Panel 11: Mediating the Nation
Start Date
15-2-2015 2:00 PM
End Date
15-2-2015 3:20 PM
Abstract
Restructuring the sense of nation in the culture of imagined communities through Bollywood
Unarguably, Bollywood (Hindi cinema) has spread its wings and continued its legacy to be the second most popular film center of the world after Hollywood, and successfully made its impact globally (Punathambekar, 2013). Two of its remarkable productions, DilwaleDulhaniya Le Jaenge(DDLJ, The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride, 1995) and Purab aur Paschim (PAP, East and West, 1970) are still cherished. The paper will talk about these two movies representing the idea of nationalism before and after globalization, thereby creating sense of nation in the idea of imagined communities.
The lead actor of PAP paints a mind-altering picture of a metropolis fixed at sexual fantasies and consumerism. People who were living abroad was depicted as being embarrassed of their roots, losing one’s original values and changing their names to sound more “Western”. In these kinds of depictions, emigration can only be seen as a negative phenomenon and the person who migrates as ‘the moral antithesis’ of the real Indian people (Uberoi, 1998, p. 308). On the other hand the movie produced in the center of globalization era, DDLJ, communicated that despite being born and raised abroad, wearing Western attire and adopting youth culture, the lead actors have preserved their “Indian” values, mainly in relation to issues of morality. Appadurai (1996) also argues that electronic media plays an important role in transforming everyday lives of people and discovers the influence on “work of the imagination” (3). Bollywood is a true example of embracing this statement and making the modern, global and local so close to each other that the communities started migrating without feeling that they are betraying the family and the country. Bollywood promoting the sense of nation and involving increase in migration and cultural movements promotes Appadurai’s (1996) all five dimensions of global cultural flows. These landscpaes, namely ethnoscapes – flow of people; and mediascapes – flow of technology; technoscape – flow of mechanical and informational technology; fiancescapes – flow of capital and funds globally; and ideoscapes – flow and series of images, are called the building blocks of “imagined worlds” (33) . These five scapes do not necessarily follow similar path; however, follows the notion of increased speed, scale and volume of distribution among audiences all over the world. This pace has led to believe that globalization is not just following the west. It is about extending and exchanging cultures.
Restructuring the Sense of Nation in the Culture of Imagined Communities Through Bollywood
Restructuring the sense of nation in the culture of imagined communities through Bollywood
Unarguably, Bollywood (Hindi cinema) has spread its wings and continued its legacy to be the second most popular film center of the world after Hollywood, and successfully made its impact globally (Punathambekar, 2013). Two of its remarkable productions, DilwaleDulhaniya Le Jaenge(DDLJ, The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride, 1995) and Purab aur Paschim (PAP, East and West, 1970) are still cherished. The paper will talk about these two movies representing the idea of nationalism before and after globalization, thereby creating sense of nation in the idea of imagined communities.
The lead actor of PAP paints a mind-altering picture of a metropolis fixed at sexual fantasies and consumerism. People who were living abroad was depicted as being embarrassed of their roots, losing one’s original values and changing their names to sound more “Western”. In these kinds of depictions, emigration can only be seen as a negative phenomenon and the person who migrates as ‘the moral antithesis’ of the real Indian people (Uberoi, 1998, p. 308). On the other hand the movie produced in the center of globalization era, DDLJ, communicated that despite being born and raised abroad, wearing Western attire and adopting youth culture, the lead actors have preserved their “Indian” values, mainly in relation to issues of morality. Appadurai (1996) also argues that electronic media plays an important role in transforming everyday lives of people and discovers the influence on “work of the imagination” (3). Bollywood is a true example of embracing this statement and making the modern, global and local so close to each other that the communities started migrating without feeling that they are betraying the family and the country. Bollywood promoting the sense of nation and involving increase in migration and cultural movements promotes Appadurai’s (1996) all five dimensions of global cultural flows. These landscpaes, namely ethnoscapes – flow of people; and mediascapes – flow of technology; technoscape – flow of mechanical and informational technology; fiancescapes – flow of capital and funds globally; and ideoscapes – flow and series of images, are called the building blocks of “imagined worlds” (33) . These five scapes do not necessarily follow similar path; however, follows the notion of increased speed, scale and volume of distribution among audiences all over the world. This pace has led to believe that globalization is not just following the west. It is about extending and exchanging cultures.