Abstract Chapter 9: Negotiating Identity: Islam in the Films of Tareque and Catherine Masud Juditha Ohlmacher, University Of
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Abstract Chapter 9: Negotiating Identity: Islam in the Films of Tareque and Catherine Masud Juditha Ohlmacher, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh; and Anis Pervez The films of Tareque and Catherine Masud provide remarkable insight into the contemporary social and political formation of Bangladesh. This paper will investigate how they explore, through their films, a number of important issues at the core of the problems confronting Bangladesh, its history and its future. The primary focus will be how Islam is depicted as a constituent of identity in Bangladeshi society in the films because it is our view that an understanding of this crucial element in representing Bangladeshi identity is at the heart of their films. More specifically, it will aim to elucidate how Tareque and Catherine Masud — a husband-and-wife filmmaking team — have portrayed Bangladeshi Muslims in their feature films The Clay Bird/Matir Moina (2002) and Runway (2010). These films portray the multivocality of Bangladeshi Islam and its corresponding effect on life and politics; whereas other films tend to depict Islam from a critical perspective that is also often narrow in scope. It is our contention that the filmmakers are creating a new space for dialogue on the Bangladeshi Islamic identity through their films. These films were selected for discussion because both explicitly deal with issues related to Islam, whereas the Masud’s other feature films, Ontorjatra/Homeland (2007) and Noroshundor/The Barbershop (2009), do not overtly address Islamic identity. It is our contention that The Clay Bird and Runway present a more nuanced view of Islam, and thus the social and political realities in Bangladesh than other films do, whether mainstream or independent. Moreover, Catherine and Tareque Masud’s perception of the Muslim identity expanded during the eight year period between making the two films. A textual analysis supporting this contention, along with interviews conducted with Tareque and Catherine, will be presented in this chapter. As mentioned earlier, Tareque and Catherine Masud are husband-and-wife Bengali language filmmakers. It is worth noting that Catherine, a US citizen, has actively contributed to the development of filmmaking in Bangladesh. While Tareque often directs the films, Catherine usually acts as co-director, producer, co-writer or editor. Their films are joint initiatives, with individual differences negotiated into a shared vision of contemporary Bangladesh. Thus, we will refer to Catherine and Tareque simply as the Masuds, unless there is a clear distinction in voice. From: Shoesmith, Brian, and Jude William R. Genilo, eds. Bangladesh's Changing Mediascape: From State Control to Market Forces. 2013. .