The Representation of Women in ‘New Generation’ Malayalam Films

The paper explores various socio-cultural underpinnings in the Malayalam film industry during the advent of a new wave film culture post 2010. These movies were labeled as ‘New generation’ movies by media and critics and also raised eyebrows with the offbeat narrative techniques and bold themes on sexuality and gender politics. They brought in a fresh take on contemporary socio-cultural issues and how the identities of individuals are caught up in a continuous conflict within an urban space (as most of these films dealt with urban themes). These ’New Generation’ movies distanced themselves from the then existing conventional narrative style and opened up a liberal space with arguments on gender and the politics of representation. These films had heavy influence of Korean style of filmmaking that relied on raw and explicit narrations. Three movies are analysed in this paper; Chaapa Kurisu (2011), 22 Female Kottayam (2012) and Trivandrum Lodge (2012). The analysis would concentrate on the representation of female characters in these three movies and the visual culture and politics of these ‘new generation’ films. Laura Mulvey’s psychoanalytic theories and Susan Bordo’s Philosophy of mind/body binaries have been used to interpret the observations.

Download Pdf