixed up mythology from all over the world,

from various era's and had Xena deal with them.

the Krishna episode was way cool dude, how about you lighten up a bit ?

How many t.v shows have you EVER seen with Krishna in it ?

In Xena, Krishna is the only character to ever save Xena's life, whats the big complaint ?

Xena wields the chakra,the shastra states that only Vishnu wields the chakra, maybe you naysayers need to

see the positive aspect of Krishna choosing to appear

in such a fashion.

"Fools deride me when I appear in human form"

gHari · November 4, 2002

Xena Bows to Krsna Here in Movie Clip</a></center>

For the first and only time Xena bows to someone; prays to someone, folded hands; to be saved by someone. All glories to Sri Krsna, the One who has humbled the mighty Xena before the world.

Did we complain when Krsna was depicted as the cigar puffing George Burns?

I still think this cutting article sums up the lack of perspective and honesty displayed by the world vaishnavas during this Xena issue:

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET9904/ET19-3651.html

If nothing else, this protest proved that while vaishnavas may accept Krsna as God, they do not accept God as Krsna. It's really just a word to many it seems.

November 5, 2002

yup,yup,yup

It seems that these people are not really concerned about Krishna in the show, I would not be suprised if their real agenda is the anti Gay right wing nut agenda.

The show never displayed any lesbianism at all, both the female leads got married, and had boy friends,

the lesbian community latched onto the show and made it a cult hit among them because it showed strong independent women fighting and winning over strong men.

the show itself never had a lesbian moment, the right wing nut crowd also have a big problem with "Buffy the vampire slayer" naming it the worst show on t.v.

these anti xena/Krishna people i am sure are part of that crowd trying to incite hate in the name of God and morality,

they need to look into their own motives and

face the truth, they want to establish fascism in the name of so called morality, who's morality ?

Theirs, they belong to the same type of thinking

that is dominant in the islamic world, they would be happy to set up a government based on their own religious

authority, a "shari'a " for our "benefit", in the islamic world the offenders of shari'a are so morally treated,

death by stoning for just about anything sexually

deemed wrong, cutting off of the hands for a thief,

etc.

These people are really no different, they want to control what you see, read, hear, think, etc.

Jagat · November 6, 2002

I got a riotous laugh out of a Canadian/Indian film "Masala" that came out a few years ago. The granny (Zohra Segal) does puja to the television and Krishna (Saeed Jaffrey) appears on it and talks to her. She asks him to intercede in their life, so he does. He appears in one scene wearing the entire Toronto Maple Leaf hockey gear and takes a slapshot at a Mail Truck, causing it to crash, with the result that a rare stamp falls into the hands of the granny's son.

There are many other amusing scenes with Krishna, especially at the beginning, where Krishna is scene directly intervening in the crash of an airplane (the famous Air India crash had taken place not long before the film was made). I forget the name of the actor who played Krishna, but he is a well known Indian actor. The granny, too.

"There are countless anecdotes about Bombay films and songs that have become a cultural reference and therefore a means of social interaction for Indians of the diaspora. A very good example of the importance of films for this diaspora can be seen in the Canadian film Masala by Srinivas Krishna. This film focuses on an Indian community in Toronto, where we witness an excellent parody of the popular film phenomenon through an old Indian mausi (maternal aunt in Hindi) who converses with the god Krishna (avatara of Vishnu) who inhabits her television. For the diaspora these illusory films represent a form of Indian reality. Krishna is enclosed in the TV set (he has managed to exit the audio-visual cassette which "contained" him, where he was acting in a mythological film adaptation of Vyasa's Hindu epic, The Mahabharata) and appears at opportune moments to voice his vichar (words of wisdom) in order to advise the mausi who has prayed for him to show up."

The film is not a great film overall, but it has a number of high points, especially, I would imagine, for children of the Indian diaspora, like Srinivas Krishnan himself.