BIO

Hi! My name is Paige Rowland, and I am from Tampa, Florida. I’m a sophomore majoring in Criminology with a minor in Sociology. My dream research opportunity would be to evaluate the mental health of people incarcerated in solitary confinement and then see how they adjust back into society. Currently, my career goal is to be a criminal defense attorney and my goal in that career path is to help the wrongfully convicted and those facing harsh sentences and possibly write a book one day.

Representation in Female-Directed Bollywood Films 

Abstract

Cinema and other cultural artifacts inhabit a special place in a cultural landscape in that they both influence and are influenced by the societies in which they originate. For this reason, our research project has focused on the portrayal of women in Bollywood, the leading film industry of India, where women have traditionally been characterized according to misogynistic interpretations of a woman’s role in society. However, there has been a recent increase in female directors employed in the industry. This change has made Bollywood an interesting case study. In this project, we gathered information through qualitative surveys that surrounded the role of women in Bollywood films directed by women and released to wider audiences. Researchers compiled this data through the survey database of Qualtrics to identify certain taboo behaviors, articles of clothing, and other indicators exhibited by female characters. Although the study is still in its early phases, this project highlights preliminary results from more than twenty films.

Keywords: Bollywood, Female-Directed, Films