Mississippi Masala Essay

Mississippi Masala
The film begins in 1972 in Uganda. It centers around an Indian family that is being forced out of their home by General Idi Amin, the new regime. This happens because Jay (the father of the main character, Mina) gives an interview with BBC in which he badmouths the General. Amin does not take to this too lightly and expedites the removal of all “Asians” from Uganda. Jay and his family, along with others are exiled to London. Eighteen years pass by and the film refocuses on Jay, his family and their lives in Greenwood, Mississippi. Mina is now twenty-four years old and works at a motel to help support her family. Her mother, Kinnu, owns a liquor store and her father, Jay, spends a majority of his time time writing to the Ugandan government about suing them in order to regain his lost property.
One day while Mina is out running errands, she gets distracted behind the wheel and rear-ends another vehicle (which in turn, rear-ends another vehicle). She meets Demetrius; a young

Black man that is the owner of the van she hits. They exchange insurance information, but do not really interact in that moment. However, they cross paths again at a nightclub later that evening. Mina is out with Harry Patel; a boy of high stature within their community. All the eligible ladies Mina’s age are after him. She becomes disinterested in Harry as soon as she sees Demetrius. They get along rather famously and begin talking more. Eventually, Demetrius introduces Mina to his family. Initially they are a little taken aback because she is Indian, but accept her after spending time with her.
There doesn’t seem to be an issue of ethnicity or culture between Mina’s and or Demetrius’ families. That is until Mina is caught in a lie by a family friend. She told her parents she was going to the beach with a girlfriend, when in actuality she and Demetrius took a trip to Biloxi. The family friend knocks on their hotel door and when Demetrius opens it, he engages him in a fight. Demetrius is arrested, ruining his reputation.This cause a huge strain on all parties. Basically, the two love-birds become the talk of the town, and not in a good way. Mina’s parents are adamant about her staying away from Demetrius, so adamant that her father wants to move back to Uganda. Demetrius receives more backlash than he anticipated. The bank threatens to take his van away if he can’t pay.
At this point Mina and Demetrius are not on speaking terms, but because she is leaving Mina tries to say one last goodbye to Demetrius.

At first he doesn’t want to talk to her, but they eventually come to the conclusion that they will join forces in efforts to keep his business going. They would leave Greenwood and go anywhere they could find work for themselves. They explain their decision to their parents and to much surprise they are supportive. Kinnu decides Jay should go to Uganda by himself; it is only his wish and will to go back. Once in Uganda, Jay realizes his obsession with trying to get back was essentially in vain because “home” is wherever Kinnu is. He finally understands that suing the government isn’t worth it anymore because he already has everything he needs in Mississippi. He also saw that harboring all the anger he did towards his dear friend was wrong. When he found out Okelo had died, he felt much regret because they would never be able to reconcile.

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The film depicts two ethnic groups: Blacks and Indians. For the most part the two communities cohabit without much objection. One character puts the group’s relationship into perspective; he states, “...Black, brown, yellow, Mexican, Puerto Rican, all the same. As long as you’re not white, it means you’re colored...All of us people of color must stick together.” He implies that the two groups can and should get along because they’re not so different. However, it did seem that the two groups did not really interact often, but kept to themselves rather. There was a lack of curiosity in regards to the other’s culture. They did also generalize them to stereotypes. It wasn’t really until Demetrius and Mina became involved that you saw a crossing over.
Mina and her family are from Uganda, but much of their traditions and values that they practice are still primarily influenced by the Indian-American culture. Even though Jay has adapted much of a western/American philosophy of parenting, he and Kinnu prove to still be somewhat traditionalistic. He puts a lot of pressure on Mina (she is an only child), wanting her to do more with her life than just clean bathrooms/motel rooms. He encourages her to pursue an education. But also focuses on her happiness; he is less likely to interfere in her affairs. He isn’t too put off by the fact that Demetrius is Black. Kinnu on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily think he is suitable for Mina. But rather Harry Patel, an Indian man, is a much better match. She is also more focused on making Mina into a woman of which a man would want to marry. She objects to Mina having a mind of her own and thinks she should act/be a certain way. Mina herself has adapted to the American lifestyle whilst still maintaining her heritage, rather well. She is independent and strong-minded. She isn’t the type to let others get in the way of what she wants/what she wants to do. While her dad would counsel her about going back to school, she stood her ground and stated that she was content with what she was doing. When her parents told her she couldn’t see Demetrius, she spoke truthfully about how she felt and her thoughts. She also understood when she needed to take a step back and show respect for her parents. Mina embraces her heritage, thinks of herself as mixed masala (hot spices).
Others within their community were often very catty when talking about Mina and her family. At one point the following was exchanged between two Indian women, “You can be dark and have money, or you can be fair and have no money. But you can’t be dark and have no money.” Clearly poking fun at Mina’s skin tone and her family’s economic background. They think Mina is not good enough for Harry because she is dark and their family’s main source of income comes from the mother’s liquor store. They are unapproving of the fact Jay is not like most men, in the sense he let’s Kinnu “bring home the bacon.” As well as the fact that Kinnu owns a liquor store, it’s as if she is beneath them because that is her profession.