Since time immemorial, there has existed a system of exploitation between classes of society. Feudal lords and slaves, Brahmins and Dalits and the rich over the poor have taken on the roles of exploiter- exploited.
Exploitation is a word that takes a whole different meaning in Film maker Deepa Dhanraj’s dictionary. In her films ‘The Legacy of Malthus’ and ‘Something like a war’ she redefines the word exploitation and enables the viewer to experience it at a micro local level as well as a macro global level.
The Legacy of Malthus is a powerful film about the ‘people bomb’ i.e. population. However, Dhanraj widens the arena to address not only population but also poverty and its link to global control and political organization. Malthus, in his theory stated, “The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio, while subsistence increases in an arithmetic ratio.”
Through the juxtaposition of reconstructed scenes of enquiry into the Scottish Highland clearances, interviews with contemporary Rajasthani village women today, archival US news footage and current day propaganda films warning of the dire consequences of global population increase*, Dhanraj argues that poverty might not be so closely linked to population as one might believe. She deconstructs the Malthusian theory of overpopulation as the most significant cause of poverty by asserting that social and political organization rather than population is the principal cause of famine and poverty.
She does so by quoting many people endorsing Population institute of America and other American companies. “Economic policy and social security go hand in hand, additional security is judged by economic security.” Therefore showing the viewer that the U.S has vested interests in the population policies of other nations to keep a check on them, and protect their comfortable position of power. Through the film, the evils of inequitable distribution of wealth are highlighted. This system perpetuates poverty and blames the poor for their own condition. The viewer sees this when one of the rural poor that is interviewed in the film believes the cause of their problems to be their “ignorance, stupidity and poverty.” Ironically, they seem to be the only ones with free and independent minds in the film.
“Something like a war” is a disturbing examination of India's family planning program from the point of view of the women who are its primary targets.*With strong graphic images of various sterilization operations being carried out on unsuspecting victims, the film leaves the viewer with an uneasy feeling.
In the film, a doctor is being interviewed while he is operating on these poor rural women. “This is a quick, efficient and cheap method for sterilization. Unfortunately, one can perform only 100 operations a day.” This ‘quick’ and ‘efficient’ method gives no anaesthesia to its patients and provides no facilities for a recovery period in the hospital. Instruments are not hygienically sanitised but are continued to be used ‘case’ after ‘case’
There is a pressure on all those working at these hospitals to bring in ‘cases’, or women to be sterilised. Women are viewed by this health policy that is supposed to be beneficial to them as targets to be achieved and not as human beings. These policies and medical methodologies deny them of their basic human rights. Dhanraj exposes the helplessness of the entire system by juxtaposing a group discussion with rural women, interviews of the medical workers and by using quotes by Indira Gandhi and other government officials. “There has been pressure to show results, whether we like it or not, there will be some amount of people dead.”-D.N. Pai, Director, Family Planning.
The viewer is able to see exploitation at all levels, the women being operated on, the doctors to achieve targets, government officials and finally, developing countries, in the larger global context. The only free minded people in the film seem to be the group of rustic Rajasthani women, who share a beautiful relationship with Dhanraj. They freely voice their opinions “The man of the house is an empty title” and even their sexual desires. This makes the viewer wonder whether the opinions of these women were even taken into account during the formulation of the policies that would supposedly ‘benefit’ them.
As Jimoh Omo-Fadaka, a Nigerian ecologist points out, “The problem with modern industrialization is that other ‘developing countries’ must ‘catch up’ with the industrialized countries in the conventional way- by building dams, factories , steel mills , etc. Industrialization cannot be lifted from another country and be made to apply in another. It must grow from within the country and proceed according to the cultural attitudes and temperament of the people at their own pace. What is required is that development, economic growth and technology be subordinated to social and human needs and not vice versa, as is the case in many countries today.”
The U.S. exploits developing countries by providing them with cheap, illegal and unsafe medical technology to further their economic interests, we see this when Norplant is used on an experimental basis to as many as 300 women, killing and injuring them for life As Mohan Rao put it, What is attempted is to create a rational, utility maximizing consumer in the contraceptive market place, produced by the reproductive technology industry in the west. In the world of today, we see a substantial shift in global power, as what is echoing across the world is not ‘liberty, equality and fraternity’ but privatization, liberalization and globalization.”
* Source: www.wmm.com
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