Visual Culture and the Politics of Panopticism

This essay discusses the racially inflected nature of visual culture and its mechanisms of ‘othering’ through a politics of panopticism and stereotypical representations. It contests the notion of camera as neutral medium and discusses the issue of hegemonic gaze as evidenced by films like Slumdog Millionaire and City of Joy. While acknowledging the potential of camera as a powerful weapon in the guerilla warfare that the underprivileged can launch against the hegemonic classes, it tries to bring out the inherent dangers in a vastly assymetrical equation.

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