Screening Room: Roots of Love

May 23, 2013

Welcome to our first Screening Room Presentation

Each month we will screen online ethnographic films and other documentaries relevant to anthropological concerns, inquiries and conversations. Each Screening Room presentation will be accompanied by a conversation/interview with the filmmakers, commentary by a scholar in a related field, or a study guide for classroom use and/or screenings. Our first feature is "Roots of Love," a short documentary that explores the changing significance of hair and turban use among Sikhs in India. Harjant Gill, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice at Towson University directed the film. "Roots of Love" was produced in dialogue with Harjant Gill’s doctoral dissertation, which explores the formation of contemporary Punjab Sikh masculinity in Northern India. His research interests include gender, globalization, ethnographic film and popular culture in India and South Asian diaspora. "Roots of Love" has been screened on BBC World News, PBS and Indian National TV.

Synopsis:

Told through the stories of six different men ranging in age from fourteen to eighty-six, Roots of Love documents the changing significance of hair and the turban among Sikhs in India. We see younger Sikh men abandoning their hair and turban to follow the current fashion trends, while the older generation struggles to retain the visible symbols of their religious identity. The film is a timely and relevant exploration of the inherent conflict between tradition and modernity, between pragmatism and faith. The choice of cutting one’s hair is one that not only concerns the individual and his family, but an entire community.

Still from "Roots of Love," by Harjant Gill, http://tilotamaproductions.com/Tilotama_Productions/ROOTS_OF_LOVE.html.

Study Guide Questions

-How does the film explore the meaning and importance of the turban in Sikh culture?

-What is the relationship between masculinity, hair and belief?

-Why did Pali cut his hair? How does this speak to generational gaps explored in the film in relation to social changes?

-What tensions and contradictions do Sikhs face regarding discourses of contemporary secular modernity? What impact has migration and terrorism had on turban wearing practices and ideas of masculinity within the Sikh community?

-What is the role of women in relation to ideas of masculinity and turban wearing? What is the difference in the roles of mothers and fathers in raising Sikh children?

-Why did the filmmaker decide to contrast the story of a young boy undergoing his turban tying ceremony with that of a Sikh in his late 20s cutting his hair?

-In what ways do some of the characters explain the turban as being empowering?