Emboldening and Contesting Gender and Skin Color Stereotypes in the Film Industry in India, 1947–1991 (Autumn 2021)
Sheth, Sudev (Author)
Jones, Geoffrey (Author)
Morgan Spencer (Author)
Business History Review
Volume: 95
Issue: 3
Pages: 483-515
Edition Details: Special Issue on the Entertainment Industry
Language: English
This article examines how the film industry influenced prevailing gender and skin color stereotypes in India during the first four decades after Independence in 1947. It shows that Bollywood, the mainstream cinema in India, shared Hollywood's privileging of paler skin over darker skin, and its preference for presenting women in stereotypical ways lacking agency. The influence of film content was especially significant in India as audiences often lacked alternative sources of entertainment and information. It was left to parallel, and often regional, cinemas in India to contest skin color and gender stereotypes entrenched in mainstream media. As conventional archival sources for this history are lacking, the article employs new evidence from oral histories of producers and actors.
...MoreArticle editors (Autumn 2021) Editor's Note: Special Issue on the Entertainment Industry. Business History Review.
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