Sarees on Screen

Modern Feminist Narratives in Bollywood

April 30, 2021 Usha and Rekha Season 1 Episode 1
Modern Feminist Narratives in Bollywood
Sarees on Screen
More Info
Sarees on Screen
Modern Feminist Narratives in Bollywood
Apr 30, 2021 Season 1 Episode 1
Usha and Rekha

In our first ever episode, we tackle how pop culture and mainstream media in Bollywood portray women and marginalized characters. 

To contextualize our discussion, we took note of the male and feminine gazes in cinema and art, and how they uphold (or subvert) traditional ideas of gender roles, social and power dynamics, and other forms of identity privilege. 

For this episode, we specifically chose some recent films and shows coming out of Bollywood that marketed themselves as feminist works. Our watchlist included blockbusters like Veere di Wedding and Four More Shots Please! as well as critically acclaimed media like Lipstick Under My Burkha, Sir, Bulbbul, and Made in Heaven.

Our next episode is a Saucy Deep Dive on Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham.
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For more on the episodes, check out the extended Show Notes for additional reading material, explanations, and videos. 

More available on SareesOnScreen.com

- - -
[Music Prod. By LuKremBo]

Advisory

Show Notes Chapter Markers

In our first ever episode, we tackle how pop culture and mainstream media in Bollywood portray women and marginalized characters. 

To contextualize our discussion, we took note of the male and feminine gazes in cinema and art, and how they uphold (or subvert) traditional ideas of gender roles, social and power dynamics, and other forms of identity privilege. 

For this episode, we specifically chose some recent films and shows coming out of Bollywood that marketed themselves as feminist works. Our watchlist included blockbusters like Veere di Wedding and Four More Shots Please! as well as critically acclaimed media like Lipstick Under My Burkha, Sir, Bulbbul, and Made in Heaven.

Our next episode is a Saucy Deep Dive on Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham.
- - -

For more on the episodes, check out the extended Show Notes for additional reading material, explanations, and videos. 

More available on SareesOnScreen.com

- - -
[Music Prod. By LuKremBo]

Advisory

Introduction
Male Gaze and Feminine Gaze
The Repercussions of Bollywood: Objectification, Consent and Representation
Feminine Gaze in Bollywood
Bollywood and "Boss Babe" Feminism
Agency, Motivations and the Binarizing of Women
Critique of Body Image Issues in "Four More Shots!"
Sexualization, Desexualization and Ownership of Sexual Desire in "Lipstick Under My Burkha"
Intersectionality of Identity in "Lipstick Under My Burkha" and "Sir."
Discussions of Class and Class-Blindness in "Sir," "Veere Di Wedding" and "Made in Heaven"
Queer-Coded, Queer-Baiting or Catering to the Male Gaze?
"Bulbbul": Female Revenge Fantasies, Gratuitous Violence and the Feminine Gaze
Saas-Bahu Serials: Contextualizing Layered Oppression and Learning to Stop Responding to Aunties with Misogyny
Co-Opting Bengali Aesthetics in "Bulbbul" and North Indian Hegemony over "South Asian" media
Summary and Disclaimers
Closing Statement