Last night, our friend Ted hosted a great event - dinner and a movie for 40+ friends. He choose the film and then put out the word by email for everyone to contribute a dish or beverage to a potluck dinner that we would all enjoy before the screening at his place.
It went off without a hitch - here are a few details from the event last night along with tips to make it work at your home:
Have an early start to the festivities: Giving everyone a chance to mingle, eat dinner and then enjoy the movie takes time, so getting things underway early is necessity.
Pick a movie that not many people may have seen before - Ted chose "Omkara" - a bollywood version of Othello. A tragedy...with a few musical numbers for good measure. It was dramatic (with a plot line we were all familiar with done in a new way), fun to watch and long enough to merit an intermission in the middle for dessert!
A projector is a big plus: Ted projected the movie onto the wall of the combo dining room/livng room allowing all of us (in the very large group) to see the film from wherever we had grabbed a seat. Even for a smaller party, projecting onto the wall makes it more of a "cinema" experience, so if you can get your hands on a projector, go for it.
Have the food match the film: We all enjoyed an Indian food feast. There was a large buffet set up with goodies from the guests - everything from home made naan to the host's delicious tandoori chicken. There was a great mix of everyone's favorites so we had a wide variety of things to try and, because of the central theme of Indian food, it all worked well together.
Same with the beverages: Indian beer, anyone?
Movie treats can't hurt: Ted had a stock of classic movie theater candy, which got passed around during the screening: Raisinets, Whoppers, Sno-caps and Twizzlers all went over well and brought back memories.
Definitely have an intermission: This gave everyone a chance to grab a drink, partake in the potluck desserts, chat a bit about the movie or say hi to someone who arrived late. It also gave those who had to make it an earlier night a natural, easy time to make their exit.
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A movie night for 40 friends??? I don't know anyone who could accommodate that many people without stacking them on top of each other.
How fun! I think we could probably squeeze in 20 max, but I like the concept. Good choice of movie, too. Fun, not too serious.
Another fun thing to do is to ask guests to dress in theme. For example, for that party, I'd go wearing a sari.
More examples: Hawaiian shirts for 50 first dates, sports jerseys for Remember the Titans, the color green for a Shrek marathon, super hero costumes for Ironman, etc.
It's fun and easy, and gets people in the mood.
The evening's kick-off: a rousing singalong of
"Booray for Bollywood!" And at least one person took Mrs. Mack's suggestion--one of the guests wore a Kurta!
awesome...sad that i have no friends here in atl
This is a nice idea for a small group of people, but come on - wearing Indian clothes as part of a theme party? Using cultural items such as clothing (saris, kurtas, kimonos, etc.) in this way devalues their cultural significance and is just another example of the west's commodification and gross appropriation of other cultures. Please don't make these things 'trendy' as has happened with henna.
Naima225 - Slumdog Millionaire is far from a Bollywood film. Just because Indian people are in a movie doesn't make it 'Bollywood.'
JasmineIsDomestic,
I completely, but respectfully disagree with your statement. I think a party like this is a great way for people to get to know a culture that they may not have necessarily known a ton about. Especially when people inevitably have to do research regarding what to wear, beforehand.
My mom runs a family daycare, with a very diverse crowd of little folks. She makes sure to 'celebrate' or honor all of the various holidays, and teach all of the kids about each of the differing cultures. The kids enjoy coming dressed up in a style different to their own, learning about their friends, and it promotes tolerance and acceptance. It's much the same with adults.
As for the 'gross appropriation' and 'the west's commodification' of cultures, people have been borrowing from other cultures around the world for centuries, whether it was folks in the UK embracing various styles of dress or lifestyle from the British Commonwealth countries, The Chinese adapting traditions from merchants coming to trade for goods, and so on. It's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact I think it makes our world that much more colourful and interesting.
Something is only devalued by such an act of enjoyment, if you perceive it to be devalued, and let it be devalued. I for one like the idea of people enjoying and celebrating my culture in such a way, and don't feel that it cheapens it, or devalues it at all. When someone else discovers my culture, and enjoys it, I look on with pride.
I don't think that naima225 was necessarily saying that Slumdog was a Bollywood movie, but that it certainly helped to heighten the interest level in such movies in people that may not have otherwise even been exposed to the idea of them at all. But even after this new awareness, a lot of people have not even seen a true Bollywood film.
Hi CFYG,
"Folks in the UK embracing various styles of dress" were colonialists who demeaned indigenous dress as beneath "civilized" Western styles. Or they selectively borrowed what they thought was exotic to fulfill their own ideas of what the "other" was.
Gandhi started the khadi movement of wearing Indian hand-spun cotton to reject Western dress, inspire pride in native clothing, and to bolster employment. It's not a level playing field when one talks about the politics of dress in colonized countries.
Maybe this calls for renting the film Gandhi....!
CFYG: I appreciate your comment, and I understand and agree with what you're saying. The example of educating each other and sharing in each other's cultural holidays, etc. (such as your mother's daycare) is wonderful. I've always supported that and enjoyed that myself, growing up in multicultural Toronto. The best examples I can give of what I was describing are the following: Popular North American television shows featuring an Indian taxi driver who is clean shaven but wearing a turban (Sikhs wear turbans, but keep their moustache and beard. Sikhs are required to keep their hair uncut, so the turban keeps long hair tidy and neat and some Sikh men do trim their facial hair but it is almost unheard of to be clean shaven but wearing a turban); Do-it-yourself henna kits that were being sold in department stores a few years ago, and the description in the media of any Indian clothing worn by women as a 'sari'. I agree it's very important to share and accept each other but the information passed on has to be accurate. I just don't think that most people do any research (major television networks obviously don't bother) and it does make me very sad to see my cultural attire used as costumes, or henna - so significant and special to women at Indian weddings - as a fake tattoo offered for $5 at the local amusement park. I had my henna done last year for a family wedding and a coworker remarked 'wow that hasn't been in style for a few years, has it?' That's what I'm talking about.
JasmineIsDomestic, EVERY culture appropriates foreign cultural practices and icons and either ignorantly or intentionally subverts them. The Japanese and their Gothic subculture. The Chinese ripping off everything from western car design to movie plots. African sapeurs. Pacific island cargo cults. Do you seriously imagine that India has been singled out, or than Indians are not as guilty of this as anyone else? Do you yourself treat Japanese tea, Irish music or French wine with the same knowledge and reverence as the people from those cultures?
Back on the topic at hand...
Last night, our friend Ted hosted a great event - dinner and a movie for 40 friends.
Sweet merciful crap, how big is this man's apartment!?
Wow...this seems to have hit a huge discussion...and all I was going to do was mention where in the heck did they sit 40 people? I would hope not all had to use the floor as seating - I know it kills me getting up and down after sitting for long spurts.
As a guest at Ted's movie night, I think these tips for a successful movie party are great! During my drive home, I was actually thinking about when I could host something similar at my house. Coordinating the theme of the movie with the food being served makes the event special. Playing music, decorating, and dressing the part could also enhance the experience.
By the way, Ted cleared his rooms of bulky furniture and put up rows and groupings of chairs. Half the fun was sitting together in the cozy setting.