Research Symposium

BIO

Serena Aiken is a second-year student from Oklahoma. She participated in the First Year Abroad Program in Valencia, Spain. She plans to continue in research in social psychology, focusing on how representation in media influences the development of attitudes and bias in adolescents.

Female Representation in Female-Directed in Bollywood Films

Abstract

This project looks at how having a female director in Bollywood films impacts a film and the way women are represented. Representation has been steadily increasing and support of equal opportunity jobs have gained public support due to publication of studies showing the gross underrepresentation of women. Our research finds the number of female characters and how they are shown through the film coding process, with close watching and marking every time we see certain things. Each research member would be paired with one to three other members to watch and analyze one film. The number of all male and female characters would be found and surveys on each female character would be completed and referenced to other members’ surveys. The surveys ask questions about the character’s class, caste, religion, clothing, level of modesty, if and how they are sexualized, accessories, their relationships, and other linked areas. We argue that when the director of a Bollywood film is a woman, female characters are shown closer to reality and are less sexually emphasized.

Keywords: film analysis; bollywood; gender roles; female representation