 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
With time, the impact of any civilization, ideology, or culture becomes
challenged as it migrates from a physical presence to historical
remembrance. How quickly some among society may fail to remember
the importance of historical events, and how those events still impact
our daily lives today. Furthermore, this causes the ideals that
past generations stood for to quickly be taken for granted, as their
struggles become silently forgotten.
To some extent, such is the current situation of the world’s fifth
largest religion, Sikhism.
As their diasporas are created worldwide, this pure brotherhood (or Khalsa)
from the Punjab
continues to face the common struggle of any
minority community: acceptance without assimilation.
As seen throughout history, the concept of acceptance relatively does
not come with ease. In today’s media enriched world the unique
identity of the Sikhs, a uniform consisting of turbans and uncut
hair, is often misunderstood. This is commonly seen through
news agencies by not presenting information clearly on Sikhism, by
major motion pictures stereotyping Sikhs in demeaning roles, or
reference texts presenting conflicting information to what Sikhism is.
At the same time, some among the internal Sikh community themselves
struggle with the importance and need of their unique identity.
With a lack of education about the rich history and culture of Sikhism,
some among the Sikh youth experience frustration when their questions
of “Why?” go unanswered or they are given unclear, contradictory
responses.
The obstacles of incorrect media representation and lack of education
have plagued the Sikhs as they travel to new parts of the world.
Furthermore, these obstacles have started to infiltrate their
historical homeland in India. Members of the community have
either assimilated into the mainstream by removing their identity, or
have altered their identity due to incorrect media influence.
Worst of all, these tactics of assimilation are going unreciprocated,
as the Sikh community remains silent. It is this silence that
potentially may lead towards the first steps of Sikhism being forgotten
and becoming only a part of history, and not a part of the present and
future.
In an attempt to define, document, and assess the obstacles faced by
the Sikh community, it is the intent of Dashmesh Pictures to provide
potential solutions in order to break the silence.
|
|
The sole purpose of Dashmesh Pictures
and RestoringThePride.com
is to provide a creative
art media outlet, with an emphasis on visual works, to help promote a
positive image for Sikhism. The mission can be divided into two
subcategories:
1.) Provide knowledge to society
of who
the Sikhs are through creative works, as a mechanism to promote
educational awareness, acceptance, and communal harmony.
2.) Provide inspirational works for members of the Sikh
community, as a mechanism to aide in restoring their pride, as
experienced by their ancestors in previous generations.
|
|
|
|
FAIR
USE NOTICE
Films made by Dashmesh Pictures
may contain copyrighted material, which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. The sole purpose of Dashmesh Pictures
is promoting
education and awareness of Sikhism. We believe this constitutes a
"fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section
107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.
Section 107, the material featured in any Dashmesh Pictures
work is
distributed without profit, which includes for research and educational
purposes. For more information, see the description of
limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use. If you wish to use
copyrighted material featured in Dashmesh Pictures works for purposes
of your own that go beyond "Fair Use," you must obtain permission from
the Copyright Owner.
|
|
|
|
