Male Relationships throughout the British Empire:
Persistent Struggles with Race, Sexuality and Cultural Identity Throughout its global dominance, leaders of the British Empire supported English superiority in colonized regions. This made relationships between English men and men from colonies extremely difficult, and often risky, to develop. In order to maintain unity and authority, British men identified with one another and supported the discrimination of colonized men. Exceptions to this social routine are evident with characters from Mangal Pandey: The Rising, A Passage to India, and My Beautiful Laundrette. In Mangal Pandey, Pandey and Officer Gordon develop a unique relationship that is often tested by the lack of respect for Indian customs by the British. A Passage to India shows the relationship between Dr. Aziz and Mr. Fielding, which demonstrates the complications of maintaining English identity without succumbing to the exploitation of Indians. A homosexual relationship between Omar and Johnny during the Thatcher Era in Britain is shown in My Beautiful Laundrette. Although the first two films are set in colonized India, they both draw parallels to the difficulties of having a biracial male relationship during post-colonial England. My Beautiful Laundrette also uses the most fascinating cinematic craft to portray male bonding by using unique camera angles and shots in combination with a relevant soundtrack. Based on historical events, Mangal Pandey encompasses a pivotal period for British presence in India. It is vital to understand the strategy of the British in order to analyze a relationship between a British officer and an Indian male. The British acknowledged that they were outnumbered by Indians and used sepoys, or Indian men under British military authority, to maintain control in large regions1. All British officers were superior to sepoys,