When I read Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste in 2020, it provided context for so much I had heard in my family and community. Her “eight pillars” provided a structural framework for what I had dismissed as individual prejudices. I recommended the book to my siblings and many others, as a way of giving us tools to understand off-hand comments and deep-seated beliefs.
Last Fall, I had a chance to see Ava Duvernay’s creative and profound adaptation of Caste. And that was a different experience. That film – Origin – has just been released and is being widely acclaimed for its portrayal of Wikerson’s story (by the actor Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor). Much of what we are reading in response to the film focuses on the way it weaves the story of Trayvon Martin alongside Wilkerson’s own personal and academic journey. But I responded to something else.
I was deeply moved and transported by the film but horrified to see the images of Dalits (formerly Untouchables) cleaning human waste from septic tanks and other areas. This is only one aspect of the continued oppression and marginalization of Dalits, which I have been learning more about since last year, and which takes place in the United States in less obvious but no less problematic ways. In this episode of Our Body Politic, which I guest hosted last year, I talked with Thenmozhi Soundararajan and Yashica Dutt about their anti-caste advocacy. Yashica’s book Coming Out as Dalit will be available in paperback soon, and I recommend pre-ordering!
During the film screening, I was deeply uncomfortable watching the treatment of Dalits, perhaps more so because I was in a room with my colleagues in the social justice world. I felt embarrassed, as if somehow I was responsible for these centuries-old practices. The thing is – I may not be responsible, but I am accountable. To pay attention, to speak out, to learn and to challenge. In this review in NRI Pulse, the writer critiques Duvernay’s depiction of India, saying “its failure to portray a balanced view of India is a significant oversight.” I don’t agree with the review but I understand the impulse that South Asians feel to defend ourselves. It’s much easier to criticize the portrayal or distance ourselves from it, than to do the work needed to dismantle our own racism and casteism. If we believe “things aren’t so bad” or “things are changing”, then we can take it easy on ourselves.
I hope you’ll all see the film, sit with the pain and discomfort and come out of that ready to keep the work we all need to do.
Sayu
I don't know about your family, but in mine, there's always this tendency to minimize, put a bright side on things, explain why it's really not so bad, ask why are we focusing on the negative, to puff things up.... I wonder, sometimes, if there's a culturally imposed will to stay blind to unpleasant truths.