Close Cinematic Analysis: Caste, Sexuality, and Religion in Indian Media (ARTHIST 199, ASNAMST 108, FILMEDIA 101, FILMEDIA 301, TAPS 101F)

This course engages in close analysis of different cinematic themes, genres, and artists. Specific topics may vary by term/year/instructor. This term's topic: Caste, Sexuality, and Religion in Indian Media. India is the world's largest producer of films in over 20 languages, and Bollywood is often its most visible avatar, especially on US university curricula. This course will introduce students to a range of media from the Indian subcontinent across commercial and experimental films, documentaries, streaming media, and online cultures. We will engage in particular with questions of sexuality, gender, caste, and religion in this postcolonial context and across its diasporas. Given this course's emphasis on close cinematic analysis, we will analyze formal aspects of cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene, and performance, and how these generate spectatorial pleasure, star and fan cultures, and particular modes of representation.