Dana C Kimble

The Kite Runner

“The Kite Runner” is a story about some individuals who live in Kabul,

Afghanistan. The two main characters are Hassan and Amir. Amir is the son of Baba, and

in the movie Amir feels his father blames him for his mother’s death during his birth.

Hassan lives on Baba’s property and is treated like family. Hassan and his father Ali are

Baba and Amir’s servant. The boys fly kites together and Amir reads to Hassan because

Hassan does not know how to read. There is tension due to differences in culture in the

household because Hassan and Amir are Hazaras. Hazaras are a minority in Kabul and

Amir and Baba are of higher status than their two servants, but never treat them different

than friends. Baba seems to have more liking toward Hassan rather than Amir because he

cannot relate to Amir. Hassan is great at kite running like Baba and Amir likes stories,

which to his father is cowardly. Amir is proven to be a coward when the two boys run

into bullies. Hassan threatens Assef, who is the leader, with a slingshot. Assef swears

revenge on the two boys.

When the kite running tournament begins, Amir and Hassan fly a kite and they

win. Amir seems to have gotten Baba’s love that he has wanted, but when Hassan goes to

get the kite for Amir, he runs into the bullies. Assef, the leader, tells Hassan he will let

him go if he gives him the kite they used to win. Hassan refuses to give it to Assef and

Assef rapes Hassan. Amir sees it but runs away in fear. Eventually, Hassan and Ali quit

working for Baba, leaving him heartbroken.

Close to the kite tournament, the soviets invade Kabul and a war breaks out. Baba

and Amir leave the country and go to California where it is safe to live. This is not shown

well but I assume there was some culture shock in America. Years later after starting a

life in America and becoming a writer, Amir discovers that Hassan has died. Hassan had

a child named Sohrab and Amir decides he must go to Kabul to save Sohrab from the

Taliban to make good.

Something obvious is the prejudice in the movie and the violence it brings.

Prejudice and racism is seen a couple times, especially against Hazaras like Hassan. The

incidence of prejudice seen in the movie is Hassan and Amir’s first meeting with Assef

the bully. Assef tells Hassan and Amir that Kabul would be a much better place without

Hazaras. He also mentioned something about Hassan’s flat nose, which can be considered

a stereotype. He believes in ethnic cleansing and ridding of the unwanted in refrence to

Hassan and all of the other Hazaras. Assef begins to attack Amir because Amir associates

himself with a Hazara and claims that Amir and his father want the Hazaras living in

Kabul. Hassan stands up for himself and stops Assef from attacking Amir and later faces

the consequences. Assef rapes him after Hassan won’t give him the kite that Assef asks

for.

Another instance of prejudice is when Soraya, Amir’s wife, talks to Amir about

when she was eighteen and ran away with an afghan man. Her father was not happy when

he caught them together and forced them to move. This is another form of prejudice

because Soraya’s father, General Taheri, is prejudice towards others and their culture.

Taheri also shows concern when Amir rescues Sohrab and he asks Amir and

Soraya what they plan on telling people since Sohrab is Hazara. Taheri is afraid of what

other people will say to his daughter and her husband taking in a little Hazara boy. This is

a good example of racism and prejudice. Amir replies by saying he will tell people

Sohrab is his nephew instead of depicting him as Hazara, and asks Taheri not to ever call

him a Hazara again.

Lastly, another form of prejudice I noticed was when Baba was getting sick and

went to the doctors. He would not see the one doctor because his family was descendents

of Russia. He would only see someone who looked to be from the Middle East.

I believe that this movie also shows both collectivist culture and individualistic

culture. Hassan is an example of a collectivist. He cares about others and will do anything

to protect others. He does what is best for everyone around him and not just himself.

Collectivist people are loyal and work together. Another good example of a collectivist is

Baba. When they are on their way to Pakistan with a bunch of other people from Kabul,

the soviet wants thirty minutes with one of the women holding a baby. Baba stands up for

the woman and tells the soviet that he must kill him if he wants this woman. He does

what is right instead of caring about himself.

An example of an individualist would be Assef. He cares only about himself, he is

a competitive person, and he wants to make sure his dominance is known. Amir also

shows these certain qualities by not stopping Assef from raping Hassan, even though

Hassan would stand up for Amir. Amir only cares about his safety, which makes him an

individualist.

A stereotype in this movie is when Amir returns to Kabul. He must wear a fake

beard because any man caught clean-shaven could be punished or executed. Also, when

Amir goes to the game, two people are stoned to death because they were caught

committing adultery. This is not something that happens in America. Another example of

stereotype is Assef. He is portrayed as the stereotypical villain throughout the movie. He

essentially believes in Hitler’s beliefs by cleansing Kabul of unwanted cultures like the

Hazaras. Also, General Taheri shows stereotyping. He is a very stereotypical Afghan man

and we can tell from the very beginning he has a lot of pride in himself with some

arrogance. He really upholds Afghan traditions such as not allowing Soraya to make her

own decisions when it comes to other men.

In conclusion I think this movie is a great movie displaying different cultures and

views. It shows how people can be stereotypical, racist, and prejudice. It shows

individualist and collectivist and how they relate. This is not really a movie I would

normally watch for enjoyment but it does have some cultural features we can relate to our

current class learning objectives. Overall it showed some good examples for learning and

was not to bad of a movie.