Women in Sholay VS. The women of The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven

In my previous analysis of the films The Seven Samurai (1954) and The Magnificent Seven (1960) I had focused on the role of women in the otherwise masculine and male dominated plots of these two films. Because of the extreme masculinity of these stories, the inclusion of women and romantic subplots are particularly interesting, especially when considering the characterization of the women in each narrative. Although there are marked differences in the treatment of the roles of women between The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, both featured female-supporting roles, working within the frame of a romance between said woman and one of the seven heroes. The largest difference between the two women was essentially the that The Seven Samurai used the romantic story line to emphasize the tragedy and drama of the film, while in The Magnificent Seven it was treated as a happy and romantic sub-text. However I also found that, although both stories were basically sexist characterizations, The Seven Samurai focused more on the morality of the female character, and somehow threw this created a stronger female figure. The addition of Sholay (1975) into my analysis of women in these narratives showed yet another mutation of not only the original narrative from The Seven Samurai, but also the role of women. Unlike many other ideas that were condensed from the previous two films into Sholay, the role of the woman was drastically changed by splitting it up into two supporting female characters; Basanti and Radha. Interestingly enough, these two female roles do still echo many of the same themes that were present in Shino (The Seven Samurai) and Petra (The Magnificent Seven), but were essentially split in two between the characters of Basanti and Radha.

It is not surprising that the role of women in Sholay is different, and there are many factors as to why this is so. First it must be taken into account that Sholay has a very different tone in general from The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven. The most obvious reason being that it is an Indian film set in India, as opposed to Japan or America. Although this transposition works surprisingly well, there are stylistic and cultural differences that change the overall story, most significantly threw the Bollywood style. Everything in Sholay is over the top; every aspect of the plot is emphasized and accentuated, including the melodrama and comedy. The use of color, music and dancing changes the tone of the film significantly from The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, and even though Sholay is still a tragic story, it is a less serious film then the first two. What is most important about this, as far as the role of women goes, is the way in which the story is presented reduces the masculinity of the film way down in comparison to the previous films. That is not to say the characters are not as masculine, or that the treatment of women is not sexist or from an obvious male perspective, but that the movie includes more elements which are typically associated with both masculinity and femininity.

In Sholay every part of the story is fashioned to create the highest possible interest, entertainment and drama. This is very true for the characters of Basanti and Radha, who represent two very different types of women. Unlike the women of The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, who embodied both rambunctiousness and rebellion, humility and tradition, Sholay essentially takes conflicts of thee one central female character and breaks it down into two. There is Basanti, the flirtatious, precocious and talkative women who seems to represent the more modern view of femininity. Although she is outspoken and independent, she also always maintains traditional honor and decorum. Opposite to Basanti is Radha, the tragic female figure. Widowed when Gabbar kills her husband (who is the son of Thakur), she is a silent figure who is often seen from a far, and has a sense of untouchable grief and piety. The splitting of the female role into two seems to continue in the over all theme of Sholay, which seeks to include almost anything possible into its plot; where in The Seven Samurai Shino does not have a happy ending, The Magnificent Sevens Petra does. In Sholay we have both happy and sad endings, with Basanti ending up with her love interest Veeru, but Radha having no resolution to her pain. One important similarity which is seen threw all three movies is the idea that one of the heroes falls in love with a villager, and the difference in status causes tension in their abilities to be together. In Sholay, this class struggle is still used, however it is the man (Veeru) who is not worth of the woman (Basanti). Veeru and Basanti end up together in a very similar fashion to Chico and Petra of The Magnificent Seven, however the hinted at love connection between Jai and Radha is never fully realized, and only ends in further sadness for Radha, an idea which is not directly taken from but which echoes the sadness of Shino.

The over all impression of women in Sholay differs from The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven because there seems to be a greater level for respect for the women in general in the movie. Although there are obvious objectification and sexism which happens in both the dialogue, and dance numbers, in general their characters have much more control and dignity than either Shino or Petra possess. Although both Basanti and Radha are ultimately dependant on men, and their main characterization revolves around their relationships and interactions with men, they also seem to be treated with greater respect as individuals. Wither this is simply a sign of the times (there is a large difference in attitudes towards women from 1954 to 1975), or cultural differences, it seems to me that women play a much more important role in general in Sholay by splitting the one female character up into two.

Gabbar Singh

The exaggerated malice and cruelty in the character of Gabbar Singh is almost unbelievable. What’s especially remarkable is that it’s left unexplained. There is no suggestion that Gabbar suffered a tortured childhood or some traumatic event that turned him evil, and though one might interpret his character as a sociopath—particularly after the Russian Roulette-type execution of his henchmen)—the filmmakers certainly don’t push the viewer in that direction. Instead, Gabbar is portrayed as an embodiment of pure evil, an aberration of some kind. His sense of retribution is highly imbalanced—he is arrested and responds by murdering the Thakur’s family in cold blood, including the young grandson. (Wikipedia says this scene was cut from the censored version, which is a shame, as it highlights the character’s complete lack of humanity). He is almost a force of nature, in his complete lack of empathy for beings, and yet in his predilection for sadism he is something much worse.

As an inhuman character, he transcends the regular role of movie villain. He is something completely different from the villains of Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven. He serves as a nemesis not to the heroes but to the Thakur, who is seemingly punished for his devotion to law and order. Unlike in the other films, the reason the heroes are hired is not because the bandits are bleeding the village within an inch of its life (although they are extorting goods from the villagers), but rather the Thakur’s vendetta against Gabbar. The villagers certainly seem glad to put a stop to the banditry, but when it gets dangerous they easily back down—like the villagers of The Magnificent Seven, they seem more inclined to pay off the bandits then to fight them. Even the heroes don’t seem particularly inspired by the story of the oppressed villagers—they are paid handsomely for their work and then decide to quit, only to be dissuaded by the Thakur telling them how Gabbar murdered his family. The impetus then, is not to protect the villagers, but to destroy Gabbar.

But even if the plot pits the heroes against Gabbar, it is just a distraction for the true battle, which must be fought by the Thakur. And this is where the story gets confusing, because it is unclear whether our heroes are actually heroes. Gabbar becomes an evil force that serves as the backdrop for different stories: the friendship of the Jai and Veeru the grief and retribution of the Thakur, and the two romances. More than a simple villain, his presence brings together different characters, but also sets them off in different directions: Jai to death, Veeru to marriage, Radha to the mourning of a second man, and the Thakur to perhaps some type of closure (if his tears mean anything).

Strange though, that Gabbar’s character is so magnetic, so popular to Bollywood filmgoers. Indeed, he has entered Indian popular culture as a bogeyman figure, something that mother’s scare their children with. The duality between his wickedness and charisma seems confused somehow. In the same way that Sholay might appear to be confused about its own genre to the viewer trained by Hollywood, Gabbar as a character is confused, which confuses the plot.

The Seven's Video: Response

For our video Dylan, Brandon and I decided to focus on the scenes from The Seven Samurai (1954), The Magnificent Seven (1960) and Sholay (1975) in which our heroes are first introduced. In all three films, the introduction of these charters is important because it does a large part in characterizing not only the heroes, but also the overarching epic nature of the stories.

In each film, our heroes of the story are presented as people in society who are both respected for their power, but feared for it as well. They are individuals who are not always moral in the strictest sense, but always endeavor to do what is right or honorable according to their moral compass. In all cases, the individuals are feared because they not only hold a talent and strength for fighting and protecting others that is unrivaled, but also, as paraphrased from Sholay (1975), know how to fight back. It is this power to fight back that gives them their mystique, however it is this same power and otherness that also makes them vulnerable. Because of their lines of work all of the heroes from our films are also put into positions of vulnerability. Their unyielding passion for living differently than what is culturally a normal life is the impetus for their coming to aid of the villagers. Because they are nomadic, they have no family, and thus nothing to lose. In each film the main reason they agree to aid in the fight is for material incentives (food, money), but the heroes are also characterized by their seemingly interminable drive to follow through on their promises and help the villagers win.

The introduction of our main heroes plays a big role in their characterization because in all three instances we are given a view of their skills and bravery. In The Seven Samurai (1954) we are introduced too Kambei through his daring and clever rescue of a young boy. In The Magnificent Seven (1960), we are introduced to Chris and Vin by their clam show of bravery and moral in taking on four gun men to bury an Indian in a white cemetery. And in Sholay (1975) we are introduced to Veeru and Jai in a dramatic fight scene where they effortlessly take on train hijackers and risk their own freedom to save the life of a police officer. For our project we wanted to take those scenes and cut them into one another to find out what we could create by placing them together into one scene. In our version, the ways the clips are organized emphasizes the heroism and drama of the three scenes. The clips we chose focus on the bravery of our heroes, the admiration and awe of the on lookers at the extraordinary talent of the men, and the skills our heroes possess. The over all effect of our video highlights the skill and power of our heroes, and the traditionally masculinity of movies, which fit into these themes or ideas. Interestingly enough, although there are major differences in mood and basic plot in all three films, the basic plot idea originally shown in The Seven Samurai is held up in these three scenes, enough so that our video has a linear plot throughout. This is interesting, especially considering that this story is so well transposed into different cultures and time periods, working both independently and apropos their story predecessors.

-Annie Sullivan

The Sevens from Ryden Rizzo on Vimeo.

Here is a splicing of the 3 movies in which we are introduced to the main 2 or 3 main characters

Culturally 7

Culture is a tricky word. Anything and everything surrounding it is risky business. However, the best definition I have heard describing culture is as follows: human interaction and its products; one learns from other people. A major factor in the difference between Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and Jon Sturgess's "The Magnificent Seven" revolves around that sticky word culture. Not only the interactions of the characters on stage, but also the audience in which the films are directed at are defined by culture, what people of different upbringings and standings have learned as commonplace.

In japanese culture, the class system was life. A man or woman was born into a certain role and that is where they stayed for the rest of their life. It is how everyone lived and how everyone treated one another. In America, there have always been issues of race where the white man is essentially on top and all other immigrants (depending on the time period) were below him. This is simply how the cultures vary, how the compare.

For instance the hierarchical class system in "Seven Smurai" plays a HUGE role with the way every character acts and in "The Magnificent Seven" it is hardly used at all, if not simply for a plot device. I would say the opening scene where Chris and Harry go to bury the deceased, unnamed native american man incorporates this. It shows the injustice and inequality of the times in pre-WW1 America. Race for the western versus class in the japanese film is a fair culture comparison and both are directed at their respective audiences. These issues are addressed in multiple scenes, however the overall plot states the conflict better than any individual one.

"Seven Samurai" begins with poor farmers, peasants who are in desperate need for protection. When the men attempt to hire samurai for the first time in town, they are called "pathetic" "blockheads" and "foolhardy." the poor farmers are constantly ridiculed for the plight and are continually spat on and ignored. Coinciding with this meek introduction to the peasants' lifestyle, a group of Mexican farmers are treated the same way in "The Magnificent Seven." They go to the border hoping to buy guns, but find a different method of protection instead. As I mentioned before, the cowboys' introduction scene opens with Harry and Chris defending the burial rights of a dead native american. The group of mexican peasants approach Chris and tell him of their poor story and how no one will help them to defend their town.

The farmers in both films are treated the same, poorly, not because they are both peasants, but because of the equal discrimination between class in traditional japanese society and race in American society. Being a cowboy, white of course, is equivalent to being a samurai, one step up on the ladder.

I would also like to view the role of cowboy/samurai as savior and defender of the lower class or race (however that is not how the heroes view their roles). This seemingly unreachable middle class warrior stands for the equality and injustice of his fellow man. The peasant is a cruel man in these movies, he betrays his defenders and does not trust them. Like Kikuchiyo says after his failure with the samurai armor, "What did ya think these farmers are anyway...There's no creature on earth more wily than a farmer...They kowtow and lie, playing innocent the whole time. You name it, they'll cheat you on it! Farmers are misers, weasels, they're mean, stupid murderers!" But he goes on to ask "Who do you think made them that way?" He blames the samurai for this, for their lack of caring for the lower class." In this way the samurai seek to right their wrongs and unite the class divide.

Although it is not directly referenced, I think it is fair to compare this to actions of the Mexican farmers in "The Magnificent Seven." They betray the gunslingers in the end and for what reason? They do it out of fear and believe this white man, more powerful than they cannot be trusted and they will not win a battle. Somehow in the end between both "Samurai" and "Magnificent" equality blossoms between the two divides. Despite the differences, the betrayal, the lack of trust, both groups of people fight side by side one another for freedom and justice and the hope that one day maybe, just maybe all men can live in a fair world. This of course contradicts the ending where in both films, the protagonists say out loud (in different words), "The farmers have won, not us." In the end it seems equality is simply too distant a thing to brought to reality.

On a different note, the Bollywood film Sholay (which was shot in 1975) raises another sort of culture question reflective of its era. Sholay, instead of dealing with the race or class systems, deals with law vs. lawlessness. In the raging tumultuous decade of the seventies, this was a huge issue touched on by many films due to the large upswing in organized crime, illegal drugs, and an overall disrespect towards law enforcement.

Different than both Magnificent 7 or Seven Samurai, the defenders are not the "honorable men" or higher class. They are the unlawful ones, in fact Veeru and Jai are notorious criminals who are hired for a single task. This shows how far a man's vengeance can take him, even out from under the law which he has sworn to defend (Thakur).

This can be most prominently seen in Sholay's double feature ending, one which portrays Gabbar Singh apprehended by the law and another which shows the villain killed viciously by the Thakur. The latter is, of course, the director's cut and was not released for the mainstream audience. The argument for this was that Gabbar's death symbolized a civil unrest and general lawlessness among people.

The Role of Women in The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven

Annie Sullivan

October 19, 2009

Mapping Media Lab

In Both The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven the plot revolves around ideas of traditional masculinity and the role of men as protectors. In both films the plot is propelled by action and emotions that are typically associated with the role of men as glorified warriors and saviors. To me these two films seem extremely masculine in almost everyway, which is why the role of women in the narratives interests me most. In both films the inclusion of one main female character is used, and although we only t get to see these characters threw their relationships with the men of the story, they still play an interesting narrative role in these films. In The Seven Samurai we have Shino, the daughter of a farmer who falls in love with one of the Samurai despite class difference or protocol, and in The Magnificent Seven we have Petra, also the daughter of a farmer who similarly falls in love with a gunslinger. Although the two romances in these films have similar ideas behind them, and mirror each other to a degree, the way the two women are portrayed are differentiated by slight but important circumstance and culture. Shino risks everything for the love of Katsushiro, a young Samurai, even though she knows she could never really be with him because of class differences, while Petra more judiciously gains the love of Chino, a gun slinger, who eventually chooses life with her over his chosen profession. In these two extremely masculine narratives it is interesting to compare and contrast the role that women represent, and both the positive and negative connotations that are associated with female sexuality. Although it may seem that Petra is more the feminist character between the two, I actually believe Shino is the braver of the two female characters and displays more of a feminist sensibility.

Shino is characterized as more traditionally submissive then Petra at first; however, Shino’s character allows herself to fall in love with a samurai despite her knowledge that class would never let them be together. The scene when we first meet Shino already tells us she is supposed to be a submissive and traditional woman by her father forcing her to cut her hair and dress like a man. However, this scene also holds important foreshadowing, because she Shino eventually does offer herself sexually to Katsushiro it is in acknowledgement that she knows it is a bad thing to be had by a Samurai and that it wills “ruined” her. When she chooses this for herself it gives her choice even greater significance because of the conscious rebellion behind it. By having a sexual relationship with Katsushiro, Shino is brazenly risking almost everything to fulfill a desire that she insists is greater than what happens in the future. The scene in which she first tells Katsushiro she would like a sexual relationship with him is significant to her characterization because she is the one who asks him, and is initially turned down. Although this could seem weak for her to allow herself to have this relationship, I believe it is empowering that she could choose love over whatever consequences resulted. At the end of the film when her affair is discovered she suffers from shame, and the inevitable end of her relationship with Katsushrio, and is ultimately seen as a foolish character in the film. . In the last scene when we see Shino ignoring Katsushiro, it initially seems sad. However I feel that it is a very interesting and almost feminist idea that she could have a sexual and romantic relationship with a man that was not ended in marriage.

Shino’s role in The Seven Samurai is seen more negatively than Petra’s role in The Magnificent Seven not because she was “looser” or because she was “
had”, but I believe because she embodied more of a feminist ideal. Her strong female sexuality is what got her in trouble, especially in the male dominated story of The Seven Samurai.

On the other hand Petra in The Magnificent Seven initially comes off as more of a strong willed woman, however this deteriorates as the narrative progresses. Unlike the role of Shino, Petra is introduced free of the context of duty to her family or submissiveness. Also, Petra does not exist in a social structure that is as a rigged as that in The Seven Samurai. Although it is made clear that the gunslingers are of a higher class, it is not out of the realm of possibility Petra and Chino could be together. The first introduction we have to Petra echoes that of our first introduction to Shino (also Shino’s first meeting with Katsushiro) with Petra and Chino fighting. However it is significantly difference because, unlike Shino, Petra is feisty and not particularly afraid of the gunslingers; despite her dressed as a man to disguise her sexuality for protection, she is still willing to fight Chino. Although Petra does run away, she is very quickly subdued by Chino. Almost immediately Chino’s masculinity overpowers Petra’s strong will, and her character quickly changes to submissive and romantic. Although she too is forward in her feeling for Chino, it is in a much more subdued and passive way, leaving her innuendos up to the imagination. Unlike Shino, Petra is concerned with her honor over her feelings. After her initial introduction Petra does not play as active a role in terms of her individual character. Rather, she is used as a non-threatening feminine character that ads warmth and texture to the other wise totally masculine plot. In the last scene when Chico decides to stay with Petra it seems to give more power to Petra’s character because she could make such a strong headed and young gunman give up his dream and settle down for the life of a farmer. I actually believe Petra plays things safe as compared to Shino, and therefore plays a safer and more traditional and positive female role in this narrative. Because she is non-threatening, Petra basically stays within the boundaries of socially expectable female sexuality, possessing just enough sass to entertaining, but just passive enough to be non-treating.

The inclusion of the love-subplots in these films is interesting, and I believe the way they play out changes the tone of the entire film. The Seven Samurai is in many ways a much more intense film than The Magnificent Seven, and the relationship between Shino and Katsushiro only adds to this harshness. Her role in this film is not only to provide a romantic element, but also to add to the over all idea that life is hard and not fair. The Magnificent Seven on the other hand is a feel good movie with high American morals. The romance between Petra and Chico truly does reflect this in both he moralities of their relationship and by highlighting the importance of love over all in Chinos staying with Petra in the end. Although both roles are not particularly important in the bigger narrative of the films, they do add texture to the over all messages of the films individually.