A Comparison of the Bangladeshi film Are You Listening! to the New Jersey lifestyle.

The film can be rented from YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ckoLiJ7P91g. It is $3.99 for Standard Definition and $4.99 for High Definition.

Background

The film Are You Listening! is a film about the rural Bangladeshi village of Sutarkhali in 2011. Two years earlier, the village was destroyed in Cyclone Aila, forcing its 100 families to live on top of a dike in makeshift housing. It follows the family of six-year-old Rahul, his mother Rakhi, and his father Soumen. While their life seems simple, they were forced away from their traditional home which was still inundated with water two years later. Below are examples of how rural Bangladesh’s culture, politics, environment, and geography differ from New Jersey.

Cultural Similarities

At first sight, it appears that rural Bangladeshi culture has little in common with American culture. But there were at least four aspects which I found similar. First, the adults of the village had cellphones that they used to communicate with family and the outside world. Next, elementary school children went to school to learn math, reading, writing, culture, and other basic essential concepts. Third, there was a soccer match where everybody in the village gathered around to cheer on the players. Fourth, women were playing board games while talking about their personal lives. Finally, parents of children would talk with their children, give them toys when they were able to, and even play with them. In short, there leisure time is similar to other American leisure time.

Cultural Differences

More pronounced however were cultural differences. The most noticeable difference was that of faith. In America, the majority of people are either Judeo-Christian or irreligious. In the village of Sutarkhali, most people were either Muslim or Hindi. Some women wore hijabs, while others did not. We see Rakhi and her son Rahul visit a festival with live music and shrines to different deities. Additionally, there was a great sense of community. When working, people would sing folk songs together to create a rhythm. Finally, clothing differed greatly. Men generally wore collared shirts with shorts, while boys wore shirts that tended to be embroidered with patches and shorts. All the Women and Girls meanwhile wore patterned cotton shawls with pants matching that pattern. Food meanwhile consisted of beans that grew on trees, mangoes, pumpkin, rice, and other crops. There was very little to no meat in their diet. This contrast with New Jersey’s various cultures with unique dress, diets, and forms of worship.

Geography and Politics

Beginning with Bangladesh’s geography, it differs greatly from the Jersey Shore. On the Jersey Shore, sandy beaches transition into either high-rise apartments or large luxurious homes on grassy land. In this part of Bangladesh, they are alongside a river which has since flooded the land. Most of what was previously inhabited was covered with saltwater, practically destroying the agricultural productivity of the land. Before the destruction however, cultivated mango and guava trees lined the soil, providing farming as an economic activity. Near the dike however, the river would quickly transition into marshlands with tall grass and muddy soil. Tall skinny trees were also clustered in this tall grass. Finally, clouds and rain were constantly present and intense respectively.

Politically, rural Bangladesh is quite democratic. Each household in the village general sends their men, and occasionally their women, to nightly town hall meetings held outside. The entire village elects a representative who contacts the regional government, which in terms contacts the federal government of Bangladesh. This documentary focused on how ineffective the federal government of Bangladesh is. In short, this village has continually been denied aid from the federal government in building a dam that would dry out the submerged village. A vote from the entire village decides to start construction of a makeshift dam using sandbags, wooden supports, and concrete. Simply put it, the lack of federal aid made the local government actively fix the issue after two years of neglect. This is like the United States not having federal action, thus making local and state governments implement their own solutions.

Socioeconomics

Socioeconomically, rural Bangladesh differs vastly from New Jersey. In New Jersey, even the poorest of residence still have access to indoor plumbing, electricity, and permanent building structures. In Sutarkhali, the buildings had bamboo walls, a thatched roof, and a wooden floor. There was no indoor plumbing, and the only electricity were solar panels that powered a charging station for their cellphones. The schools had one shared textbook the teacher would read, but students were provided their own blackboard. Wages in rural Bangladesh are considerably lower than in the United States. This made most objects be worth the equivalent of a few dollars or even cents. Even more, every store had the owner working, verbally negotiating with clients on discounted prices compared to the sales tag. In New Jersey, the sales price is non-negotiable. This negotiating is needed as this family could not afford more than one article of clothing for Rahul when Rakhi went shopping.

Soumen meanwhile was busy rebuilding the dam by moving sandbags, rocks, and other objects in physical labor. NGO’s: short for non-government organizations, did provide food and material aid for the village, but no incentives to rebuild. To get this aid however, men and women were separated into two queues waiting to be called for aid. In New Jersey, any disaster might be helped from FEMA, and your insurance company will pay for some repairs, but generally individuals pay out of pocket to rebuild.

Overall, families had to economically plan every move as money is scarce. For example, Rakhi wants to go to college in India, but needs to repay prior debt to do so. Soumen meanwhile wanted to save money so he could buy his own cellphone separate from Rakhi to be better connected with the government. This created tension between Rakhi and Soumen, especially considering Rahul wanted toys that would spend the precious money. Instead, Soumen created toys out of empty water bottles and branches to make Rahul happy. Life is much simpler in rural Bangladesh with lower wages and a lack of economic opportunity compared to New Jersey and the United States.

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