Does The Kite Runner: Cultural Criticism

The movie The Kite Runner is based on a novel written by Khaled Hosseini. The movie starts in Kabul, located in Afghanistan, about a boy named Amir. His mother died during birth and his father, Agha Sahib, is a wealthy merchant who Amir thinks blames him for his mother’s death. Hassan, Amir’s loyal servant and best friend, lives on the property with his father, Ali who has served Agha for a long time. Hassan would often defend Amir from local bullies, meanwhile, Amir resented his father for favoring Hassan over him. One day, Amir and Hassan were kite fighting and since they won, Hassan went off to retrieve the kite and Amir went looking for him and found Assef and his friends telling him to give them the kite. Hassan refused so they beat him
up and also raped him, meanwhile Amir was watching all this happened and did nothing. After that incident, Amir tried everything to get Hassan to leave him until he framed him for stealing his watch and Hassan’s father decided to leave and not come back. Later on, Agha and Amir run away to America after the Russians invaded Kabul. After a while, Amir meets Soraya and also becomes a successful writer. The viewer can apply historical and cultural criticism while also being able to identify symbolism and irony.
To begin with, the viewer can use historic criticism since the movie revolves around history. The viewer is shown when Agha Sahib and Amir decide to leave Kabul because the Soviet Union had invaded. In December 1978, Kabul signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation, along with Moscow, to permit the Soviet military to deploy with an Afghan request. The People Democratic Party of Afghanistan regime became dependent on Soviet military equipment and their assistance increased. A year later, they invaded in December and didn’t leave until February 1989, the Soviet-Afghan War lasted nine years. The Soviet and a group called Mujahideen insurgents were trying to overthrow the Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The viewer also sees when Agha and Amir flee Kabul to Pakistan and later to the North America. Afghanistan people started feeling their homes after a pro-Soviet coop in April 1978. The first refugees were the royal family along with their associates. They first fled to Pakistan, then some went to western European countries and others left to North America. More refugees began to flee when the regime of Kabul began to arrest people for being alleged traitors. The continuation of the war sent more refugees to Iran, the Middle East and western European countries. When Amir goes back to visit Rahim, the viewer sees the rise of the Talibans, which Assef is a part of. They’re an Islamic fundamentalist group who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. The Talibans formed in the early 90’s by Mujahideen and young Pashtun students who resisted the Soviet’s occupation in Afghanistan. Their movement promised stability and rule of law, which attracted much support. Talibs seized Kabul from President Burhanuddin Rabbani who they viewed as anti-Pashtun. They controlled 90 percent of the country before they were overthrown in 2001.
In addition, the viewer can apply cultural criticism to The Kite Runner because most of the movie correlate with their religion.
Before Amir and Soraya’s wedding, Agha goes to her house to ask the General for her hand in marriage for Amir. Agha later calls Amir to tell him to come over and he and Soraya go on a walk with her mom. The groom and bride are never to be alone, hence why Soraya’s mom is behind them when they’re talking. These are supervised meetings called naamzad baazy. Also, during Amir and Soraya’s wedding, the viewer sees them walking down the aisle with a book called the Quran above their heads with their guests walking behind them. Next, they are sitting down on a couch beginning Aina Moshaf, which is when the coupled is veiled with a shawl and they look at each through a mirror. The mirror symbolizes the first time they see themselves as a married couple. After the wedding is Agha’s funeral, the viewer doesn’t get to see his closest male relatives wash his corpse but it is part of the tradition. Also, a mullah offers prayers to Allah claiming that the dead man was a good Muslim when he was alive. The burial must take place before sundown and if a man dies as night, as hinted in the movie with Agha, he should be buried as soon as possible after
sunrise.
Furthermore, the viewer can identify symbolism and irony in The Kite Runner. At the beginning when Amir and Soraya, his wife, find a box outside their apartment and it’s his book “Season for Ashes” which Soraya calls his “baby” hinting their inability to have a child. Also, during their kite fighting, if a kite’s string is cut off then whoever finds it gets to keep as a price. The viewer can also find a lot of situational irony. For example, in the beginning of the movie, Amir gets a phone call and the viewer might think it’s Hassan but it’s actually Rahim, which is significant because he was actually calling to tell Amir that Hassan is dead. Also, the fact that Agha slept with Ali’s wife making Hassan his son, and Amir’s brother, now he feels bad for letting him move away forever and not getting a chance to tell apologize to him. A scene that was significant to the story’s plot was when Amir and Agha were in a truck and he asked Amir to recite a poem for him. Agha didn’t agree with Amir being a writer but in this case, he made Amir use his own skill to make himself forget about the situation and helping him get through it.
In conclusion, The Kite Runner is an emotional movie with real cultural traditions and history behind it. This story makes the viewer feel pity towards Hassan and anger towards Amir, until the end when he rescues his nephew and all is right again.