Film Studies: Immigration film
Introduction
The title of the film shall be “Instrumental Mind” and it shall be about an immigrant Indian girl in the US. The plot of the story follows that Anusha, an 18 year-old girl from Mumbai, India immigrates to the US to undergo specialized treatment of a heart condition. After recuperating, her programming talents lead her to being crafted into an IT team to develop critical software for cardiac arrest detection equipment.
The political purpose of the film is to show that in spite of the political clamor for the US to legislate against immigration, some forms of immigration are truly beneficial to the country. The story of Anusha, whose inherent talent in programming aided a hospital to come up with critical software in record time, is one such case. On the political front, politicians and especially members of the congress ought to consider the critical skills that immigrants possess. Moreover, they should consider how those skills contribute to the growth of the country.
While immigration has its downside such as the introduction of drugs in the country and the increment in crime, it also has the beneficial side of provision of cheap and skilled labor. Immigrants also bring about diversity in culture and uniqueness in handling issues. As such, politicians and political parties should tailor their foreign and immigration policies to accommodate introduction of talents and skills into the country while keeping out the vices that come with immigration.
Characters
The characters in the film shall be:
Anusha- An immigrant patient- she is the protagonist in the film who is crafted into an IT team to develop critical software for medical equipment.
Cynthia-A patient and Anusha’s friend at the hospital- she supports the protagonist. She informs her father about Anusha’s constructing into the IT team at the hospital.
Dr. Andrew- Anusha’s doctor- He is very fond of Anusha and he takes note of her programming skills after which he helps her join the IT team for the development of the software.
The IT development team of four
Two patients- friends to Anusha- They kept each other company while at the hospital and played some computer games with Anusha to pass time.
Synopsis
Act 1
Anusha, an 18-year-old girl lives in Mumbai with her parents Mr. & Mrs. Rajiv and her big brother Trushar. Since her younger days, Anusha has grown fond of computers and learnt programming from her brother and father. She develops some health problems often complaining of chest pains and inability to take part in physical exercises as normal. She is diagnosed with a heart problem for which she needed specialized treatment. Her parents send her to the US for the treatment and she carries her laptop along.
Act 2
While recuperating at the hospital, Anusha makes friends with two other girls, Cynthia and Cate with whom they play computer games. Cynthia is the daughter of a state politician and she is also recuperating from a heart condition. Besides the games, Anusha also spends considerable time each day doing some programming. Anusha’s skills fascinate Cynthia and she asks her to teach her the basics of programming. One day, the doctor, Dr. Andrew finds Anusha teaching Cynthia some programming. He gets interested and commends Anusha for her skills. The following day, Dr. Andrew finds Anusha and Cynthia doing some more programming and he asks Anusha whether she would be willing to join the hospital’s IT team to develop a software for a machine for early detection of cardiac arrest. Anusha declines saying that she felt unsure of her suitability to work with the IT team since she was an immigrant. She doubted whether it would be legal for her to be involved in such sensitive work. However, Cynthia urges Anusha on and eventually Anusha agrees and they agree on a date with the doctor when she would be joining the IT team.
Act 3
Cynthia’s father, Mr. Smith who is a politician in the state visits his daughter at the hospital. Mr. Smith is preparing some amendments to the state’s immigration laws to bar immigrants from engaging in activities different from the intentions of their visit. Cynthia excitedly shares the news about her friend’s prowess with programming and how Anusha was to take part in the development of critical software. Mr. Smith sneers at the idea and approaches Anusha to dissuade her from taking up the job. Anusha gets convinced that she ought to stick to what brought her to the US and should not wander into sensitive matters lest she “messes up in a foreign country”.
Act 4
Act 4
Cynthia, Dr. Andrew, and Cate convince Anusha to take her place as a programmer in a team of four other IT experts. The four decide to keep the issue as a secret from Mr. Smith who had threatened to take legal action against the hospital for using “unverifiable labor” in a critical process related to healthcare and thereby endangering lives with the product thereof. Dr. Andrew lies to Mr. Smith that Anusha would not be taking part in the development of the software.
Act 5
The IT team sets to work. The team encounters some challenges in developing the software and Anusha steps in to resolve complex technicalities much to the appreciation of her teammates. After two weeks of intense programming and testing, the IT team delivers the software to the hospital administration. The administration organizes a date to launch the software and they decide to invite local dignitaries among them Mr. Smith. At the launching ceremony, Mr. Smith is shocked to see Anusha explaining to the attendants on how the software worked. After the presentation, Mr. Smith approaches Anusha and apologizes. He also promises to table amendments in favor of flexible immigration laws that accommodate the inputs of immigrants without giving much regard to the period that an immigrant had lived in the US.
