1) At the beginning of May, I had an internship at the Cannes International Film Festival in France. In a taxi ride home one evening, I struck up conversation with the lead curator of the annual Chennai Film Festival. I mentioned our upcoming study abroad trip to India, and rather naively, began talking about my adoration for Bollywood films. It was at this point, that the curator lost interest in our conversation. “There’s more to Indian cinema than Bollywood,” he said (or something along those lines). There was weight in his words.
The type of Indian cinema that the rest of the world is exposed to is due to a long process of careful calculations by investors and distributors alike. The films define our perceptions of the nation as a whole- but in a nation full of such diversity, the formulaic Bollywood film simply cannot capture the totality of the Indian culture. To an extent, the common conception of “once you’ve seen a Bollywood film, you’ve seen them all” is true. Though, there is much more to the world of Indian cinema.
I intend to investigate the role that cinema plays in India. How does it reflect cultural values and traditions? Or vice versa, how are cultural values and traditions impacted by what is represented on screen? As an International Affairs major and Rhetoric & Media Studies minor, I see this topic as a nice blend between the two fields of study. Cinema plays a strategic role in any culture, walking a fine line between existing as propaganda or becoming cultural scripture. As I intend on pursuing journalism/documentary cinematography with my degree from LC, this topic will be a good introduction to thinking critically about the field and weighing the impacts that media can have on understanding cultural phenomenon.
2) In our globalized world, media touches nearly every corner of our lives. The way that we interact with and interpret cinema, in particular, influences the way that we make sense of our own cultures and the way that we perceive others. I expect, each city we visit, will carry different perceptions about what it means to be Indian- with my research, I think it will be interesting to look at the similarities and differences between regional perceptions.
Also, there IS an international film festival in Chennai. This film-hub will foster many opportunities for conversation about the role of cinema in India, and the role of Indian cinema on an international front.
3) For interviews: I hope to set up interviews with theater owners, workers, and movie-goers alike. I’d also like to speak with various media outlets, such as newscasters, about the ways that Indians engage with and interpret media. The good thing about talking about movies is that they play a role in nearly everyone’s lives- interviews, hopefully, will be easy to come by.
Field research: I’ve never conducted field research before, so I would like to learn some new tactics. Certainly, interviews will be a major part of collecting the information that I will use to supplement my research material.
In terms of materials to gather: Alongside articles and online research, I’d like to expose myself first-hand to new forms of Indian cinema. Already, I have begun watching some small-release films from up and coming Indian directors, though as I mentioned earlier- there is a whole world of Indian cinema that will be fresh for me to explore.
4) Sources:
Sarkar, Bhaskar. Mourning the Nation: Indian Cinema in the Wake of Partition. Durham: Duke
UP, 2009. Print.
When a nation experiences major trauma, there are sure psychological effects on the people as a whole. In light of this, the mourning process can take many forms- from calculated government addresses to forms of expression at the individual level. This source looks at how cinema acted an outlet for mourning and for making sense of the Partition.
Gooptu, Sharmistha. “The ‘Nation’ in Indian Cinema.” History Compass 9.10 (2011): 767-75.
Web.
I’m interested in exploring the seemingly conflicting definitions of nationalism between the government, media outlets, and the people of India. This source addresses the way nationalism is portrayed in popular cinema.
Gopinath, Gayatri. “Queering Bollywood.” Journal of Homosexuality 39.3-4 (2000): 283-97.
Web.
What is the general consensus on sexual nonconformity and gender fluidity in India? This source looks at how queerness is represented (or misrepresented) in popular media.
Majumdar, Neepa. Wanted Cultured Ladies Only! : Female Stardom and Cinema in India,
1930s-50s. Baltimore, MD, USA: University of Illinois Press, 2009. ProQuest ebrary.
Web. 28 August 2015.
Of course, we are all too conditioned to Hollywood beauty standards. This source looks at the attributes of female stardom in India, and draws parallels to the persisting roles and expectations of women in the country today.
Osuri, Goldie, and Devleena Ghosh. “India/Cinema: An Archive Of Politics And Pleasures.”
Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies 26.6 (2012): 799-802. Communication
& Mass Media Complete. Web. 28 Aug. 2015.
Cinema has the potential to be lavish, glamorous, and indulgent. Though, these qualities do not necessarily align with Indian ethics. This source looks at how politics and the state-sponsored cinema industry often mistake gluttony for glory.
Banerjee, Sikata. SUNY series in Religious Studies : Make Me a Man! : Masculinity, Hinduism,
and Nationalism in India. Ithaca, NY, USA: State University of New York Press, 2005.
ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 August 2015.
This source looks at film concepts such as the ‘male gaze,’ which link cinematography to gender stereotypes. In what ways does cinema instruct men how to act, or vice versa- in what ways do men break down gender stereotypes through their representation on screen?
Cheema, Z. (2012), Picturing the Nation: The Visual Logic and Discontents of India’s Nationalism. Art History, 35: 174–178. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8365.2011.00874.x
The nation of India uses cinema to, so-to-speak, brand itself in many ways. However, there seems to be a disconnect between what national personality is promoted, and what actually characterizes the people of the country.
Banerjee, Sikata. “Gender and Nationalism: The Masculinization of Hinduism and Female
Political Participation in India.” Women’s Studies International Forum 26.2 (2003): 167-79. Web.
This source will provide solid political context surrounding masculinity and femininity in India.
Kaur, Raminder, and Mazzarella, William, eds. Censorship in South Asia : Cultural Regulation
from Sedition to Seduction. Bloomington, IN, USA: Indiana University Press, 2009. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 August 2015.
Part of the disconnect between the government’s perception of nationality and the people’s perception lies in the way that censorship is handled. When culture is regulated, voices are suppressed- cinema is often a target of such regulations.
Mehta, Monika. Censorship and Sexuality in Bombay Cinema. Austin, TX, USA: University of Texas Press, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 28 August 2015.
This source will provide further context about the extent of censorship in India. Looking specifically at how sexuality is portrayed on screen provides insight as to certain cultural taboos/norms that are currently being challenged by various social campaigns.