Bollywood horror as an uncanny public sphere: genre theories, postcolonial concepts, and the insightful audience

Banaji, Shakuntala (2014) Bollywood horror as an uncanny public sphere: genre theories, postcolonial concepts, and the insightful audience. Communication, Culture & Critique, 7 (4). pp. 453-471. ISSN 1753-9129

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Abstract

This article critically interrogates the many ways in which contemporary urban life in India is imagined and theorized by Hindi horror films and their critics and audiences. It suggests that “horrific” representations of tropes such as living space, family life, labor, gender relations and childhood are repositioned by the meanings attributed in critical and audience discussions across time and national boundaries. Acknowledging and questioning a conceptual mélange from “abjection” and “subalternity” to “voice” and “carnival,” it complicates homogenizing accounts of Bollywood's ideological allegiance to authoritarian master-narratives. While Hindi horror films invite spectators to engage with political rhetorics about economic success, exclusion, justice, and patriarchy, the outcomes of such engagement are inflected by individual spectators's cultural, political, and generic experiences.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(IS...
Additional Information:	© 2014 International Communication Association
Divisions:	Media and Communications
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures
Date Deposited:	23 Apr 2015 08:08
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 15:05
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/61688

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