Hanif Kureishi and Postcolonial Literature
Modernism

strong consciousness of historic evolution and common cultural tradition

strong sense of alienation from those values: Forster, Conrad, Lawrence

appeal to a tradition of western humanist values

Passage to India: Mr. Fielding in the tradition of the very good British guy, as we would
like him to be - kind, gentle, aiming for an ideal of human relationships, but in the
modernist works, this approach does not work - all those ideals he tries to bring to help
people connect no longer work - other things get in the way - human nature,
colonialism, sense that the old ideals are still valuable but no longer work - they are
absent

modernist writer judges the characters in terms of some higher moral standard which
may be missing but the text reveals a world that suffers without it
Postmodern/Postcolonial literature

Less judgement about the characters behavior.

Raise questions which are not answered in the literature about how one should live

more realistic, often focusing on anti-heroes, certainly not extraordinary or heroic
situations

dark, but not depressing - tone is more often ironic, satiric, reflects disconnectedness in
the characters and in the style - often humor in odd places

more open stylistically - may mix high and low language

doesn't have a closed form, with a strong resolution
Postcolonialism

A type of postmodern literature rooted in the idea of identity and otherness - how to
separate from the judgement of the colonizing culture

Written by people who were part of the colonized culture - relevant to American readers
because of the struggle with identity -

Writing about identity, hybridity - older generation strongly attached to the culture from
which they came - younger generation see themselves as hybrids - combination of more
than one culture - struggle to self-define in terms of their new culture, not in terms of the
old culture

Postcolonialism causes us to question all notions of identity and nationalism - questions
the exclusiveness of identity- especially that based on national identity - other ties are
often stronger - shared values, experiences based on gender, economics, tribal
affiliation that predates nationalism

Postcolonial interest in border crossing: questions whether you can cross a border and
leave the other identity behind - you might think you have, but people around you do not
(racism) too many memories, often power related, that drive wedges between people
often main characters, who are young, want to escape from their past, but can't
See my English 285 link "Some Aspects of Postcolonial Theory"
My Beautiful Laundrette as an example of postcolonial literature
o
Tania in the film says, "I hate family" because for her family represents the
pressures to conform to the standards of the old culture - conflict in the
characters knowing that they have been partially defined by where they come
from but not wanting to be limited by this definition
o
How can you connect when you are different - racially, religiously, ethnically from
the majority of the culture which you consider home? But you can't go home to
the culture from which your parents originat
o
the gay relationship - cross-cultural, interracial relationship between two
characters who defy the stereotypical assumptions of their own cultural groups
represented as liberating, border crossing in terms of culture and sexual
preference
o
the mass of other characters shaped and controlled by political and social
pressures that prevent them from breaking free
o
Hardly a scene goes by without political social commentary - Kureishi sets this
screenplay and many of his novels in the period of Margaret Thatcher as P.M. encouraged business, making a new England - the new enterprise
o
Thatcher's England based less on tradition, more on competition, individualism,
making money - gave people lots of opportunity to cross social and cultural
boundaires-
o
Huge gap between people who made money (new entrepreneurs) and those who
did not (working class, unskilled workers). In My Beautiful Laundrette, the
entrepreneurs are the Pakistanis not the Caucasian Brits.
o
lots of people homeless, guys hanging out on the streets, on the dole - squatters
- homeless people moved into an empty house made it home - squatters' rights disenfranchised young people, no future, nothing to do, will not be able to take
advantage of the new financial opportunities - these opportunities offer new
o
levelling process across ethnicities - doesn't matter where you come from, just
how much money you make - the young Pakistani hero believes in this, his
father, represents the old values - education, philosophy
o
the young character sort of amoral - very nice, kind, no particular values - just
wants to be happy and make a lot of money
o
postmodern approach - the writer doesn't judge- just portrays the challenges the
characters face.
Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi
"From the start I tried to deny my Pakistani self ... it was a curse and I wanted to be rid of it. I
wanted to be like everyone else." (Kureishi, "The Rainbow Sign")
Biography
Born December 5, 1954 in Bromley, England, Hanif Kureishi grew up experiencing first-hand the
racial and cultural clashes that he addresses in most of his work. The product of an interracial
marriage between a Pakistani immigrant and an English woman, the inspiration for his work has
been drawn from his own life's trials and tribulations as a hybrid of two different races and
cultures. Kureishi decided that he wanted to be a writer from a young age, and began writing
novels that were considered for publication while he was still a teenager.
He studied philosophy at the University of London, and then supported himself by writing
pornography under the pseudonym Antonia French. After a humble beginning as an usher for
the Royal Theater, Kureishi later became the theater's writer in residence. His first play, Soaking
Up the Heat, was produced in 1976 at London's Theater Upstairs. His second play, The Mother
Country, won the Thames Television Playwright Award in 1980. His breakthrough came with his
first play for the Royal Court Theater, Borderline, about immigrants living in London. This led
him to have his work, Outskirts, performed by London's Royal Shakespeare Company.
Kureishi's first efforts with film were successful and gained him a larger audience, especially in
America. His screenplay for My Beautiful Laundrette was written in 1985, and tells the story of a
young Pakistani immigrant who opens a laundromat with his gay, white lover. Critics from both
sides of the Atlantic praised Kureishi; one reviewer, Ian Jack, said, "here at last is a story about
immigrants which shows them neither as victims nor tradition-bound aliens. They're
comprehensible, modern people with an eye to the main chance, no better or worse than the
rest of us." Despite the rave reviews, some Pakistani organizations felt that they were being
portrayed in a negative manner as homosexuals and drug dealers. To them, a character of
Pakistani origin represented the entire Pakistani community, and should display a positive
stereotype to American and British audiences. Kureishi rejects the politics of representation;
hedoes not take this role of an ambassador representing his minority, preferring to depict the
harsher realities of racism and class divisions.
After My Beautiful Laundrette won several awards, including the Best Screenplay award from
the New York Film Critics Circle, Kureishi scripted his next film with the controversial title
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. Exploring the world of a racially mixed couple living in London
during the race riots, it received less critical acclaim than his previous film. Kureishi made a
rebound in 1990 with his first semi-autobiographical novel, The Buddha of Suburbia. It is about
the life of a young bisexual man, who is half-Indian and half-English, growing up in London. It
won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award for the first novel category of the Booksellers
Association of Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1991, Kureishi made his directorial debut with London Kills Me, which he also wrote. In this
film, he expanded on his interest of street life by focusing on the world of drugs and gangs. He
also returns to one of his recurring themes by addressing homelessness. As an immigrant,
Kureishi has written a great deal on the concept of home, describing the complexities involved
in finding a place to belong. In his most recent novel, The Black Album, he delves into the
painful, lonely, and confused world of a young man of Pakistani origin, who finds himself having
to choose between his white lover and his Muslim friends. The novel is heavily influenced by
pop culture, especially music and drugs, which Kureishi often incorporates into his work.
An in-depth overview of Kureishi's life and work is available for subscribers at:
http://galenet.gale.com/m/mcp/netacgi/np...&u=/m/mcp/db/ca/name-search.html&r=1&f:
Selected Works by Hanif Kureishi
Plays
-The King and Me(1980) Produced in London at the Soho Poly Theater.
-Cinders(1981) Adapted from a play by Janusz Glowacki and produced in London. -TomorrowToday!(1981) Produced in London.
-Birds of Passage(1983) Produced at the Royal Court Theater in London.
-Mother Courage(1984) Adapted from the play by Bertolt Brecht. Produced by the Royal
Shakespeare Company in London.
Screenplays -My Beautiful Laundrette(1985) Film script published with autobiographical essay
"The Rainbow Sign" in My Beautiful Laundrette and The Rainbow Sign, Faber, 1986.
-Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) Published as Sammy and Rosie Get Laid : The Script and
the Diary, Penguin, 1988.
-London Kills Me: Three Screenplays and Four Essays (1991) Published by Faber.
Radio Plays
-You Can't Go Home (1980).
-The Trial (1982) Adapted from the novel by Franz Kafka.
Fiction
-The Buddha of Suburbia . London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1990.
-The Black Album.. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc., 1995.
Essays
"Bradford" (1986) Granta 20.
Selected Criticism on Hanif Kureishi
-Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 64, Gale, 1991, pp.245-255.
-Chicago Tribune Book World, April 6, 1986, p.26.
-Economist, July 21, 1990, p.92.
-Interview, July, 1987, p.94.
-Los Angeles Times Book Review, June 3, 1990, p.10.
-New Yorker, November 16, 1987, pp.140-141.
-New York Times Book Review, May 6, 1990, p.6.
-Time, March 17, 1986, p.78.
-Times Literary Supplement, January 22, 1988, p.87.
-Times Literary Supplement, May 2, 1986, p.470
-Washington Post Book Review, May 27, 1990, p.7.
Related Sites
Kureishi Message Board
Author: Surbhi Sharma, Fall 1997