Indira Singh, week 12

GENDER POLICING IN MAINSTREAM HINDI CINEMA

This reading analyzes the gender roles played by CFCs (Central Female Characters) in various Hindi movies released in 2003-04 to 2013-14. Irrespective of the year in which these films were released, all movies that included a CFC depicted that character following some form of prescriptive gender norms. 

CFCs in old as well as new movies were rewarded when they adhered to gender norms and punished when they violated gender norms. Instances of punishment were higher in old movies than in new movies; violation of prescriptive gender norms was not related to punishment in new movies, and new movies also lacked identifiable female protagonists on average compared with old movies.

 In recent years, several causes have been advanced to explain the increasing violence against women in India, including political apathy, socioeconomic upheaval, societal attitudes, and media effects. Violent crime against women in India has changed in recent decades. The number of reported crimes has increased markedly; according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau of India (2013), there was a 91% increase in reported incidents of crime against women from 2003 to 2013, including kidnapping; rape; domestic violence; sexual intimidation in the form of gazing, groping, verbal abuse, or whistling directed at women in public spaces (Paul, 2011); and cyber crimes. During the same period, policy changes including harsher penalties for violence against women have been implemented.

Bollywood’s globalization has arguably affected the portrayal of Indian women in Bollywood films. globalization has led to the emergence of alternate modes of Indian femininity, as expressed in popular Hindi films that depart from the portrayal of Indian women as upholders of moral code. In an informal survey of Bollywood movies released during 2006 and 2009, the portrayal of women was found to be increasingly Western (e.g., Western clothes, depiction of sexuality), conforming less to traditional gender-role expectations for women in India. women characters in Bollywood films are portrayed as increasingly independent and strong. This reflects, in part, the impact of globalization on Indian society. 

Forces of globalization have created a steady demand for labor, encouraging Indian women to enter the job market. In contemporary Indian society, women have more access to education. Both these trends are reflected in contemporary Bollywood films through central female characters (CFCs) that are educated and career oriented Globalization also opened up the Indian market to Western attire, which is reflected in the dresses Bollywood heroines wear. The degree to which these depictions have become commonplace, and the consequences that accrue to characters thus depicted, are the focus of this article.