This chapter analyzes the role of female gangsters and villains in Indian lms by discussing the c... more This chapter analyzes the role of female gangsters and villains in Indian lms by discussing the construction of these characters, the social reasons for the origin of such roles, and the development of the role of female gangsters through a comparative analysis against Indian male gangsters. Language is an important element in the development of the female gangster in Bollywood. In direct contrast to the traditional female heroine, female gangsters in Indian cinema have started to use scatological language in order to portray the earthiness of their characters. In the twenty‐rst century, female gangsters in Hindi cinema have undermined the stereotypical portrayal of action women by displaying a diversity of costumes. Female gangsters in Hindi cinema ooered audiences the opportunity to applaud transgressive female behavior, without going so far as to break the traditional and reassuring link between female identity and social morality.
Paper Presented at ICMC 2015 - "Digital Future: Content, Community and Communication&... more Paper Presented at ICMC 2015 - "Digital Future: Content, Community and Communication" The interactions and views of a social media user and the news disseminated from an institutionalized news media organization often form a cohort in the cyber spectrum. The Social upheavals of the public spheres termed as Iranian Green Revolution, Arab Spring, Jasmine Revolution, and OccupyWall Street are the notable ones which captured global attention through social media activism. The content, dissemination and the impact of such social media activism have been widely explored in the academic parlance. Analyzing deeper, hashtags (#) turned to be the “content controllers” of the social media. In the above cases, hashtag aided users to identify and circulate a “common cause/ideology” just by posting an identifiable single word following a hashtag. For example, #Occupy became a viral on all social media platforms during the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Moving ahead from analyzing the hashtags as a “trendy or catchy word”, this research paper tries to conceptualize the hashtags as a source of news clouting, cataloguing and recognition. This paper analyses the addiction of the social media spectrum and mainstream news media over hashtags to take up the news leads. This new trend is a revisit on Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw’s postulates on Agenda Setting Theory (1974). For the purpose of the study, the trendy and viral news hashtags of the aforementioned events are identified and analyzed. The role of Hashtags in news positioning and dissemination is evaluated. The present study innovates over a new dimension of agenda setting (content curation) theory. The study assesses how a combination of one or two words can make hassle in the process of news dissemination. Keywords: Slacktivism, new media, social media network, global identity, news making
Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy midd... more Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy middle class as well as sports enthusiasts who equally enjoy the new live spectacle on television. Most of the franchised team is owned by Bollywood stars or at least branded or heralded by film star. This made cricket match an extremely glamorized event with all the mix of a Bollywood film. This revolutionized the entertainment culture of public where they are now witnessing the merging of the most popular entertainment outlet – film and sports. The chapter argues that the concept of IPL as a media event is identified by the public as a glorified Bollywood film where it set an ideology that every second should be enjoyed with a similar enthusiasm of a masala Bollywood film. This chapter situates IPL with the larger framework provided by Dayan and Katz (1992) in defining a media event.
Revista Romana de Jurnalism si Comunicare - Romanian Journal of Journalism and Communication, 2012
In Malaysia, the idealistic notion of the news media as ‘watchdog’ is largely redundant due to th... more In Malaysia, the idealistic notion of the news media as ‘watchdog’ is largely redundant due to the external and institutional realities associated with its functioning in a heavily regulated, monitored and controlled media system. There has been little analysis of Malaysian journalists’ perceptions of their profession. Operating within an authoritarian mediascape, Malaysian journalists have to surrender their journalistic values and principles of practice thereby pervading a culture of self-censorship.
Environmental communication is now an emerging and a significant curriculum from schools to resea... more Environmental communication is now an emerging and a significant curriculum from schools to research centers. The effective and efficient environmental communication occurs when learners interact with their surrounding environment/ecology in which they live and reciprocate for sustainable protection and restoration of it. Developing countries in Asia and Africa are now setting up new role models and practices in curricula of environmental communication. The traditional theory based environmental communication curriculum of the last century is now actively investigated and restructured through community based learning, affirmative actions, and student centered participatory curriculum. Kerala, a southern State in India, serves as an exemplar of this new eco-venture. Through case studies like, Nalla Paadam (Good Lesson), Palathulli Project (Many a Drop Project) by the Malayalam language daily ‘Malayala Manoram’, and SEED project by another Malayalam daily ‘Mathrubhumi’, this paper an...
Historical films are a widely discussed genre of visual narration as it poses the challenge of a ... more Historical films are a widely discussed genre of visual narration as it poses the challenge of a reliable balance between history, myth and truth. Indian history and independence have been one of those themes that have been adapted into filmic narration, not only as a national oration, but from an international lens. Unlike any other historical moment, Indian Independence is the most celebrated and recurring themes of historical movies and still continuous to be a vibrant subject for Indian film makers. Dealing with the narration of a nation, often these films are looked at with a skeptical attitude, mostly because of its colonizer’s view of the colonized. This article addresses Bhabha’s ( 1994 ) interstitial perspective and mimicry of ambivalence positing that these films neither dominate nor propagate certain colonial ideologies, nor does it make the colonizer as a virtuous subject, but rather create an ambivalent identity, which is neither colonizer nor colonized, but a hybrid of...
Films based on India often end up in the Dharavi slums, a suburb in the shadow city of Mumbai. Sp... more Films based on India often end up in the Dharavi slums, a suburb in the shadow city of Mumbai. Sprawling across 1.75 km2 in the heart of Mumbai, Dharavi is a stark contrast to surging urban society, reminding the world about the dark side of the metropolis. The largest and most populous democracy in the world, India is often symbolized by the wide-angle panoramic shots of Dharavi and the close-up frames of huddled huts and shabby starving faces of Dharavi residents. As a visually iconographic medium, its portrayal of spectacle and escapism depicts an image bank that is far removed from the daily struggle of most moviegoers. A significant feature of Bollywood’s imagery is the focus on exotic locations that often encompass foreign destinations such as Mauritius, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, New Zealand, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and Switzerland. However, when these films do consider the misery, agony and violence of Indian society, the lens is always upon the suburbs. Dharavi formed the thematic backdrop of many films at different times, including Deewar (1975), Bombay (1998), Parinda (1989), Footpath (2003), Black Friday (2004), the Sarkar series (2005–2008) and Traffic Signal (2007). The trend had been fairly shifted to International or foreign productions on India, for instance, Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). However, a significant difference can be seen in the way Dharavi has been used as a backdrop in Indian productions and foreign collaborations. The portrayals of this suburb in foreign productions become problematic, or at least induce curiosity when they consider Dharavi as a landscape rather than a social system, thereby treating it as an embarrassing eyesore in the financial hub of India. These films, however, fail to acknowledge that these slums are a crucial site for new forms of social identity and mobility in a highly urbanized society.
The theme of subalternity with its inherent ramifications is yet to find favour among film makers... more The theme of subalternity with its inherent ramifications is yet to find favour among film makers in India. Progressive film makers of the 1960s attempted to address the theme of subaltern and dared to give the subaltern a voice, but they remained singular attempts. Through a case study on a Malayalam film (a regional film industry from the state of Kerala in India) Papilio Buddha this article tries to analyze the representation of Dalit community in Indian cinema. Though Malayalam film industry has tried to address the concern of Dalits, they have been stereotyped in many ways and reduced to being sidekicks to villains or unskilled labourers having no identity. They remained as instruments to idolize the hero, to act as a contrast to the elite protagonist or as the poor helpless victims who offer the protagonist an opportunity to display his heroism. Papilio Buddha grabbed media attention when it was denied clearance by the censor board as it explores the territory of Dalit conscio...
Through a comparative analysis of Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), this chap... more Through a comparative analysis of Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), this chapter critiques the commodification of fantasy and cinematic escapism in Bollywood and the depiction of Dharavi as a veritable Disneyland full of crimes, drugs, prostitution, and mafia, and as a land of utter poverty and moral bankruptcy. This is a strong case study of how Orientalism is, in fact, alive in contemporary Hollywood and in bourgeois Indian cinema under neoliberalism.
Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy midd... more Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy middle class as well as sports enthusiasts who equally enjoy the new live spectacle on television. Most of the franchised team is owned by Bollywood stars or at least branded or heralded by film star. This made cricket match an extremely glamorized event with all the mix of a Bollywood film. This revolutionized the entertainment culture of public where they are now witnessing the merging of the most popular entertainment outlet – film and sports. The chapter argues that the concept of IPL as a media event is identified by the public as a glorified Bollywood film where it set an ideology that every second should be enjoyed with a similar enthusiasm of a masala Bollywood film. This chapter situates IPL with the larger framework provided by Dayan and Katz (1992) in defining a media event.
This chapter analyzes the role of female gangsters and villains in Indian lms by discussing the c... more This chapter analyzes the role of female gangsters and villains in Indian lms by discussing the construction of these characters, the social reasons for the origin of such roles, and the development of the role of female gangsters through a comparative analysis against Indian male gangsters. Language is an important element in the development of the female gangster in Bollywood. In direct contrast to the traditional female heroine, female gangsters in Indian cinema have started to use scatological language in order to portray the earthiness of their characters. In the twenty‐rst century, female gangsters in Hindi cinema have undermined the stereotypical portrayal of action women by displaying a diversity of costumes. Female gangsters in Hindi cinema ooered audiences the opportunity to applaud transgressive female behavior, without going so far as to break the traditional and reassuring link between female identity and social morality.
Paper Presented at ICMC 2015 - "Digital Future: Content, Community and Communication&... more Paper Presented at ICMC 2015 - "Digital Future: Content, Community and Communication" The interactions and views of a social media user and the news disseminated from an institutionalized news media organization often form a cohort in the cyber spectrum. The Social upheavals of the public spheres termed as Iranian Green Revolution, Arab Spring, Jasmine Revolution, and OccupyWall Street are the notable ones which captured global attention through social media activism. The content, dissemination and the impact of such social media activism have been widely explored in the academic parlance. Analyzing deeper, hashtags (#) turned to be the “content controllers” of the social media. In the above cases, hashtag aided users to identify and circulate a “common cause/ideology” just by posting an identifiable single word following a hashtag. For example, #Occupy became a viral on all social media platforms during the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Moving ahead from analyzing the hashtags as a “trendy or catchy word”, this research paper tries to conceptualize the hashtags as a source of news clouting, cataloguing and recognition. This paper analyses the addiction of the social media spectrum and mainstream news media over hashtags to take up the news leads. This new trend is a revisit on Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw’s postulates on Agenda Setting Theory (1974). For the purpose of the study, the trendy and viral news hashtags of the aforementioned events are identified and analyzed. The role of Hashtags in news positioning and dissemination is evaluated. The present study innovates over a new dimension of agenda setting (content curation) theory. The study assesses how a combination of one or two words can make hassle in the process of news dissemination. Keywords: Slacktivism, new media, social media network, global identity, news making
Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy midd... more Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy middle class as well as sports enthusiasts who equally enjoy the new live spectacle on television. Most of the franchised team is owned by Bollywood stars or at least branded or heralded by film star. This made cricket match an extremely glamorized event with all the mix of a Bollywood film. This revolutionized the entertainment culture of public where they are now witnessing the merging of the most popular entertainment outlet – film and sports. The chapter argues that the concept of IPL as a media event is identified by the public as a glorified Bollywood film where it set an ideology that every second should be enjoyed with a similar enthusiasm of a masala Bollywood film. This chapter situates IPL with the larger framework provided by Dayan and Katz (1992) in defining a media event.
Revista Romana de Jurnalism si Comunicare - Romanian Journal of Journalism and Communication, 2012
In Malaysia, the idealistic notion of the news media as ‘watchdog’ is largely redundant due to th... more In Malaysia, the idealistic notion of the news media as ‘watchdog’ is largely redundant due to the external and institutional realities associated with its functioning in a heavily regulated, monitored and controlled media system. There has been little analysis of Malaysian journalists’ perceptions of their profession. Operating within an authoritarian mediascape, Malaysian journalists have to surrender their journalistic values and principles of practice thereby pervading a culture of self-censorship.
Environmental communication is now an emerging and a significant curriculum from schools to resea... more Environmental communication is now an emerging and a significant curriculum from schools to research centers. The effective and efficient environmental communication occurs when learners interact with their surrounding environment/ecology in which they live and reciprocate for sustainable protection and restoration of it. Developing countries in Asia and Africa are now setting up new role models and practices in curricula of environmental communication. The traditional theory based environmental communication curriculum of the last century is now actively investigated and restructured through community based learning, affirmative actions, and student centered participatory curriculum. Kerala, a southern State in India, serves as an exemplar of this new eco-venture. Through case studies like, Nalla Paadam (Good Lesson), Palathulli Project (Many a Drop Project) by the Malayalam language daily ‘Malayala Manoram’, and SEED project by another Malayalam daily ‘Mathrubhumi’, this paper an...
Historical films are a widely discussed genre of visual narration as it poses the challenge of a ... more Historical films are a widely discussed genre of visual narration as it poses the challenge of a reliable balance between history, myth and truth. Indian history and independence have been one of those themes that have been adapted into filmic narration, not only as a national oration, but from an international lens. Unlike any other historical moment, Indian Independence is the most celebrated and recurring themes of historical movies and still continuous to be a vibrant subject for Indian film makers. Dealing with the narration of a nation, often these films are looked at with a skeptical attitude, mostly because of its colonizer’s view of the colonized. This article addresses Bhabha’s ( 1994 ) interstitial perspective and mimicry of ambivalence positing that these films neither dominate nor propagate certain colonial ideologies, nor does it make the colonizer as a virtuous subject, but rather create an ambivalent identity, which is neither colonizer nor colonized, but a hybrid of...
Films based on India often end up in the Dharavi slums, a suburb in the shadow city of Mumbai. Sp... more Films based on India often end up in the Dharavi slums, a suburb in the shadow city of Mumbai. Sprawling across 1.75 km2 in the heart of Mumbai, Dharavi is a stark contrast to surging urban society, reminding the world about the dark side of the metropolis. The largest and most populous democracy in the world, India is often symbolized by the wide-angle panoramic shots of Dharavi and the close-up frames of huddled huts and shabby starving faces of Dharavi residents. As a visually iconographic medium, its portrayal of spectacle and escapism depicts an image bank that is far removed from the daily struggle of most moviegoers. A significant feature of Bollywood’s imagery is the focus on exotic locations that often encompass foreign destinations such as Mauritius, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, New Zealand, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and Switzerland. However, when these films do consider the misery, agony and violence of Indian society, the lens is always upon the suburbs. Dharavi formed the thematic backdrop of many films at different times, including Deewar (1975), Bombay (1998), Parinda (1989), Footpath (2003), Black Friday (2004), the Sarkar series (2005–2008) and Traffic Signal (2007). The trend had been fairly shifted to International or foreign productions on India, for instance, Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). However, a significant difference can be seen in the way Dharavi has been used as a backdrop in Indian productions and foreign collaborations. The portrayals of this suburb in foreign productions become problematic, or at least induce curiosity when they consider Dharavi as a landscape rather than a social system, thereby treating it as an embarrassing eyesore in the financial hub of India. These films, however, fail to acknowledge that these slums are a crucial site for new forms of social identity and mobility in a highly urbanized society.
The theme of subalternity with its inherent ramifications is yet to find favour among film makers... more The theme of subalternity with its inherent ramifications is yet to find favour among film makers in India. Progressive film makers of the 1960s attempted to address the theme of subaltern and dared to give the subaltern a voice, but they remained singular attempts. Through a case study on a Malayalam film (a regional film industry from the state of Kerala in India) Papilio Buddha this article tries to analyze the representation of Dalit community in Indian cinema. Though Malayalam film industry has tried to address the concern of Dalits, they have been stereotyped in many ways and reduced to being sidekicks to villains or unskilled labourers having no identity. They remained as instruments to idolize the hero, to act as a contrast to the elite protagonist or as the poor helpless victims who offer the protagonist an opportunity to display his heroism. Papilio Buddha grabbed media attention when it was denied clearance by the censor board as it explores the territory of Dalit conscio...
Through a comparative analysis of Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), this chap... more Through a comparative analysis of Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), this chapter critiques the commodification of fantasy and cinematic escapism in Bollywood and the depiction of Dharavi as a veritable Disneyland full of crimes, drugs, prostitution, and mafia, and as a land of utter poverty and moral bankruptcy. This is a strong case study of how Orientalism is, in fact, alive in contemporary Hollywood and in bourgeois Indian cinema under neoliberalism.
Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy midd... more Indian Premier League (IPL) has evolved as a popular event for the large entertainment savvy middle class as well as sports enthusiasts who equally enjoy the new live spectacle on television. Most of the franchised team is owned by Bollywood stars or at least branded or heralded by film star. This made cricket match an extremely glamorized event with all the mix of a Bollywood film. This revolutionized the entertainment culture of public where they are now witnessing the merging of the most popular entertainment outlet – film and sports. The chapter argues that the concept of IPL as a media event is identified by the public as a glorified Bollywood film where it set an ideology that every second should be enjoyed with a similar enthusiasm of a masala Bollywood film. This chapter situates IPL with the larger framework provided by Dayan and Katz (1992) in defining a media event.
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Papers by Rohini Sreekumar