Bollywood's Lens on Indian Society
INTL 407/507, Summer 2013 2nd session (July 22 - August 14)
Mondays & Wednesdays, 2 - 6:50 pm
175 Lillis Hall
Contact information for Professor Weiss
Course Syllabus
Film has the ability to project powerful images of a society in ways conventional academic mediums cannot. This is particularly true in learning about India, which is home to the largest film industries in the world. This course explores images of Indian society that emerge through the medium of film. Our attention will be focused on the ways in which Indian society and history is depicted in film, critical social issues being explored through film; the depicted reality vs. the historical reality; and the powerful role of the Indian film industry in affecting social orientations and values.
Class format
Professor Weiss will open each class with a short lecture on the issues which are raised in the film to be screened for that day. We will then view the selected film, followed by a short break, and then extensive in-class discussion. Given the length of most Bollywood films, we will need to fast-forward through some of the song/dance sequences.
There will be assigned readings for each day which can be found either in the following required texts (available at the UO bookstore) or through hot-links from this class website. Please try to complete all readings before the day in which they will be discussed. Most recommended films are available at Vishnu India Imports (135 E. 29th Ave., Ph: 343-6932) or through Netflix. The three required books are:
Tejaswini Ganti Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry Duke University Press, 2012
Neil De Votta (ed.) Understanding Contemporary India 2 nd edition. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010.
Requirements: (percentage of final grade)
Class participation 10%
A typed, 2-3 page double-spaced essay exploring cultural issues presented 25%
in any film viewed. The essay should draw upon readings and class discussion as
relevant and is due at the beginning of the class after the film is screened.
take-home examination, to be handed out in class Wednesday August 14th 35%
and is to be submitted to Professor Weiss by 2 p.m. on Monday August 19, in 307 PLC
6-8 page paper (approx.) due in 175 PLC no later than Friday August 30th at noon. 35%
The paper is to explore any social issue which was raised in a segment of this course. You are to look at its social origin, and then focus on the way in which this issue is in flux in India today. There are a number of books recommended throughout the syllabus “for further reading;” these are good places to start researching for your paper. (If you would like to customize this requirement further because of your professional needs, I am happy to accommodate such requests. Please come talk with me in person; not just via e-mail.) While you can begin researching and writing the term paper at any time during the term -- and submit it whenever you would like -- the absolute deadline for turning it in is Friday August 30th.
Course Outline
July 22-24 Introduction to the Course; Historical Depiction of Indian Society and Rewriting History
Historical overview notes here
Films: "Beginnings" The Story of India with Michael Wood BBC/PBS, 2008 (1 hour)
Larger than Life: India's Bollywood Film Culture Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2005 (57 minutes)
Jodhaa Akbar, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, 2008 (213 minutes)
Recommended films:
Devdas directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 2002 (also here)
Garam Hava (Hot Winds), directed by M.S. Sathyu, 1973
Ghare Baire (The Home and the World), directed by Satyajit Ray, 1984
Required Readings:
Ganti, TBA
DeVotta, TBA
Milton Singer "Passage to More than India: A Sketch of Changing European and American Images" When a Great Tradition Modernizes: an Anthropological Approach to Indian Civilization Praeger Publishers, 1972, pp. 11-37
July 29-31 History from Within and Views of the 'Other'; Relevance of History Today
Hinduism, caste and hierarchy notes here
Films: Lagaan (Once Upon a Time in India), directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, produced by Aamir Khan
Productions, 2001 (also here) (224 minutes)
TBA
Recommended films:
Gandhi directed by Richard Attenborough, 1982
Henna directed by Randhir Kapoor, 1991
Lage Raho Munna Bhai directed by Rajkumar Hirani, 2006
Mirch Masala (Hot Spices) directed by Ketan Mehta, 1985
A Passage to India directed by David Lean, 1984
The Rising: the Ballad of Mangal Pandey directed by Ketan Mehta, 2005 (also here)
Required Readings:
Ganti, TBA
DeVotta, TBADirks, Nicholas “The Home and the World: the Invention of Modernity in Colonial India” in Robert A. Rosenstone (ed.) Revisioning History: Film and the Construction of a New Past Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 44-63
August 5-7 Bollywood! Changing Gender Roles and Family Norms
Films: Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (Journey of a Woman, or There Seems to be a Stain on her Shirt) directed by Pradeep Sarkar, 2007 (137 minutes)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (Sometimes There's Happiness, Sometimes Sadness) directed by Yash Johar, 2001 (210 minutes)
Recommended films:
Amar, Akbar, Anthony directed by Manmohan Desai, 1977
Baghban (The Gardener) directed by Ravi Chopra, 2003
Billu Barber directed by Priyadarshan, 2009
Bunty aur Babli directed by Shaad Ali, 2005
Hum Tum (You and I), directed by Kunal Khohli 2004
Jab We Met (When We Met), directed by Imtiaz Ali, 2007 (138 minutes)
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Don't Say We Will Never Meet Again) directed by Karan Johar, 2006
Lajja directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, 2001
Om Shanti Om directed by Farah Khan, 2007 (and here) (162 minutes)
Salaam Namaste directed by Siddharth Anand, 2005
Required Readings:
Ganti, TBA
DeVotta, TBA
Anil Saari & Partha Cattopadhyaya Hindi Cinema: an Insider's View Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 56-64
August 12-14 Social Pressure, Religion and the Fear of Terrorism Today
Chronology of terrorist attacks in India, 2001-11
Films: Three Idiots, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, 2009
A Wednesday, directed by Neeraj Pandey, 2008 (104 minutes)
TBA
Recommended films::
Bombay directed by Mani Ratnam, 1995
Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Dairies) directed by Kiran Rao, 2010 (100 minutes)
Fanaa directed by Kunal Kohli, 2006
Guru directed by Mani Ratnam, 2007
Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) directed by Sabiha Sumar (Pakistan), 2003
Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) directed by Shoaib Mansoor (Pakistan), 2007
My Name is Khan directed by Karan Johar, 2010
Salaam Bombay! directed by Mira Nair, 1988
Veer Zaara directed by Yash Chopra, Yashraj Studios, 2004 (192 minutes)
Required Readings:
Ganti, TBA
DeVotta, TBA
Anil Saari & Partha Cattopadhyaya Hindi Cinema: an Insider's View Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 103-109
Ramachandra Guha India after Gandhi: the History of the World's Largest Democracy HarperCollins, 2007, pp. TBA (will be hot-linked here)
