The Changing World of Satyajit Ray: Reflections on Anthropology
and History
MICHELANGELO
PAGANOPOULOS
University of London, UK
University of London, UK
The visionary Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) is India’s
most famous director. His visual style fused the aesthetics of European realism with
evocative symbolic realism, which was based on classic Indian iconography, the
aesthetic and narrative principles of rasa, the energies of shakti and shakta, the
principles of dharma, and the practice of darsha dena/ darsha lena, all of which he
incorporated in a self-reflective way as the means of observing and recording the human
condition in a rapidly changing world. This unique amalgam of self-expression expanded
over four decades that cover three
periods of Bengali history, offering a fictional
ethnography of a nation in transition from agricultural, feudal societies to a capitalist
economy. His films show the emotional impact of the social, economic, and political changes,
on the personal lives of his characters. They expand from the Indian declaration
of Independence (1947) and the period of industrialization and secularization of
the 1950s and 1960s, to the rise of nationalism and Marxism in the 1970s, followed by the
rapid transformation of India in the 1980s. Ray’s films reflect upon the changes
in the conscious collective of the society and the time they were produced, while
offering a historical record of this
transformation of his imagined India, the ‘India’
that I got to know while watching his films; an ‘India’ that I can relate to. The paper
highlights an affinity between Ray’s method of film-making with ethnography and amateur
anthropology. For this, it returns to the notion of the charismatic auteur as a narrator
of his time, working within the liminal space in-between fiction and reality,
subjectivity and objectivity, culture and history respectively, in order to reflect upon the
complementary relationship between the charismatic auteur and the role of the amateur
anthropologist in an ever-changing world.
SAAYAN
CHATTOPADHYAY
Baruipur College, University of Calcutta, India
Baruipur College, University of Calcutta, India
In the 1970s popular Hindi
cinema witnessed an emergence of action oriented films with a
distinctive “angry young man” protagonist. Tracing the antecedents of Indian masculine
subjectivity in colonial discourse, this essay seeks to constitute a framework that identifies vestiges of mythological narratives
alongside the politico-historical factors, to explain the formation of the
belligerent male in the post-independence popular Hindi films. Reconciling the problematic of
overdetermined “Indianness”— conceived as spiritual, calm, and other-worldly,
together with its opposite: aggression, anger and this-worldly, that is also constitutive
of Indian masculinity— the essay argues, benevolence or militancy cohere in the
masculine self and, are activated
according to specific political conditions in
history. The angry man figure inscribed in the 1970s popular Hindi cinema is explicable in
relation to the 1960s political crises in India that exposed a delegitimized Indian
state. This essay focuses on the mythic tale of Parashurâma in the epic Purânas, which is instructive in understanding the rage and rebellion of the figure of the angry
man— and his violent yet eventually sacrosanct masculinity— whose dharma (sacred duty)
is to reinstate the flawed ideal even if that meant confronting the enemy within or
going against one’s own family.
Vision of Tagore through Applicability in the Spectrum of Ray
and Ghosh: Reflection of Feminine Approach in two Bengali Movies
MAUMITA
CHAUDHURI
Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath College
West Bengal State University, India
Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath College
West Bengal State University, India
Rabindranath Tagore had an enormous influence on
Satyajit Ray, one of the great directors in India’s long tradition of art house
cinema who directed Charulata, and Chokher Bali is made by a director much influenced
by Ray in turn, Rituparno Ghosh. The film Charulata affords a dazzling view of
Satyajit Ray’s mastery of the medium and gives vital proof of his ability to explore
universal themes without compromising
his uniquely Bengali sensibilities. Ray’s script
gracefully follows the maturing of Charu’s artistic and feminine identity. The Bengali
filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh writes and directs the costume melodrama Chokher Bali: A
Passion Play which focuses on the situation of women. Set in the early 1900s, the
film draws parallels between the British colonization of Bengal and the domestic
situation of a Calcutta household. This paper tries to analyze the representation of
Indian Bengali female characters, written by Tagore in the early 20th century, through
the above mentioned two movies.
Globalization of Bollywood: Gain of Markets or Loss of
Audiences?
MIRA
K DESAISNDT
Women’s University, Mumbai, India
Women’s University, Mumbai, India
Films are one of the oldest medium of
entertainment. Human civilization has witnessed sea change in film creation-production-distribution-consumption
processes in last few decades. This paper examines the question
whether globalization of Bollywood has taken place in terms of markets as well as
audiences, the forms and shapes of the process of globalization and if the process has led
to gain of markets and/or loss of
audiences. It uses an Indian cinema-hall-going
audience survey, content of Bollywood productions and Box office figures across markets
to argue that the process of globalization of Bollywood has neither lead to gain
of markets nor loss of audiences. It is an inevitable development creating hypo-real
markets whereas audiences connect only to culturally proximate contents. Analysis
indicates that while on one hand Bollywood films creating ‘global’ markets, it is
losing ‘local’ audiences.
Depiction of Contemporary Media: Thematic Analysis of Pipili Live
ARCHANA R SINGH
Panjab University, India
Panjab University, India
Pipli Live, a 2010 movie of Aamir Khan
Productions evoked exceptional response both from the audience and the
critics. The reviewers either wrote eons in its praise or rubbished it as
being superficial and lacking depth. The reviews appearing soon after the
film’s release, concentrated not only on the quality of the film but also
about the politics, the farmers and their problems. The media conveniently
ignored the media. They never really spoke in depth about the way contemporary
media scenario has been depicted in the film. This paper tries
to look at this aspect of the film through the process of thematic analysis. It
also brings to light the popular perception about media in the minds of the common
man.
Dirty Harry as Pornography: Revealing the Unrevealed
VAN
ROBERTS
Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi
State, USA
MARK
GOODMAN
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State,
USA
Dirty Harry was released 40 years ago. We contend
that it was a very influential film because it was one of the first mainstream
pornography films. Our analysis shows how the producers of Dirty Harry used the signifiers
and ideology of a porn film to reveal the dirty side of society. Today, those porn film
signifiers have created a porn film ideology, which is a common element on television and in
film.
Users’ Gratification, Self-Schema and Facebook Behaviour: A
Study of Selective Young Facebook Users
SANTOSH
K. PATRA
Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, India
RAHUL GADEKAR
Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, India
RAHUL GADEKAR
Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, India
PRADEEP KRISHNATRAY
PRADEEP KRISHNATRAY
Pondicherry University, India
The personality trait of users was measured in terms of the self-schema of Separateness-connectedness. A survey questionnaire was administered to the sample of 550 students who came from all over the country to attend the admission process of a well-known communication management school in India. Study concluded that perception of real self always gets reflected in the virtual behaviour of Facebook users. This can be
considered as an extension of real self in their virtual behaviour. However, the comparison of the data between real space self-schema with the Facebook friendship behaviour gives more space to understand weather it is a mere extension or a modification in their real perception about their self.
Developing Media Literacy Practice among Secondary School
Students in Malaysia: Case Studies of Video Making on Environmental Issues
N.
V. PRASAD
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
SHANTHI BALRAJ
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
SHANTHI BALRAJ
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
In the present new media world, it is essential for
the students to develop a sense of media awareness and activism to facilitate social
learning in relation to the surrounding world. In building a productive
learning culture among the students, media literacy is a necessary intervention in
developing critical understandings,
creative abilities, and active participations.
Developing media literacy practices among secondary school students on environment is
important as the world is becoming less green and the environment is
declining. The aim of this study was to examine secondary school students’ media literacy
practices in Malaysia using the case of video making on environmental issues with a
focus on three core components of media literacy practice namely process, text and
inquiry developed by Thoman & Jolls (2004). On the whole, the study has revealed
that despite difficulties in understanding the environment and critical media
inquiry, students are quick to learn and are able to engage in video making on
environment in a productive way. However, the results of the study present a cause
for concern, optimism and the need for inculcating active media participation of the
students’ voices on the environmental issues facing the country.
Newspaper Supplements of Metropolitan City Publications: A Case
Study of two Indian
News Dailies
JYOTI
RAGHAVAN
Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University, India
Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University, India
This article seeks to explore the narratives on
metropolitan cities that appear in the supplements of the English language newspapers of
India. The positioning of the city in these newspaper supplements predominantly
projects the lifestyles of the rich and the famous, with an overt emphasis on a culture of
conspicuous consumption. This is being thrust upon the public day after day. These
supplements with their emphasis on gloss, glamour, gossip, and entertainment are
predominantly projecting a high-end lifestyle, aiding and abetting the quest for
affluence in the minds of the readers. Commercial interests are influencing the way news
about the city is selected and written about in these daily supplements, resulting
increasingly in the focus on issues considered by some to be of little worth culturally
or socially. It is argued that there is a disconnect between the narratives on the city
in newspaper supplements and public perceptions of the same.
Embedded Health Messages in Entertainment-Education Television
Programs
ROMESH
CHATURVEDI
Amity School of Communication, Lucknow, India
SHRUTI MEHROTRA
Amity School of Communication, Lucknow, India
Amity School of Communication, Lucknow, India
SHRUTI MEHROTRA
Amity School of Communication, Lucknow, India
The traditional health communication
strategy these days are unproductive because of their obvious aim and abundance.
Entertainment education (E-E) is the format in which social messages are embedded into
entertainment programming with a purpose to influence attitudes and behaviors.
Television is a persuasive medium for disseminating information on a plethora
of topics on health messages. Stakeholders should take advantage of television’s
potential for reaching audiences with health related messages. This paper investigates youth
perceptions of an HIV-AIDS message embedded in commercial television
programming. The respondents were exposed to the episode of entertainment program ‘Sanjivani’-A
medical boon which was aired on Star Plus television channel. These
data indicate that youngsters are receptive to HIV-AIDS messages within television
episode. Much more research should be done in order to generalize these findings to
other audiences, episodes, programs, and health related messages. Health message was identified by majority of
viewers and it was not intrusive in enjoyment of the program.
The results of this study suggest that audience involvement with E-E programs is
multifaceted and important to the outcome of exposure to this programming. Embedded
health message entertainment education model is proposed for the cost
effective dissemination of health messages.
