The Perfect Man

Upcoming opening:

Tuesday, December 13th, 2016 at 8pm

THE PERFECT MAN

One day, at the age of 16 Dr. Ashok Aswani decided to enter the cinema theatre instead of going to work. He watched 4 times in a row a movie by Charlie Chaplin and left the cinema determined to dedicate his life to honor the character who, he believed, could inspire a whole new generation of Indian men. He lost his job that day but he started what would become the biggest parade dedicated to the Tramp.

Dr. Aswani could not be the perfect man because the perfect man works and helps making his country great again. The perfect man wakes up early and goes to work, waves at his wife from the car before getting into the daily traffic jam to go to the office, where he will stay for 8 hours in order to provide all for the family. Charlie Chaplin could not be the perfect man either.

In India the industrial revolution never really started and never really stopped but the Western standard of the new perfect man was imposed and embraced on top of an already elitist cultural structure. The results are confusing.

Using the first 10 minutes of the “Modern Times” movie as the script, this series aims to  reflect on the quite unique understanding of masculinity in India and the traditional depiction of both, working conditions and the idea of the perfect male citizen.

Cristina de Middel
Rio de Janeiro
December, 2016

Galería juana de aizpuru. barquillo 44, 28004 madrid. España. T: 34-913105561; fax: 34-913195286. e-mail: aizpuru@juanadeaizpuru.es