East is East gags
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Identify some of the running gags in the movie, describe them. What are their effects?
The movie “East Is East” as a funny comedy, but also sometimes a very sad and serious film, works with several running gags. These are jokes, which repeatedly appear in a movie and are generally taken by directors to cause laughter, to provide variety in films or to find a simple way of breaking tension and sadness down.
Firstly I want to mention the pink astro hopper in "East Is East". In my opinion it is the most obvious running gag.
There is the same view two times. Sajid sits on the pavement and watches - through the hood of his parka - the kids are hopping on this funny toy. For the second time you spontaneously have to laugh, because the situation is so dry and so senseless. There are no dialogs, no speeches, only the view on the street. But I want to assume, that probably all running gags happen quiet and without words, because a running gag lives of its images. Other scenes with this hopper are: the hopper is been destroyed by the car of the Khan family, who arrives at home after they visited Bradford and a short glance at the destroyed hopper next to dustbins, after Mr Khan leaves his family.
But particularly in the last scene the astro hopper can’t make the audience laugh, because the quarrel of the Khan family one scene before, has been too emotional and serious.
Another funny and important gag are the danes of the Khan family. The first time the danes enter, they attack – they always attack somebody – Stella and Peggy in the backyard. Both wanted to hide from Mr Khan, because he forbade a meeting between them and his sons. But Stella and Peggy screamed so intensively - they just had fear - that the father noticed them. But instead of helping the girls or at least accusing them, he just slams the door and let the poor girls alone …. with the danes. Another very funny thing is the scene after the Shah family leaves the house of the Khan’s. They are angry, because the arranged marriage between their two daughters and Abdul and Tariq won’t take place. Almost being in the car, the Shah family is attacked by the dogs. This scene definitely is a comic relief.
The weird relation between Peggy and Saleem is another funny thing in the movie.
Peggy is a bit vertically challenged – so to speak -, but wears tight clothes. So she doesn't look quite attractive to Tariq, a young, good-looking man. Peggy tries to flirt with Tariq at every time it is possible. For instance, she asks Tariq, if he will have a bit time in the evening, but he immediately rejects the offer. And even in some deleted scenes you can find such situations. Sitting on a canal bank Peggy invariably looks to Tariq, although there are many other people around there. When Tariq recognizes her and takes a glance at her, his face immediately causes a smile at the audience’s faces.
The remark “I’ll have half a cup” of Mr Khan is another running gag. He every time uses this answer, when Mrs Khan asks for tea. This sentence is very important especially in one of the last scenes, where Mrs Khan arrives in the shop. There sits her husband waiting, because he didn't want to sleep at home after the confliction. Mr Khan is so disappointed of the behaviour of him, but nonetheless she defends her husband against her kids. It is also her part of asking the father for tea. And with the expected answer "I'll have half a cup." the family begins to settle down the conflict and find some reconciliation.
All in all, running gags are a characteristic of comedies, and in fact "East Is East" is a comedy. In my mind, particularly in “East Is East” the running gags play an extremely important role, because they make the quick changes between sadness and happiness possible at all. Without the running gags, the movie would be too serious.
Kristin Gottschlich
