BIO

Alyson Mizanin is a first-year Presidential Scholar from Venice, Florida. Majoring in Media/Communication Studies, she intends on pursuing a career in broadcast journalism post-grad. She loves storytelling for its ability to bridge differences and connect communities, which is why she is so passionate about contributing to the medium in the future.

Representation of Women in Female-Directed Bollywood Films

Abstract

Cinema is a medium through which culture is reflected, ideas are shared, and global perspectives are embraced. Bollywood — a portmanteau of Hollywood and the Indian city “Bombay” — effortlessly embodies this principle; very little rivals Bollywood’s cultural influence on South Asia at large. Within Bollywood’s cultural repository, however, exists longstanding patriarchal traditions that contemporary Indian female directors are seeking to dismantle. These women’s fresh perspectives and personal connections to female representation allow them to utilize their art to bridge the gap between centuries’ worth of gender-based discrimination and more modern steps being taken toward deconstructing inequitable representation.

Keywords: Bollywood, media, film, cinema, representation