Mississippi Masala

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Film Essay

The film Mississippi Masala by Mira Nair portrays the complications that can often come along with an interracial relationship. This relationship is between an African American man, Demetrius, who grew up in the south and a South Asian woman, Mina, who grew up in Uganda and later in the south as well. There are many similarities and differences that the couple shares in their cultural background as well as in modern times in the United States. Even though they have many similarities, they are often gone unnoticed by their families, and still have to struggle with being accepted. I also think their relationship brings out several stereotypes of unequal positions that a minority, or any specific race, is supposed to “hold” or “act like”.

The similarities can start far before Demetrius and Mina were even born. Both of their races and families were the victims of the British migrating them to foreign countries to work. Indians were sent to Uganda to build railways, and Africans were shipped to the Americas to also build railways and then to be slaves. The only difference was that the Indians were only set up to be temporary workers and were later exiled from Uganda. “On 5 August 17 Idi Amin informed his country that ‘Asians came to Uganda to build the railway. The railway is finished. They must leave now.’ The state shortly thereafter expelled 50,000 Asians.”(Prashad, p.100-101) Many of the families then moved to England and then to the United States. Since this migration took place within both of their races then neither one of them were born nor have visited their country of origin. So even though America is their home, conflicts of racial issues still arise all around them. They are also both minorities in today’s society. They’ve both experienced issues with race beyond being in an interracial relationship. Demetrius is a black man in the south, which most people know is a very racist place to live. Mina experienced a racial prejudice when she was forced to leave the country where she was born, Uganda, because of her race and the color of her skin. Okelo, a family friend of Mina’s, told Jay, Mina’s father, that Africa is for Africans, black Africans.




I think that the film demonstrates many unequal positions that are held by African Americans and South Asians in today’s society. By unequal positions I mean the stereotypes that are often times affiliated with how a person of a certain race should act, dress or be like. For example, the film shows black children rapping on a street corner, black people speaking Ebonics and also shows a scene of a predominantly black night club that plays music created by black people. There are scenes where Mina is involved in a traditional Indian wedding, takes part in traditional Indian prayers and parts where she and her family speak in Hindi, their traditional language. These are all assumptions that tend to be made about these specific races. Mina’s family also works at a hotel and her mother owns a liquor store. Two more stereotypes that are often associated with South Asians in the United States. There is one scene in the movie where the owner of the hotel depicts black people as being good at sports. This following quote illustrates that races do reach for their roots “Just as white Americans don the robes of the East or reinvent their ethnicities of Europe, just as blacks seek connections with Africa in name, religion, and food, just as Latinos find links with Latin America, so too do desis seek some icon in their homeland for solace.”(Prashad p.11)

As far as labeling their relationship as another white-black schism I think it depends on which point of view you’re looking at the situation from. From the standpoint of Demetrius and Mina’s families, they probably do think of it as a black and white issue. Not black and white in a sense of racial color, but in a sense of being opposite. There is even an example given in the movie of a dark and light issue within their own race. One woman at the Indian wedding says, “You can be dark and rich, or you can fair and poor, but you can’t be dark and poor and expect to get a guy like Raju.” She is referring to the wealthy Indian man who’s looking for a bride and has much interest in Mina. “Irawati Karve, for instance, tells us that there is ‘among all castes a definite preference for a fair bride against a dark bride,’ but she does not tell us why.”(Prashad p.8) The hotel owner makes a comment to Demetrius and Tyrone that all people who aren’t white are colored. He later contradicts himself when he is upset to find Mina and Demetrius at the hotel room. These are other examples that race can and does occur in one’s own cultural circle. As far as society goes, I don’t think it’s just another example or statistic. I think that the United States is slowly but surely moving away from racial conflicts in relationships. I believe that more people are starting to perceive these relationships in different ways and moving away from the black-white schism.

I try not to think about where minorities fall into the so-called “American” caste system, but if I had to I would probably conclude that they do well, at least on paper, compared to most minorities. The Census derived in 1 that 80% of South Asians completed high school, % were unemployed, 0% lived below the poverty line and average income was $,1.00. These numbers seem relatively high compared to the statistics of say blacks or Latinos living in America. As far as “hearsay” is concerned, I also think they’re probably fairly high on the scale. You don’t seem to, or at least I don’t, hear as many jokes or racial slurs about South Asians as you do other minorities. You could probably conclude from this that society perceives them as what they like to call “model minorities”.

There is a lot of racial tension when you’re involved in an interracial relationship. This tension will more than likely be here for generations to come. And despite the similarities in culture and history that can be pointed out, controversy will always arise. I do however think and hope that the racial barrier is slowly closing, and that someday the issue of race can be a part of our history instead of a problem of today.



Sources Cited

1. Prashad, Vijay “The Karma of Brown Folk.”

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