"Illegality" through Association and the Creation of Commodity in "Moulin Rouge"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_SnW4mJkiE

The film Moulin Rouge (2001) combines a representation of prostitutes with Indian culture to create an image of "illegality" in relation to this particular race. This representation is done through linking these two images to suggest that they share this common element of "illegality". The problematic representation that consolidates this connection, prostitution, is a very common stereotype and image that is always associated with an outside and unlawful presence.

The separation of the Indian Culture from that of the this European society, allows this "illegal" racial representation to be constructed. The connection is made to prostitution through the common element of creating a "commodity". Prostitutes sell their bodies, and therefore become an object for sale. The eroticization of these Indian characters also portrays them as "commodities" for the audience in the film watching the performance. Gender also comes into play. Every female character within this Indian portrayal is a prostitute, suggesting that all female gendered Indians adopt an "illegality" and unlawfulness in their existence. So through this portrayal of gender, race, and the creation of "commodities"in relation to the image of prostitution, the film Moulin Rouge represents Indian culture as an "illegal" presence.