Research Symposium

BIO

Ally Kukanza is an economics major minoring in business analytics at Florida State University. She is a part of the Presidential Scholars Program at FSU, as well as Chi Omega and the National Association of Business Economics. She plans on receiving her masters in applied economics from FSU and continuing on to a career in consulting.

Representation of Women in Bollywood Films

Abstract

This project aims to understand and explain patterns in the representation of Bollywood films directed by women. Films have a significant influence on culture. In the past, Bollywood films have represented women according to misogynistic stereotypes. However, recently there has been an increase in the number of women directors in the industry. In order to understand how women directors are changing the portrayal of women in Indian culture, this study examines the lives of women directors in Bollywood and their work that has been released in the commercial industry in India in the last 10 years. Researchers have developed a coding book that uses techniques of a research method called ‘film coding.’ Research assistants gather both qualitative and quantitative data on films through using Qualtrics surveys. Researchers record observations on demographics, representation, behavior, and women relationships. The project is still new, as only sixteen films have been coded. Therefore, there are no conclusive results yet, however there are apparent trends in the data.

Keywords: Film, gender, women