Mass Media Research | Assignment II

NAME- GORIKA SETHI

ROLL NO. – A038
SAP NO.- 40316200044
COURSE- F.Y.B.A.M.M.C
MITHIBAI COLLEGE OF ARTS
DATE- 23/03/21

Do gender equalities exist in films, in what way are woman portrayed?

How impactful is cinema?

Cinema is a tool to rejuvenate the mind of a person. It carries dozens of boons and banes with
it. It is said to be the reflection of the society we reside in, sometimes proudly, sometimes
not. It brings in front of our eyes and vision the issues we never thought of as something
more than just anything. It also helps people connect better by discussing ideas, music, stories
and much more. It often even enhances the imagination power of people by looking at a story
from the director’s perspective. It sometimes inspires people and brings them together, while
other times it gives birth to ideas people never had or worse, it strengthens the conditioned
values people have been living with and believing for a prolonged time.
History and progress of woman in cinema.
Cinema is in the taste of almost everyone but everyone has a different taste of cinema. People
live with opinions personal to them, some have an open mind towards them while others are
stern about it. One of the very major problematic issue with cinema is how it has portrayed
woman and continue to do so. Though it might have progressed in a way still a lot of ideas
are influenced by the patriarchal values which exist very much in our society. Historically
woman had equal to no role in the movies like they did not have the right to vote. Throughout
the history of Indian cinema, the story of the protagonist; the hero has been incomplete
without saving the damsel in distress; the heroine.
As a result, the actors in the movies became more than just actors to heroes’ people look up
to and started impacting their everyday lives. Woman in Indian cinema has evolved, yes,
from being played decorative objects for a long time they have come to the point where they
are a leader in women-centric films. Roles for a woman in cinema have grown in Bollywood
from just a mother, sister to a person of their own. From a housewife to a homemaker to
someone who is empowered enough to run her life financially. Even in the rapidly changing
media landscape of the 21st-century movies have remained an integral part of culture because
of which the influence it has on the people watching them is intense most times. The one
thing that becomes clear when you set out to chart the evolution of women in Bollywood is
the role of the viewers' gaze, which in turn has informed by a variety of factors, including
politics, the socio-economic structure of the society at that particular time, and evolution of
culture.
Evolving roles and their portrayal.
Like mentioned, women have been backing better roles but that wasn’t enough, it’s harder for
female characters to earn as much as the idea of them being the centre was to learn. Because
of the disparity in the number of men compared to women in the writing process, female
characters in Bollywood have been presented through the lens of a largely male perspective.
Gender bias can travel across decades, and we still haven't completely rid ourselves of
archaic notions that existed half a century ago. For every movie like Queen or Lipstick Under
My Burkha, we have a Grand Masti or Golmaal, where the only job for the women is to
either be the reason why the hero goes through a character transformation, or to provide
pretty visual relief from the action. Rare movies which have presented woman as strong
beings who raise their voice against injustice, who can rebel their way and make their
political statement are very less but exist. The examples are “Kunku”, “Mirch Masala”,
“Astitva”, “Bandit Queen”, to movies of recent times like “Kahaani”, “English Vinglish”,
“Mardaani”, “Raazi”, “Highway”, “Piku” and so many more but can be counted. Movies
like “biwi ho toh aisi”, “no entry”, “do not disturb” which were counted as the best
comedies of their times and many more uncountable stories portrayed a woman as mere side
character at times or just an object of desire. These movies didn’t have much to do for
woman, leaving only a little or no scope for them to show their acting skills. Most movies
had a mix of skin-show and item numbers. Most of them unasked for.
Things that should be uncalled for but aren’t.
There are unlimited sequences extremely problematic in films like, showing a woman
wearing revealing clothes, or considering a woman as a lower category who is either a
mistress or a prostitute. The maximum screen time woman characters have had in movies
sometimes have been item numbers with ridiculous lyrics sexualising a woman at best.
Scripts are supposed to be good, people say, but for a female character to be talked about as
much why is a little nudity more important than meaningful dialogues?
Entertainment is a source in our lives that gives a role model to most people who then try to
imitate their behaviour, attitudes and lifestyle. Bollywood films have been the embodiment of
the lives Indians have been living for many years, so to syringe into people the values and put
into them a possessive feeling concerning these values is a harmful image to offer.
A movie like “Mardaani” and “Thappad” being released at the same time as “Kabir Singh”
tells us about how contradictory the ideas of the cinematic society are still. And the fact that
Kabir Singh still got praised than the other two movies is highly problematic.
Sadly, presenting a story is a director’s job, deciding is an audience. So why are people in
these progressing times still more overwhelmed by misogynistic scripts than feminist one’s?
The question which pops in our minds is that, are movies inspired by real-life or real-life gets
conditioned by movies? It’s a spiralled question to answer. Somehow both are co-dependent
on each other but either way, what it aims to do gets successfully triggered into the society.
But how many times have we seen something not fair but still laughed on the scene? Isn’t our
job as audience and creators is to not normalise things that are so deeply rooted like in a well.
Movies that came as a shock but were appreciated; different ways in which stereotypes
are portrayed.
When shown that they can be suppressed by men or go by the values of a patriarchal world it
can perpetuate harmful stereotypes in people. Sometimes even when woman have tried to
break barriers and move ahead, there’s always a thing pulling them back. The movie Dil
Dhadakne Do is an example of it.
The daughter Ayesha played by Priyanka Chopra is taken as “paraya dhan” once she was
married off, no matter how successful she built her business from scratch, she couldn’t escape
being belittled by her family out of everyone. According to the men in her then and now
family, she was “allowed” to be the woman she wanted to be. She was “allowed” to pursue a
career, that was supposed to be a privilege for her. But in a rapidly advancing society why
does a woman need permission to live according to her individuality? Another one of the
examples of the patriarchal stereotype is seen when Ayesha’s character in anger blurts out the
truth about her suffocating loveless marriage and shouts that she needs a divorce, and her
father says “Don’t think you can come back to us. This is not your home anymore.” This was
deeply disturbing to listen to, both, as a woman and a daughter. But it is this exact sentiment
that Akhtar aimed at arousing due to the poignance of the moment. Neelam goes on to say,
“Why are you doing this to us?” This completely robs Ayesha off of her individuality and
makes a personal issue, one about the family and how it impacts their ‘image’ in society.
They seem to believe that this is how it’s supposed to be. It appears that their brains are
conditioned by the way they are, and that means absolute approval of the existing patriarchal
values.
Movies may have offered a woman who supports her husband even though he doesn’t respect
her as an inspiring image, now even if this idea exists from before, this satisfies people’s
confusion with the issue. It’s difficult to always portray a script respectable of a single-
gender, but as a source of media in which people choose to believe most times is a
responsibility which makes us realise that it is important to educate people with the right
thing.
Ideas that seem normal when watched at first but are somehow normalising things.
Another famous example is the movie “Kuch Kuch Hota hai”, which very subtly
romanticizes a woman who wears attires designated to woman and has grace, not to forget
someone who has a lower pitch of voice, is more interested in wearing skirts then playing
basketball. It’s a story portraying how a woman when wearing a t-shirt and cap is not a
desirable lover to the same person being capable enough to be desired when being shown
wearing a saree with “flying pallus” and “short blouses”. The very upsetting part of this story
is that the actor is shown as a prominent character, someone who is heroic and a boy next
door everyone falls in love with.
Many things are visualised as normal in films being made in the history of Indian cinema like
a married woman wearing the “respectable Indian attire”, sarees. A woman always working
in the kitchen. A woman is seen as a human only meant to be attracted to and loved by a man.
Woman giving up their individuality for a man’s money. The woman knowing not to drive.
Along with these, there are several things to take upon gender inequality, with the audience
being more educated about what should be shown in films, time may move ahead and fix
things step by step but we as an individual should take responsibility by standing up against
these stereotypes in real and condition movies by real life for good.

~1713 Words~
 References

• https://www.vogue.in/content/
• https://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood/women-roles-bollywood-
hindi-cinema-womens-day-596232
• https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2019/07/women-in-cinema-reel-vs-real-a-
retrospection/
• https://www.india.com/news/india/comparing-bollywoods-portrayal-of-women-from-
past-to-present-164384/