Everyone knows that Brits and Americans are the absolute worst tourists. They’re loud and obnoxious, expect everyone to speak English, get embarrassingly sunburnt, and care more about the cocktails than the culture. This arrogance likely roots in imperialist attitudes; the disgusting Western ideology that every other country should tailor to their desires, and that Westerners have the ultimate right to go wherever they want and do whatever they please. With this in mind, Gurinder Chadha’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice translates the class tension between Darcy and Elizabeth into a tension about national identity and culture, and American attitudes towards India. The Bennet family become the Bakshi family from Amritsar, while Darcy is a wealthy, American tourist with an arrogance aptly attached to that stereotype. Behind the sparkle of the Bollywood numbers, the vibrant colours, and the light humour, Bride and Prejudice threads through a commentary on neo-imperialism, interrogating Western attitudes towards India today and considering how open the West is to change. Continue reading When Mr Darcy Is Actually Just a Neo-Imperialist