Research Symposium

BIO

My name is Ashley Dempster and I am currently a sophomore here at FSU. My hometown is Panama City, FL. I am also currently minoring in Communications and Law & Philosophy with hopes to continue on to law school.

Representation of Women in Female-Directed Bollywood Films

Abstract

Movies are a form of cultural production that not only represent the environments they come from, but also influence cultural conceptions and understandings themselves. Therefore, the way in which female characters are represented reflects on both Indian society at large as well as the changing dynamics of the film industry. Compared to their male peers, female directors are underrepresented in Bollywood, and as a result, there may be differences in how female directors portray gender on screen. This study explores whether women directors influence how female characters are portrayed in film by analyzing the representation, presentation, and presence of female characters in Bollywood films directed by women. However, investigating a subject of the such scope needs to be broken down in order to draw more concrete quantitative data. Using a method known as “coding”, this project went through each speaking female character in selected Bollywood films, noting things such as their demographic makeup, clothing, gendered behavior, and the way they interact with other women. The coding process was done multiple times per character to ensure the reliability of the data. Although the study is still ongoing, the investigation of films completed so far has resulted in notable preliminary results. 

Keywords: film, Bollywood, female directors, female representation, India