Something very apparent in the film, The World Before Her is the use of strategic devices to overcome oppression. Women in India, who are faced with constant gender oppression seek to transcend that treatment. In this film specifically, there are two strategic devices that are outlined. One, utilized by women entering beauty pageants, is using their beauty to gain fame, power, money, and thus independence. In terms of the oppression in their given environment, this device seems helpful in the fact, they channel some sort of agency by opposing ideals that want to keep women covered, hidden, domestic, and subservient to men.  On the other hand there are other women that return to the very basis of their religion, and seek independence by immersing themselves into the progress of their religion. Although both tactics in this film give the women involved some type of agency, there seems that no matter what they do both parties agree that marriage is inevitable.

It is interesting to consider that there are a multitude of strategies to overcome oppression, but according to a specific cultural context and mindset those tactics are very different. Both sides can argue that the other are problematic, in the sense, both reinforce oppression in some way. I think this film asks us a good question, that being: What is oppression? How do we fight it? How can combating oppression be problematic in certain cultural contexts?

I think the cartoon that I inserted below could be helpful in understanding cultural relevancy, in terms of gender oppression.