Journey to the East and national stereotypes. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" as a depiction of contemporary social and cultural issues

Abstract

The subject of this analysis is the image of a contemporary trip to the East and national stereotypes (Englishman, Indian) in the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The image of the trip to India is analysed from the perspective of Bauman’s metaphors of postmodern life, in which theredefinition of identity is inscribed. The journey in Madden’s work is presented as an escapade somewhere between the expedition of a tourist and the wanderings of a vagabond, thus constituting a metaphor for the contemporary life of senile people originating from Western culture. Theuse of national stereotypes (auto-images, hetero-images) and the transformations taking place within them are reflected upon. It turns out that the image of the trip of the elderly English people to India combines comedic elements with reflections on the key phenomena of contemporaryculture, such as a new form of life, the cult of experience characteristic of the West as a condition for the development of the individual, and the formation of a new stereotype of the journey and its participant.