To Unravel the Extent to which Shakespeare is Accorded Cultural GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

To unravel the extent to which Shakespeare is accorded cultural capital in India, two examples from popular culture will be examined - one from an Air India advertisement and another from a Hollywood film in the making that casts ‘Bollywood’ star Hrithik Roshan as an Indian king in Rajasthan, looking to avenge the murder of his father.

The Air India advertisement, found in a 1975 American magazine, features Shakespeare with a beautiful Indian woman clad in a sari. Focused from shoulders up, the black and white image reproduces a typical studio shot of a married couple. The top of the ad reads, We go out of our way to please you. We also go to London every day." This is followed by the contact reference to Air India. Presented in the image of a couple, the ad naturalizes the union of the colonized Indian woman and Shakespeare (the most authoritative representative of the culture of the colonizer) and thrusts them into the global realm of tourism, art, and commerce to symbolize the union of East and West, with Shakespeare representing the means of transcending the distance between India and England. To make it more enticing, the slogan that follows the main caption of the ad is also somewhat sexualized: "We (Air India) work all day to make your night with us a dream." The advertisement creates a spectacle that reproduces Shakespeare in the image of the authoritative imperial traveler to the exotic and mysterious land, India, represented through the image of the exotic Indian woman. In so doing, the advertisement at once obscures the gendered, racial, and colonial dynamics that complicate such an image and legitimize the discourse around Shakespeare as a harbinger of cultural authority

My second example is a Hollywood film in the making that plans to cast Indian Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan in the role of a Rajput prince who avenges his father's murder in a "chilling thriller." To generate publicity for the film, the filmmakers proposed to market Roshan as an "Indian Hamlet." While the producer believes that Hrithik is the ideal candidate for the role and places him "somewhere between Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas," he recognizes that Hrithik is a new name in Hollywood. Therefore, he says, "we will have to sell him through the two known names--Hamlet and Shakespeare". In doing so, the Hollywood producer assumes the far-reaching influence of and appreciation for Shakespeare. At the same time, as a film that will be shot in India with some scenes in England, it conjures up the image of exoticism that continues to seize the West's imagination.

Such images not only keep alive Shakespeare’s insidious influence in India, they further perpetuate the discourse about the bard's cultural superiority, which continues through government-sponsored agencies, the continuing presence of Shakespeare studies in education, and through theater groups and touring companies performing locally and visiting from abroad.

‘To unravel the extent to which Shakespeare is accorded cultural’’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solutions and Explanation

1. According to the passage, Hrithik has to be marketed as India’s Hamlet because

(A) his name is unknown to American audiences
(B) American audiences confuse him with Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas
(C) the movie’s Hollywood producer assumes the far-reaching influence of and appreciation for Shakespeare
(D) the film will be shot in India and England
(E) Hrithik is the ideal candidate for the role

2. The author’s attitude toward the cultural capital accorded to Shakespeare in India is best described as one of

(A) indifference
(B) hesitance
(C) disapproval
(D) amusement
(E) neutrality

3. It can be inferred from the passage that more people in the U.S. are likely to pay to see the Hollywood movie mentioned in the passage if the actors are

(A) Indian
(B) British
(C) Classically trained
(D) familiar to the audience
(E) excellent at portraying their roles

4. In the last paragraph, the author is primarily concerned with

(A) correcting an error occurring in one of the works under review
(B) citing evidence to support a view of Shakespeare in India
(C) drawing conclusions on the basis of evidence presented in the first three paragraphs
(D) summarizing the arguments about Shakespeare presented in the first three paragraphs
(E) refuting the view of Shakespeare’s influence in India presented in the previous paragraph

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