Apple TVGunga Din (1939)
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Traditional
Viewer Rating
Rating: 7.5
Overview
British army sergeants Ballantine, Cutter and MacChesney serve in India during the 1880s, along with their native water-bearer, Gunga Din. While completing a dangerous telegraph-repair mission, they unearth evidence of the suppressed Thuggee cult. When Gunga Din tells the sergeants about a secret temple made of gold, the fortune-hunting Cutter is captured by the Thuggees, and it's up to his friends to rescue him.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Apple TV
Google PlayBias Dimensions
Political: Strong Right
Diversity: Low
Race Swap: Yes
Hinduism: Negative
Overview
British army sergeants Ballantine, Cutter and MacChesney serve in India during the 1880s, along with their native water-bearer, Gunga Din. While completing a dangerous telegraph-repair mission, they unearth evidence of the suppressed Thuggee cult. When Gunga Din tells the sergeants about a secret temple made of gold, the fortune-hunting Cutter is captured by the Thuggees, and it's up to his friends to rescue him.
Starring Cast
Where to watch
Apple TVGoogle PlayDetailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Traditional
Primary
The film's central thesis explicitly promotes the valor and necessity of the British Empire's presence in India, portraying its soldiers as heroes defending order against fanatical native rebellion, which aligns with clearly right-leaning ideology.
The movie features traditional casting with a predominantly white main cast in heroic roles. Its narrative positively frames traditional identities, focusing on the valor of British soldiers during the British Raj without any critical portrayal of these identities or explicit DEI themes.
Secondary
Gunga Din, canonically an Indian water-carrier from Rudyard Kipling's poem, is portrayed by Sam Jaffe, a white actor, in the 1939 film. This constitutes a race swap.
The film portrays the Thuggee cult, which worships the Hindu goddess Kali, as a fanatical and murderous organization engaged in human sacrifice and strangulation. Their religious practices are depicted as inherently evil and a threat to be eradicated, with no counterbalancing positive or nuanced portrayal of Hinduism offered by the narrative.
Gunga Din does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative centers on male camaraderie and adventure in a colonial setting, with all depicted relationships and identities conforming to heterosexual norms of the era.
The film primarily focuses on male characters, specifically British soldiers and members of the Thuggee cult, in all combat sequences. There are no significant female characters depicted engaging in or winning direct physical combat against male opponents.
The 1939 film "Gunga Din" adapts Rudyard Kipling's poem. All major characters, including Gunga Din himself and the British soldiers, retain their original male gender as established in the source material. No established characters were portrayed as a different gender.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
7.5
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
User Ratings
7.2
6.5
Critic Ratings
8.9
N/A
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